Right or Happy? Stupid Question

 

There's a meme on social media that begs the question:

Would you rather be right or happy?

What kind of a choice is that? In order to be in a relationship (casual or serious, platonic or romantic) I have to swallow my knowledge? My intellect? My right to my opinion? If I say I'm wrong when I'm not, how can I be happy? If I allow people spreading misinformation or hate around without speaking the truth, how can I be happy? If two people in any relationship allow each other to wallow in ignorance, how can either of them truly be happy? If either person concedes to something they don't believe or something that goes against their conscience, how can that relationship survive? It's living a lie.

That said, I've concluded that I'd rather be right. Anyone that comes into your life and insists that they must be right without evidence to back them up, and that you have to swallow your knowledge and carefully considered opinions that you know are correct because you have facts to back you up, isn't worth having as a friend. The willfully ignorant who refuse to acknowledge facts when they are presented, who are too lazy to look into matters and seek out the truth, even if it's an uncomfortable truth, and expect you to pussyfoot around their obstinance and tell them they have a point when they clearly are wrong is just exerting mind control. Why would anyone back down and submit to that? Submit to the kind of bullying that has kept people oppressed for centuries?

You want to be right? Show me evidence that you are right. And if I prove that evidence to be false then have the grace to concede the point, and I if you prove mine false I will do the same. Otherwise, there is no relationship at all, just your narcissism.

Terri's Newsletter 2-24-23

 

February 24, 2023

Hi Everybody!

It has been an extremely busy year so far, especially the past couple of weeks.

Since my last note, I finally found a home for my art stuff.  I settled on Fine Art America, and have been furiously learning how to use the site all week. I'm still not great at it, but I have managed to post over 50 pieces of art so far. I have a little bit of everything – Abstract, Owl's Nest illustration, Paranormal Posse illustrations, Impact pieces (memoir illustrations for a book I'm putting together), birds and nature, and some miscellaneous stuff too.

I don't claim to be any kind of amazing artist or anything, but some of the merch available looks pretty cool. 

Check it out when you get a chance. 

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/terri-delcampo

Another project I've been working on this week is trying to get my art supplies organized and accessible (goals that seemed mutually exclusive until this week). Blaze and I live in a studio apartment. It's tiny, considering that we both write and have files and books for research, and we both have hobbies. (I crochet, draw, dabble in jewelry creation and crafts, and have hundreds of dvds, Blaze ties flies, does a little art too. So when I got more actively into the art, I had to find a way to cram one more sardine into our little can. I got myself an art cart.

 

That helped, but considering my broken old broad body, reaching the bottom bin for gel pens with my project on my lap desk was a challenge. I looked up other types of art bins and bags, and the best was a rolling backpack thingy with lots of compartments – perfect – except for the $109 pricetag. So I got creative. And I actually found stuff that's better.

When I first started drawing I bought a slew of Crayola colored pencils and markers. I got their Colors of the World Skintone set, some metallic colors, some neon colors, a sharpener, some blenders, and it was a lot. Personally I think pencil cases with individual elastics for each pencil are more of a pain in the ass than anything, so I did this: 

It's just a cheapie little lunch pouch I got at Kroger on sale for $4.99. I banded my pencils together with ponytail elastics, sorting them by color and voila! Pencils organized. And I sit the pouch handle up so the pencil points don't get banged around and broken.

But then there was water colors, watercolor pencils, brushes, my pencil sharpener, erasers, markers, gel pens, brush pens, water brushes, microns, graphite pencils, blenders, and other paraphernalia. I cannot leave projects and supplies sitting out. My area is too small. I basically live in my lift chair – meals, writing, art, sleep, computer activities, movies, everything in the chair.

So this:

Hanging toiletry bags – who knew? The one on the left has another compartment at the bottom that is blocked from view by the arm of my chair. The one on the right has another compartment on the right that didn't fit in the pic. Both are hooked onto coated wire shelves that are right next to my chair. I can fold them up when I'm done arting and stick 'em back on the cart, OR if I'm taking a my art on the road they will all fit into my backpack along with sketchbooks or a clipboard.

So for less than $40 I have portable storage for all my gear and it all fits onto a cart that I already had. And even if I had to buy the cart it's only $43 on Amazon, so I still would have come in under the $109 pricetag for the fancy schmancy rolling backpack I saw online.

 

My "micro-mini art studio: 

 

So I consider this a productive week – artwise. The laundry, however, is piling up and the dustbunnies are about to carry Blaze's bed away…heh, heh, heh. 

Speaking of which, I need to get this posted and start dinner.

Until next time!

Ter

 

Updates (mostly professional) from Terri DelCampo

 

Hi Everybody!

2023 has been an interesting ride so far, and February is already half gone. Boom! I'm going to try and keep current updates on my blog because I haven't been on social media much over the last few months. I have writing and art projects out the wazoo, not to mention personal stuff that it's imperative I keep on top of.

