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