So I know I'm a few months behind, but happy 2012 everyone! This year has been off to a great start, and I'm hoping that it's a sign of great things to come. I figured it was time for an update, so thanks for hanging in there with me!
First, things on the Mommy front are good. My son is 5 months old and is growing like the most beautiful flower I've ever seen...
He's rolling over on his belly, laughing and smiling, holding things pretty well, and is starting to understand the oh-so-intricate game of Peekaboo. I'm proud to say that he's 100% healthy and right at the level he's supposed to be development-wise. I thank God every day for blessing me with my little angel. I have to say, being a mother is both the most challenging thing I've ever experienced. It's crazy to have such a tiny little creature be so dependent on you, seeing him grow and change every day, making sure his needs are met, etc. At the same time, being a mother is the most inspiring thing I've ever experienced. I want to be able to give him the best, be there for him in every possible way, and artistically, he's revived my creativity in ways I've never thought possible. Children's art has never totally been my "thing." Pin up art greatly inspires my work, and I enjoy illustrating work where sexuality is tastefully implied. But since having my son, I want to be able to create things that he and other kids can enjoy in their childhood. Above all though, he's given me twice the motivation to accomplish my dream of being a full time freelancer, so it can enable me to be a stay at home mom.
So with that said, I've been approaching building my business with an even more aggressive manner. First off, I've thankfully reduced my hours at my day job. Working less hours there helps me in so many different ways, but the main thing is that I'm able to get home earlier and be Mommy and tend to my little nugget until he goes to sleep earlier. After that, I can put on my business cap and put more hours into building my business.
Second, I'm expanding my marketing efforts. Over the past few months, I've been advertising and searching for jobs mainly on Craigslist, and I've actually landed some great clients and jobs there. But obviously to build my workload, I have to go beyond the internet. So I've decided to go the postcard route as well as advertising online. So I went out and purchased a PO Box, and created a new illustration to put on the postcards...
This is called "Closer to My Dreams," inspired by the Goapele song. It's totally inspirational and a great mantra for anyone trying to reach their life goals. So this was the perfect image to send out to different companies to advertise myself. I ordered a box of postcards with my info on them, and I've compiled a mailing list to send them out to. I'm confident it will bring in some more business. I've also ordered more business cards to carry with me.
Next, I've been attempting to organize my schedule a bit better. While I'm at the day job, I write down everything I need to do for the week.
Finally, I've been sketching new ideas and brainstorming different ways to make money. I have a great new idea for a new painting series, and my goal is to paint enough to sell on the street, preferably in Union Square. Then there's eBay and Etsy of course, both of which I'm still trying to learn to navigate. My website could use an update, so I'm working on some new work to upload to it. Best of all, I broke down and finally bought myself a MacBook Pro and a new printer/scanner/copier. My old Mac (my iBook, I should say) was a seven year old dinosaur that's been on life support for at least three of those years. Now with this new equipment, as well as a slew of new art supplies, I feel even more confident to move forward with my career.
So that's it for now. I'm still trying to find a balance, but every day gets a little bit easier. My son is my motivation, not only to be able to be home with him, but to show him that with enough hard work and motivation, you can be anything you set your mind to be.
