Packing is Such Sweet Sorrow...
First, if you saw yesterday's post, http://robertsloan2.livejournal.com/585925.html, and can't afford to pitch in a few bucks to help me move - you can still help big time. Just copy the link and repost it on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, any social media you have. Ask them to pass it on. If friends of friends of friends start pitching in it'll reach the goal without burdening anyone.
I'll do the same whenever I see your posts raising funds for emergencies and pay it forward once I'm on my wheels.
Sascha's seascape painting from Arnold Lowrey pastel video on http://www.artistsnetworktv.com.
My seascape painting from the same Arnold Lowrey pastels video.
Yesterday I was still tired and my room is in so much chaos from books sorting that I didn't really get anything done. Took a day of rest. Sascha asked if she could come in and watch something while I was watching the new Arnold Lowrey pastels demo on ArtistsNetworkTV for the first time yesterday morning. I was about halfway into it and thought about his teaching style for a moment - he makes his instructions very clear!
So I asked "Would you like to watch an adult pastels lesson with me? We can do it together."
She didn't just say yes, she squealed and jumped up and down and got all excited. I love her so much. So once she came back from church, she got dressed in scruffy play clothes and we spread two big bath towels on the bed to catch her pastel dust. Wet one end of a hand towel for cleanup and spread out her birthday set: 60 Gallery Artists' Soft Round pastels. Non toxic artist grade pastels. I had a 30 color set of Gallery Artists Hand Rolled pastels to review, so I used those on Canson Mi-Tientes. I think she was using Artagain or some other brand, not Canson. Same general idea though, unsanded pastel paper.
I was awed. Look at that. If I didn't tell you that she was a seven year old girl, would you believe that was a grade school kid's version of an adult pastel demo? Sascha is amazing. She loves painting and drawing, she improves constantly and learns like a fish swims. From recognizably drawing Kiki from "Kiki's Delivery Service" at age two in pink crayon to this, Sascha has consistently shown fantastic art talent.
We relaxed afterwards watching all three episodes of "Walking with Monsters" and one and a half episodes of "Walking with Dinosaurs." I'm going to miss her so much.
Today I managed to sort out a Miscellaneous Tub, finding a lot of cool stuff in it that I'd completely forgotten about because it was unsorted. It was a small but complex one. I gave away some stuff. I sorted out a half empty shoebox sized tub into it along with the pretty wooden box with crystals and polished stones that Kitten gave me and most of my musical instruments - a small wooden recorder and another tin whistle. I have two more that I've got to put into that tub. There's still room for more "Small useful stuff that isn't art materials." That tub will go into a larger box in one of the #1 boxes.
I'm supposed to sort and mark all filled boxes by priority 1 through 5. #5 means "Store till I eventually move to a larger place" ie memorabilia and stuff that I won't be using for years. #1 is "Send it right away! I need it immediately in San Francisco," which will mostly be art supplies. Everything else spreads out in the three middle numbers, so as I send money for more packages they get sent in order of priority.
So we worked out a system. Kitten also helpfully got at my top shelf of the closet and retrieved my ArtBin Tote Express, a lovely piece of double decker wheeled luggage for art supplies. That's what'll go in it, that and some top priority still life items such as my model skull and pair of manikins and the plastic hadrosaur Sascha gave me. That one's special, even though I have a whole set of plastic dinosaurs of my own for sketching from and keep those in the shoebox with my marbles and other still life objects. I think "Rocks from other states I lived in" can go in low priority boxes though. Fossils go priority 1 if they're out.
She also found a very nice wheeled soft sided suitcase almost as large as the Tote Express. I know I have other suitcases up in the back of the closet too. Happily, much of the top shelf of the closet is empty suitcases. I'll have to compare prices on UPS versus checked luggage.
Huge piles of empty boxes from the Jerry's Artarama art supplies to review package. Most of the review items will go in the Tote Express where I can get at them easily to write them up before I go or get at them easily to write them up after I arrive - there's too much to review before the trip unless I start doing daily posts! Wonderful stuff, watch for new articles.
Tomorrow's plan, once the holiday's over: start checking airline prices and routes to get the best deal for me and Ari to go to Carson City, Nevada at the same time with as much luggage as is cost effective to haul. I hope the extra baggage fees are reasonable compared to UPS boxes, since I have quite a lot of suitcases now! Clothes and bedding become padding around precious, valuable art supplies.