Personal issues, (the biggest, trying to help my 94-year-old mother out from 800 miles away), consume a chunk of my time, at least during the day. Mom has had several major problems, over the last few months – fortunately with her home, not her health - and she's deaf on top of it, along with tech challenged so instant communication with her is impossible. If we could just text back and forth the problem would be solved, but anything tech goes right over her head. It's like teaching a lizard to ice-skate. Not happening. I have to contact her friends/neighbors or write her, which is useless for pressing issues. It's been a seriously frustrating challenge…not to mention time consuming, but that's a Terri problem.

Drawing started out as a calming activity that took my focus away from problem-solving drama in the evenings. I hesitated to turn it into a project, though I think it will be fun to put my drawings on tote bags, notebooks, mugs and stuff. And if it stops being fun, I'll stop doing it. Because I'm a retired, disabled old fart and the 'gotta do' years are in my past. 😊    

Finding a home for my writing and art projects has been another time-suck. To the point where I almost said screw it.

That home ain't Patreon. I started to put individual issues of Owl's Eye View Magazine up there, with illustrations, so that patrons would have exclusive material not in the bundle that's on Kindle. I wanted a place to publish the individual issues without them overwhelming my Amazon author page. Patreon seemed perfect. Until I noticed that my patrons would be charged per creation (every post would be $3) rather than my choice of a $3 monthly subscription rate that would include everything. I tried to reset that and got all through the setting edit page, but was required to contact Patreon to make the change. I contacted Patreon through the link they provided and received no response whatsoever. I tried to call Patreon and the number listed on the site is invalid. I tried emailing. No response. I tried going on Twitter and Facebook and tweeting them. No response. So by that time, frustrated to tears, I started looking for another way to publish.

The other way seems to be Fine Art America. I can put up my art and it will be available not only as prints, but it will appear on merchandise like mugs, shirts, blankets, shower curtains, notebooks, etc. This is exciting because I have a ton of abstract art for my Trash to Art collection that will lend itself beautifully to all of that. So that's one collection.

Another collection will be Impact, an illustrated memoir I've been working on. I plan to eventually release that on Amazon as an eBook, but I can put the illustrations up on Fine Art America with the brief memoir anecdotes in the description box. In the eBook I can expand those anecdotes if I want, but for now, I want to focus on the art. And I can put the pieces up gradually as I complete them instead of waiting for all the material for the book.

And then there will be a nature and animal collection, because….birds. I love 'em and already have two nice pieces of a chickadee and a cardinal, and Benny the Owl who was my mom's pet for over a decade. I also have some random drawings of other animals that need a home. Plus other nature pieces.

And then there will be random pieces of art that won't belong in specific collections.

So my stuff on Fine Art America is definitely a work in progress that I'll be adding to almost every day for the foreseeable future.

Right now, I'm still trying to familiarize myself with the Fine Art America platform, and learn how to prep, upload, and price my stuff according to the rules of that site. Everything's a work in progress, and I don't want anyone buying any of the merch until I know I've mastered the skills to ensure its quality. I will let everyone who's interested know when stuff is ready for perusal and purchase.

Aside from Fine Art America, I'm doing illustrations for Blaze's "Paranormal Posse" on his Patreon page. Fun! I can't really put them up in a blog because they are part of his subscription package, exclusively for his patrons, but it's a cool project I'm having fun with. (Little plug: Blaze has hundreds of posts, several complete novels, poetry, short stories, and articles all for $3 a month. You can't beat that. He posts every single day. A crapload of bang for your buck!). Blaze is so prolific on Patreon I can hardly keep up with the illustrations– especially right now with all the projects of my own. Days fly by with too few hours to get everything done. It's a happy kind of frazzled that ensures I'm never bored.

I've also decided to put together a companion book for Owl's Eye View Magazine called Owl's Nest Locals. It will have bios for every character connected to the magazine or the novels set in Owl's Nest. Also, it will have lineage charts, maps of the town (both historical and current), and other tidbits of Owl's Nest trivia. This project is on the back burner for now, until I get in a groove with my Fine Art America projects.

There are also practice pieces and doodles that I like, but that don't meet my standards for publishing on Fine Art America. There are some things I drew just for fun that nobody would want on their coffee mug or hanging on their wall. That stuff I'll just share on my blog, or directly on Facebook or Twitter.

So that's what I've been up to, if you're even wondering. I'll be posting more often, hopefully, and staying in touch a little better. I do try and scroll though Facebook a couple times a week to see what's going on with family and friends. I don't always comment, but I'm around, and I try to keep up with my Facebook messages when I'm on there.

I guess that's about it. Hugs to all!

Ter

Little sample from "Impact": It's my childhood home on Baynard Boulevard where I lived with my parents on the third floor (my window is lit up), my grandparents, Gladys and Dick on the second floor, (along with two boarders), and my great-grandmother Maggie and great-aunt Edith on the first floor. I have amazing memories of this house and my family within it. Lots of drama, but fortunately lots of love as well.