The power of consistency.

Hello again! Yep, you guessed it another blog. Today I want to talk about a topic that comes up a lot for me. This is probably my biggest struggle as an artist and business owner. It's something that is VERY important. To most people it either comes super easy to them or is a big problem like me!

Want me to just tell you already? Fine, it's CONSISTENCY! 

Booooooooo.

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Ughhhh my nemisis. Consistency is so important blah blah blah. As an artist is it really important to have consistency with your art. I feel this is especially true for artists who promote themselves online or social media. (aka me) Why is consistency important, you may ask....well here it is! 

(I loved video. He seems so genuine and his words are perfect for today's blog)

Consistency is important because people want to easily be able to recognize "who you are as an artist" and your products. If you are inconsistent, people might getting distracted or confused and leave your site. I know because I do this when I look at other Etsy shops. Unfortunately, I know that my shop is currently inconsistent. I am working on this as my top priority. My images first and foremost NEED to be consistent. Especially for a shop that has multiple types of products. I think if you only sell soap you can have some variety to things because your product is consistent. Since I work with so many mediums I need to have consistent photography. 

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Why do I struggle with consistency so much? Well...I haven't mentioned this in the blogs yet but I love astrology! My gramcrackers is an astrologer and she has taught me the ins and outs of being an Astrologer. Phew! I am glad I brought that up....look forward to much more astrology talk from now on! Anyway, I believe that a big part of my struggle with inconsistency is my GEMINI nature. Gemini's have many strengths like being a jack-of-all trades. With this they tend to be good at everything they try but get bored with things very easily. I KNOW this is how I work. I might do a watercolor one day and the next be into my wood burning. It keeps me interested and as long as I actually finish my projects I can continue to jump around!

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             How can I become more consistent with my art? I think routines are key. Setting routines might be hard at first but once you stick with them, after a certain amount of time they will become habit. Today I went to the Rustbelt where my space will be for the DIY Art Fair and walked about looking at other artist's shops and seeing their styles and set-ups helped remind me how finding my "style" for everything I do with my art and shop helps make consistency more natural. Coming up with a simple logo and using it for everything even price tags was one of the best ideas a saw. 

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           Well today's blog was a little difficult for me to try and write. It's hard to address something you might consider a weakness. I know it's an important topic and addressing it makes it easier to work on it. Consistently Consistent from here on out! What kinds of things to do struggle with in your art? Do you have any suggestions on easy ways to find consistency within my Etsy Shop? Let me know your thoughts!  

Until Tomorrow - Dream Away

Samantha Menzo

Cloud Nine Studios

Etsy Featured Item of the Day:

Buddha . The Mind is Everything, What you Think you Become . Ring Dish . Yellow Moon . Star . Jewelry Dish . Celestial by - neCeramics

Song of the Day:

Wax Tailor - Que Sera 

Color of the Day:

Benjamin Moore Scuba Green 2046-50

DIY - PAINT BRUSH CLEANER (Made with hot glue gun)

It has been a weird couple of days but also an AMAZING couple of days. My love took me away for a night to the west side of Michigan with another couple. We stayed in an amazing castle and saw my favorite band Lake Street Dive. It was a magical two days and I felt very inspired and in love.

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Since I have been away all weekend I wanted to use my last day off to really get things done in my studio. I entered the room this morning and felt SO OVERWHELMED. There were things everywhere. I have started so many pieces and each are different mediums. I just couldn't get my thoughts together so I decided it was time to clean and reorganize everything.

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I started by getting all the random trash out and creating more space. I felt cramped and anxious and now I feel free! I had also been putting off cleaning a ton of my brushes that were just sitting in old mineral spirits. I was actually convinced I had ruined all of them because they had been sitting there for so long. I remembered this great idea I saw and decided to make one of my own!

I understand that this video was made for make-up brushes but it works the same for paintbrushes. I made one on a metal tray that I had left lying around. It works so well I wish I had more brushes to clean. I not only saved every single brush I don't think they have ever been this clean. It took maybe ten minutes to make and if you are an artist with deals with paintbrushes of any kind I DEFINITELY recommend making one of these.