I spent five years buying supplies and replacing my old studio, everything I had in New Orleans when I was a full time artist. Now I'm slimming down, eliminating all student grade supplies that I reviewed and sharing them out with my family. If I only have artist grade stuff with me, any pad or paper or paint I grab will be suitable to sell the resulting art. I'll keep the Sakura Koi student grade pocket kits for sketching but that's about it. I don't need $5 sets of kid oil pastels when I have grandkids who'd get a big kick out of them. Or kid paints or anything else like that.
I have been warned by friends on http://www.wetcanvas.com that I should not put soft pastels into checked luggage. No matter how well packed they are, the risk of multicolored powder is too high. So I'm looking into extra carry on luggage for my Dakota Traveller pastels box tomorrow when I go pricing airlines for my flight. It's quite small, it should fit nicely in an overhead compartment. No liquids or pointy things in it, so there shouldn't be any trouble with it going through the scanner.
Laptop, netbook, Kindle, paperback and phone or phones go in the laptop case. What's in it depends on whether I get a new refurb netbook with a Verizon plan or a new refurb iPhone with a Sprint plan, cost of service and deal on a two year plan. That doesn't come out of SSI though, that comes out of the business. Art sales or affiliate checks will pay the bill. Personal phone is getting a refillable card for the phone I own and personal Internet either a refillable pay as you go card or dialup, something like that.
I am beginning to work out the budget for the pretty juggle between "what I live on" and "what's business expenses" for when I am self supporting again. Anything over a very frugal income goes into the business on things that are real necessities, which good Internet definitely is.
It's sinking in that I could be Self Employed again as soon as September. It all depends on what happens when I get my street license, but it looks good. I'm alternately thrilled about it and terrified depending on what the weather's doing.
We almost had a thunderstorm today, so I got squashed by the front for most of the day and lost some of my optimism till the pressure lightened up. My biggest fear right now is the packing itself - can I do it all in time this month? In one month, one that isn't one of my good season months? Summer is sort of middling bad if I stay inside in air conditioning. I might get more done tonight since the pressure cleared up.
Once I get to San Francisco, I'll be able to do a lot more. It'll be autumn chilly all the time, weather is like September through November in the Midwest. That was the best time of year for me when I lived in Illinois or Kansas, in San Francisco that's year round. That's what gives me the deep optimism about becoming a full time street artist, combined with year round tourism. I went down to summer weather in the third year I did it because I was living without air conditioning to save money, as stupid as living without heat in a Chicago winter.
Tomorrow: Airline and Internet/Phone Plan Shopping. Should be fun getting wooed by sales people.
I'll do the same whenever I see your posts raising funds for emergencies and pay it forward once I'm on my wheels.
Sascha's seascape painting from Arnold Lowrey pastel video on http://www.artistsnetworktv.com.
My seascape painting from the same Arnold Lowrey pastels video.
Yesterday I was still tired and my room is in so much chaos from books sorting that I didn't really get anything done. Took a day of rest. Sascha asked if she could come in and watch something while I was watching the new Arnold Lowrey pastels demo on ArtistsNetworkTV for the first time yesterday morning. I was about halfway into it and thought about his teaching style for a moment - he makes his instructions very clear!
So I asked "Would you like to watch an adult pastels lesson with me? We can do it together."
She didn't just say yes, she squealed and jumped up and down and got all excited. I love her so much. So once she came back from church, she got dressed in scruffy play clothes and we spread two big bath towels on the bed to catch her pastel dust. Wet one end of a hand towel for cleanup and spread out her birthday set: 60 Gallery Artists' Soft Round pastels. Non toxic artist grade pastels. I had a 30 color set of Gallery Artists Hand Rolled pastels to review, so I used those on Canson Mi-Tientes. I think she was using Artagain or some other brand, not Canson. Same general idea though, unsanded pastel paper.
I was awed. Look at that. If I didn't tell you that she was a seven year old girl, would you believe that was a grade school kid's version of an adult pastel demo? Sascha is amazing. She loves painting and drawing, she improves constantly and learns like a fish swims. From recognizably drawing Kiki from "Kiki's Delivery Service" at age two in pink crayon to this, Sascha has consistently shown fantastic art talent.
We relaxed afterwards watching all three episodes of "Walking with Monsters" and one and a half episodes of "Walking with Dinosaurs." I'm going to miss her so much.
Today I managed to sort out a Miscellaneous Tub, finding a lot of cool stuff in it that I'd completely forgotten about because it was unsorted. It was a small but complex one. I gave away some stuff. I sorted out a half empty shoebox sized tub into it along with the pretty wooden box with crystals and polished stones that Kitten gave me and most of my musical instruments - a small wooden recorder and another tin whistle. I have two more that I've got to put into that tub. There's still room for more "Small useful stuff that isn't art materials." That tub will go into a larger box in one of the #1 boxes.
