We shall start as always with the sale going on over at Society 6. Plus, there are two new pieces up and ready to find their new homes on a ton of different products. The link is taking you straight to Canvas Prints but with a few clicks of the mouse you can see the the pieces on all the products! There were more than two done, but we'll get to that in just a second. The sale is a good one...it does exclude furniture, but there is new product in the form of Yoga mats. Not sure if they are up and ready to purchase, but I did put both new pieces on the new product. Didn't get an email, so on uploading it was a surprise to me.
Okay...in arty art news...I did a lot of art, but not as much as I wanted to do. Such is life. More on what I did do in a bit. I am still enchanted by mandala's but I'm trying to mix them in with some abstract. I do plan on going back to surreal and graphic design. My noggin is not lacking ideas...I know where some of them were inspired by! More on that in a bit. There's going to be a lot of that. I should have done the Chapters format I did last blog of the year...and maybe that will become a thing. Right now, I'm just kind of dusting myself off, getting the rust off and jumping in. I'll figure out what I want to do when I get settled in and nice and cozy.
The vacation was well needed and it was filled with the unexpected, good and bad. Plague and an injury was the bad...still not sure if I'm still fighting the plague off or not. Could be the weather...where I am it has been quite a roller coaster ride. The injury was so ridiculous...I was warming up when my hamstring decided to seize up and not let go. Can I just say, "YEOUCH!!!"? I was okay in two days, but I am still feeling twinges. I'm not kicking it up to 5th gear, but I can do 4th gear without issues. I really am noticing that it's no longer a want to workout but a NEED to workout. It helps on so many levels.
The holidays, are really not holidays, here. The hubby has to be at work at somebody better be dead o'clock in the morning on Boxing Day. The day of Dad was not on Xmas, but on the 27th as per usual. We all discussed it, and all agreed that it would be the best overall. On my break, I found not just Don't Starve's Hamlet, but 2 other games as well! Damn Steam winter sale!! I'm a gamer again?! What?! Both are Early Access and one is by the makers of Don't Starve and is just as kitschy and campy and ERMAGERD hard. The other...is in super duper early access and while I'm having fun, I'm also having issues with it. I am not going to give either game away because while playable, I'm not ready to promote them. Maybe the one by Klei, but that would be the extent. Oh I found other games, too! I just didn't get them. I am still wondering how the hell I'm going to be balancing my newly rediscovered game addiction, with art and reading and working out...either way that is why I didn't get as much arting done as I wanted to. Granted, the game by Klei is very inspiring art-wise. The hubby got it as well, so we play together, separately. He makes better bases, I'm just a teeny bit lime green jelly. I'm so addicted that the reading of the books has taken a hit. Yeah, I have been very out of character this vacation.
In other news, then we'll hit the last part, which is so deep you can't touch your feet...at least no one has pissed in the deep, or did they? I didn't, I can say that for sure. The game sessions are returning from the December hiatus. We almost had one yesterday, but we needed a full group and we wouldn't have had one. So this coming Sunday it is! Add a Day of Dad and my week is busy. I want to add to the game a bit, and I'm really looking forward to spending time with my Dad, that's a gimme. Not sure what adventures are in store for us this week...but hopefully it'll be more low key than the last few times. Wow, busy, busy, busy!
Okay the deep stuff...if you're still reading this, I appreciate it. As you all know I've been on a journey to being more mindful and just a better human. When the days are good or even just neutral, they are awesome. Bad mental health days seem to just be earth shattering. I've had a few of those days. Some with reason, some out of the blue. I'm grateful for those bad days...I know you're probably looking at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears...but read (I'd say hear, but there is no audio to the blog) me out. For me, personally, those bad days are horrible and they suck being in them. But (that's a really big but) when I get through them, I am stronger and gain insight and wisdom I didn't have before. I'm so grateful for the hubby that is a bottomless well of wisdom...he has really put things into perspective and kept me from straying off the path I'm taking. It is not an easy path, but nothing in life worth something is easy. You have to fall, because getting back up is where you learn and grow. This goes for anything you do...life, art, love, the universe. Whatever it is...I am so grateful for taking this path and I don't want to close off where I'm going to you. I have changed a lot, and I'm sure my art will start reflecting it. I will still be doing dark, twisted, creepy, cute art...but I think there will be more, too. I'm not a one trick pony.
The resolutions that aren't resolutions because when, as humans, we set them, we set the bar way too high. Basically, we set them up to fail. I'm setting more attainable goals, in all aspects of life. I am going to start tidying up more instead of doing one big overwhelming binge clean weekly. I am still planning on being more mindful and aware of my feels and my reactions. I plan on exploring different avenues of art, and attempting to merge different genre's together...not a new resolution there. My main goal is to find balance to be able to do all the things I love to do, which I think will be the hardest to accomplish. Oh, I'm planning on being more active on Instagram. That one, I'm not sure how will pan out. I wish you could do it over the PC, like you can with Twitter and Facebook. I will be taking vacations and breaks from here to recharge and not suffer crazy burnout. I was burnt to a crisp last year, when I decided to take a vacation. There will be more of those, I have realized that I do need to unplug from time to time. I confess, it was exciting to come back, but very hard in the same way. Again, the balance thing.
On the final note, I swear I'm almost done minions. The real vs. illusion that I've been seeing on social media sites. I see it ALL the time...over filtered pictures, selfies, and all the rest of the pictures. I see through the illusion...that everyone is pretending to be at their very best. I get it, the internet is forever and you want to look your very best. I'm guilty of it, not editing so much as just trying to get a good shot, I am NOT photogenic. I am planning on doing another profile picture update. They are never filtered, that I'm aware of...damn smart phones are smarter than me, in some cases. I try and be as real as I am comfortable with. I don't go into details about my life, because the hubby and I are private people in very public careers. Weird, but we hold on to the privacy we do have. That will not change. What will change is the illusion of me being at my best every single post. I may not share the details, but I will share that it's not a good day, or it's a great day. Know that it's my truth. Today, so far, has been neutral with a bit of apprehension about getting back to blogging and updating. It is also exciting to be back on the same thread. I know I will not be putting in the insane hours every single week this year. I was putting in 50+ hours a week on art and the stuff that goes with being in the business of art. The Monday's will be here...with the blog, unless I'm on vacation....I'm not giving up, I'm being mindful and smart about taking care of myself. Sounds selfish, but I'd rather give you a healthy me, rather than a frazzled, burnt out me. Although, the frazzled burnout me is rather amusing. There will still be sleep deprived blogs, and fun, laughs...shenanigans'. I promise.
On that note, dear minions, I do apologize for the eye strain. Remember to check out the new art on Society 6. Take advantage of a really good sale that's going on. Until next Monday, be well and be human.