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ANYWAY! Now that everything is clean and has a place I am going to organize my inventory on paper which is something I have never done before. I want to do this because like I already mentioned I keep starting all these little pieces for the DIY Art Fair but not finishing them and I feel all over the place. I want to know exactly what I have and how many of each so I can focus on what I want to have for the fair. I know as of now that I probably need to at least DOUBLE my inventory which is terrifying but I know if I can just get my thoughts straight I will make it happen.

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Before I left for the weekend adventure I did however finish my lovely little Alice in Wonderland inspired Watercolor piece! Sometimes I make pieces and I think "oh, that's cute.....moving on" but every now and again I make something I love and it might be vain but I CAN NOT stop looking at it. I really want to make more pieces like this and get prints to sell but I feel like I need to stick with what I can do for the fair for now and after this month dive a little deeper into my watercolor ideas.

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So that's all I have for today. I really want to get to work in here now that it's cleaned up but I wanted to make sure I blogged since I couldn't while I was away. I hope you all have a wonderland day!

Until Tomorrow - Dream Away

Samantha Menzo

Cloud Nine Studios

Etsy Featured Item of the Day:

USB flash drive 8 GB, kawaii blue cat, cat with constellation big dipper, back to school , cobalt cat usb flash by - CloverPower

Song of the Day:

Garden Sessions: Lake Street Dive - "Look At What Mistake" - Radio Woodstock

Color of the Day:

 BENJAMIN MOORE CORLSBUD CANYON 076

Art with the help of Meditating.

Art with the help of Meditating.

(Love this image? Click here for its Etsy Shop)

       Ever feel a lack of focus when trying to make your art? Ever feel a drought of inspiration? Maybe you can't find enough time in the day for the art time you have been craving? I have a secret to change it all. Meditation.

(Love this image? Click here for its Etsy Shop)

     I assume some of you have meditated before. You might even be a meditating professional! In case you have never heard of meditating or have always wanted to try and didn't know where to start. Here is a great beginner's video to meditating.

So now that we are all on the same page, how can meditation help with ART?

1. Meditation helps to center yourself and your thoughts, which greatly effect your art. If you are stressed or overwhelmed with daily life, just 5 minutes of meditating can set you back on track and put you in a perfect state of mind for creating.

2. Out of ideas or don't know where to start? I know this one is huge for me. When I don't know what to make or can't seem to organize my ideas I meditate and ask to see what I need to. I always know I have the ideas in there somewhere but sometimes moving all the other junk around first helps me see clearly!

3. Stepping away from your work. I don't do this nearly enough and sometimes it really costs me with time and energy. Ever been so immersed in a piece of artwork that you forget to step back and look at the whole thing? By the time you are done and you do step back you notice things you could have done different or that might be a little off. Taking a few minutes for a silent break can mean a huge difference in the finished quality of your work.

4. Do you want to make more meaningful art but don't know what you want to say? I tend to make a lot of "sell-able work" and sometimes I lose the love for a project because I am too focused on the money value it will bring me. By meditating I can look within myself and see what is on my mind that I want to express. This always helps me feel recharged and inspired to still make sell-able pieces but that say something at the same time.

Meditation is great for so many reasons but since this is an Art Blog I wanted to cover some of the ways it's really helped me and hopefully can help you! Creating comes from a very internal place that's is expressed externally and to ensure everything is in order I think the best and easiest way is through MEDITATION!

         How has meditating helped you in your life? Do you already use it as a tool for your art? Comment some of your thoughts on what this topic has done or might do for you!

Until Tomorrow -Dream Away

Samantha Menzo

Cloud Nine Studios

I want to start doing something new at the end of every blog. I think would be a great addition to the blogs! Every blog I will have a featured Etsy Item, Random Song & Color of the day! It's just a little extra flavor that I think might be fun!

Featured Etsy Item of the Day:
DIY Cross Stitch Pendant - Wood Pendant Blank - Small Heart (RedGateStitchery)

Song of the Day:

Matt Simons - Catch & Release (Deepend Remix)

Color of the Day: 
Benjamin Moore Regal Select Winter Gray 2117-60

Finding Time for Art.