I'm supposed to sort and mark all filled boxes by priority 1 through 5. #5 means "Store till I eventually move to a larger place" ie memorabilia and stuff that I won't be using for years. #1 is "Send it right away! I need it immediately in San Francisco," which will mostly be art supplies. Everything else spreads out in the three middle numbers, so as I send money for more packages they get sent in order of priority.
So we worked out a system. Kitten also helpfully got at my top shelf of the closet and retrieved my ArtBin Tote Express, a lovely piece of double decker wheeled luggage for art supplies. That's what'll go in it, that and some top priority still life items such as my model skull and pair of manikins and the plastic hadrosaur Sascha gave me. That one's special, even though I have a whole set of plastic dinosaurs of my own for sketching from and keep those in the shoebox with my marbles and other still life objects. I think "Rocks from other states I lived in" can go in low priority boxes though. Fossils go priority 1 if they're out.
She also found a very nice wheeled soft sided suitcase almost as large as the Tote Express. I know I have other suitcases up in the back of the closet too. Happily, much of the top shelf of the closet is empty suitcases. I'll have to compare prices on UPS versus checked luggage.
Huge piles of empty boxes from the Jerry's Artarama art supplies to review package. Most of the review items will go in the Tote Express where I can get at them easily to write them up before I go or get at them easily to write them up after I arrive - there's too much to review before the trip unless I start doing daily posts! Wonderful stuff, watch for new articles.
Tomorrow's plan, once the holiday's over: start checking airline prices and routes to get the best deal for me and Ari to go to Carson City, Nevada at the same time with as much luggage as is cost effective to haul. I hope the extra baggage fees are reasonable compared to UPS boxes, since I have quite a lot of suitcases now! Clothes and bedding become padding around precious, valuable art supplies.
I spent five years buying supplies and replacing my old studio, everything I had in New Orleans when I was a full time artist. Now I'm slimming down, eliminating all student grade supplies that I reviewed and sharing them out with my family. If I only have artist grade stuff with me, any pad or paper or paint I grab will be suitable to sell the resulting art. I'll keep the Sakura Koi student grade pocket kits for sketching but that's about it. I don't need $5 sets of kid oil pastels when I have grandkids who'd get a big kick out of them. Or kid paints or anything else like that.
I have been warned by friends on http://www.wetcanvas.com that I should not put soft pastels into checked luggage. No matter how well packed they are, the risk of multicolored powder is too high. So I'm looking into extra carry on luggage for my Dakota Traveller pastels box tomorrow when I go pricing airlines for my flight. It's quite small, it should fit nicely in an overhead compartment. No liquids or pointy things in it, so there shouldn't be any trouble with it going through the scanner.
Laptop, netbook, Kindle, paperback and phone or phones go in the laptop case. What's in it depends on whether I get a new refurb netbook with a Verizon plan or a new refurb iPhone with a Sprint plan, cost of service and deal on a two year plan. That doesn't come out of SSI though, that comes out of the business. Art sales or affiliate checks will pay the bill. Personal phone is getting a refillable card for the phone I own and personal Internet either a refillable pay as you go card or dialup, something like that.
I am beginning to work out the budget for the pretty juggle between "what I live on" and "what's business expenses" for when I am self supporting again. Anything over a very frugal income goes into the business on things that are real necessities, which good Internet definitely is.
It's sinking in that I could be Self Employed again as soon as September. It all depends on what happens when I get my street license, but it looks good. I'm alternately thrilled about it and terrified depending on what the weather's doing.
We almost had a thunderstorm today, so I got squashed by the front for most of the day and lost some of my optimism till the pressure lightened up. My biggest fear right now is the packing itself - can I do it all in time this month? In one month, one that isn't one of my good season months? Summer is sort of middling bad if I stay inside in air conditioning. I might get more done tonight since the pressure cleared up.
Once I get to San Francisco, I'll be able to do a lot more. It'll be autumn chilly all the time, weather is like September through November in the Midwest. That was the best time of year for me when I lived in Illinois or Kansas, in San Francisco that's year round. That's what gives me the deep optimism about becoming a full time street artist, combined with year round tourism. I went down to summer weather in the third year I did it because I was living without air conditioning to save money, as stupid as living without heat in a Chicago winter.
Tomorrow: Airline and Internet/Phone Plan Shopping. Should be fun getting wooed by sales people.