still feels like September
I keep getting the urge to throw up my hands and just close the album business to new customers, but I know that's just fall overwhelm talking. And I did just order a new sample album last night, so yeah, not really going there. I've had a sick kid at home 3 out of the last 6 school days, and it makes it harder to get stuff done than it should.
I think maybe cutting options down would be good; my stuff is so relentlessly custom that it makes figuring stuff out and the number of discussions needed to get started take too long, and that's the part that most drags on me. (I can have introvert issues even over e-mail! Go me!)
And it still doesn't help that the jewelry/art biz is more fun, though more of the business realities of it are hitting so it's not as extreme. I finally got a lightswitch done I'm kind of happy with. Self-leveling gel medium is MAGIC.
I didn't mean to make it University of Washington colors, it just happened. Next one should have a proper composition since this is still 50% a media mixing experiment.
Also, that is embedded loose glitter. I brought loose glitter into my house for this.
Making my own alcohol ink (which is this fabulous ink that is vivid and works on surfaces like glass and plastic without needing special prep) from acrylic paints (becuase the stuff costs a ridiculous amount per ounce, and you have to work with their colors) was a solid failure, and when I actually read the comments on the tutorial I discovered that someone had asked if it worked on non-porous surfaces, and she hadn't tested it. Like. Um. The major reason to use alcohol ink is becuase it works on non-porous surfaces, otherwise just use regular ink or watercolors or fluid acrylic.
And if any of you care, the best actual acrylic you can buy to play well with alcohol ink is full on "high flow" acrylics -- the kind designed to work in airbrushes. Still needs a little help to stick to a non-porous surface, but at least it doesn't build up texture like regular acrylics. (Fluid acrylics are better than regular, but still not all the way there.)
I think maybe cutting options down would be good; my stuff is so relentlessly custom that it makes figuring stuff out and the number of discussions needed to get started take too long, and that's the part that most drags on me. (I can have introvert issues even over e-mail! Go me!)
And it still doesn't help that the jewelry/art biz is more fun, though more of the business realities of it are hitting so it's not as extreme. I finally got a lightswitch done I'm kind of happy with. Self-leveling gel medium is MAGIC.
I didn't mean to make it University of Washington colors, it just happened. Next one should have a proper composition since this is still 50% a media mixing experiment.
Also, that is embedded loose glitter. I brought loose glitter into my house for this.
Making my own alcohol ink (which is this fabulous ink that is vivid and works on surfaces like glass and plastic without needing special prep) from acrylic paints (becuase the stuff costs a ridiculous amount per ounce, and you have to work with their colors) was a solid failure, and when I actually read the comments on the tutorial I discovered that someone had asked if it worked on non-porous surfaces, and she hadn't tested it. Like. Um. The major reason to use alcohol ink is becuase it works on non-porous surfaces, otherwise just use regular ink or watercolors or fluid acrylic.
And if any of you care, the best actual acrylic you can buy to play well with alcohol ink is full on "high flow" acrylics -- the kind designed to work in airbrushes. Still needs a little help to stick to a non-porous surface, but at least it doesn't build up texture like regular acrylics. (Fluid acrylics are better than regular, but still not all the way there.)