    Hello! Last night I unfortunately wrote out an entire blog and then when I went to post it and the whole blog deleted!! I was so upset. I stayed up just to make sure I could get one out and I couldn't stay up anymore. So here we are. What should we talk about today? 

                                              TIME TIME WHOSE GOT THE TIME!?!?!

Yesterday I had such a busy day. I had my first day back at work after being off for almost 2 weeks. After that I spend a few hours in a car dealership with my grandmother and father and I took home a new 2015 Ford Escape (which I named Ruby for her color). By the time I got home I was exhausted and just wanted to curl up in bed and play on my phone or tablet. 

(Some new Disc Golf minis or Coasters)

      Instead I decided to hit my studio for at least an hour. Now whenever I plan to do this most of the time one of two things normally happen. I either sit down and end up getting sucked into something for much longer than I planned messing up my schedule for things afterwards, or I sit there trying to start or work on something for only an hour and end up wasting my time and getting nothing done.

         Yesterday neither of those two things happened! It was a great breakthrough with me and my art. As I wrote about in a recent blog I am planning on doing the Ferndale DIY Art Festival. So I have two months or so to come up with a comfortable amount of stock inventory to do well. I think mentality has really effected my work process for the better. Finding time to do art when there is no reason to other then personal satisfaction is much harder for me than when I have due dates and time lines that I need to meet.

(Check out this lovely little Etsy item that fit perfectly for today's topic!)

        Finding time for art can be hard even if it is something that you want to do. Setting goals and deadlines is crucial for making sure you set aside even a small amount of time dedicated to art. It could be a goal of everyday do something whether it's working on that pencil drawing you've been trying to finish for weeks or doing a small doodle on a napkin while out at the bar with friends. Whatever your goals are make sure you stick to them!! This will make it easier to find time for art.

I am obviously no expert on this subject but I can tell you what has worked and not worked for me. What are some of your problems or struggles with finding time for art? Is it a young baby taking up your time and focus? Is it your strong will to procrastinate or distract yourself with other things? No matter what the excuse for finding time for you and your art I have come up with this list to help you FIND TIME!

I am going to create another post today to make up for yesterday giving you a list of ways to help you find time to make art!

Stay Tuned! - Dream Away!

Samantha Menzo

Cloud Nine Studios

What does your favorite color say about you?

      We made it! Other then my car breaking and delaying us for hours everything went well!  (wipes brow and shrugs shoulders).  As I sit here finally relaxing after setting up our site, I realized how overwhelmed by pink I am.  My shirt is pink, my chair is pink, my shorts are pink, my cup is pink and my bag is pink!

#onwednesdayswewearpink

         It got me thinking about how many times my favorite color has changed.  My favorite color currently is pink (if you didn't get that) but it hasn't always been that way.  In fact I use to hatey the color! I have gone through so many phases as I am sure most people do.  But how can someone love orange one year and want nothing to do with it another?

        Why do people feel the need to have a favorite  color away? Studies have proven that colors make you feel differently and can even cause you to think certain ways. Orange triggers hunger and lavender is a naturally calming hue for example. So I think people enjoy identifying themselves with certain colors according to their personalities or phases they might be in their life.

          Another thought is that because of my personality that thrives on change and spontaneity, it may be a good explanation for my color preferences changing so often. Am I alone on this or do others relate more to my grandmother who has practically favored the color turquoise her whole life. Everything she is drawn to is turquoise and she decorates most of her house in that color.

         I am quickly understanding that this is a complex topic to discuss. I am very fascinated by color and will have to come back and dive deeper later in the blogs.

          Until then let us take a moment to think about why your favorite color is your favorite color if you have one at all. What do you think it says about your personality?

For me I feel pink describes: 
A bubbly and positive personality with a love of life and vivid imagination.

                                           Until tomorrow -  Dream Away
                                                   Samantha Menzo
                                                  Cloud Nine Studios