New Drawing

I love my jobs, but unfortunately, they leave me very little time to write or draw. Sometimes I get a little downtime at one of my jobs, and that’s usually when I get some drawing done.

So, one amazing perk to working at a craft store is the employee discount. I’m able to buy art supplies that I’ve never been able to afford before. I started my own little collection of Copic markers. I had never tried Copic markers before working for the craft store. They were just so far out of reach, but now I can’t live without them! I don’t have many yet. I just buy a marker or two when I get paid or wait for them to go on sale. (My discount works on sale items, too!)

This is a drawing I did a few weeks ago — my first with Copic markers. I used a couple of Sharpies and colored pencils as well.

I really do miss having more time to write and draw. 🙁

Essay on Paint Chip Poetry

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a peaceful weekend!

Last week, an essay I wrote a few months ago was published. It is about my experience with National Poetry Writing Month, which happened to be right around the time of my knee surgery. I explain how the game “Paint Chip Poetry” kept my writing practice on track during my recovery downtime. You can check it out here.

Thank you for your support! 🙂

Anyone want to caption this picture?

Check out the van I was stuck behind at a red light. Yikes! Sorry for the raindrops on the windshield.

I’m sorry for the lack of posts, but I’m still alive and kicking! I’ve just been busy at work and with art shows.

We have a diversity and inclusion consultant working with us at one of my jobs, and I complained about the office woo. I’ll have an update soon.

New Art Show

I am sick. I started not feeling well at work last night but powered through my shift anyway. Standing at a cash register for several hours is no joke. By the time I got home, everything hurt. So I’m taking it easy today and lounging around the house. Luckily, I have the day off, and my husband is taking very good care of me. 🙂

I’m in a new art show called Rebellion, and you can check it out here.

I’m going back to bed. Thank you for your support.

I miss excitement and adventure.

When I was younger, I got the opportunity to travel. My family had the means to take vacations and I even studied abroad. I spent a year in Denmark which was life-changing and shaped who I am today.

While my husband and I have never had a lot of money, we used to take a lot of road trips, mostly before we became parents. We would travel to art shows and gaming conventions (my husband is a huge D&D nerd), but sometimes we were spontaneous; we would just take off. 

I really miss that.

My husband and I work really hard, but vacations are just not financially feasible right now. We like exploring parks in the area and local events – Toledo actually has a lot to offer – but I just want to see someplace different. I want to get on the road with no real destination. I want to buy toothbrushes at the gas station because this trip wasn’t planned.

When I ship artwork to shows, I spend a lot of time thinking about the location to which I’m sending it. Oh, how I would love to go to every opening and explore a new area!

I’m an anxious person, dependent on routines and a creature of habit, but lately, I just wish I had more excitement and adventure in my life. Have you ever felt that way?

I have hope. I believe my family’s financial situation will improve. I would love to travel with my daughter. She hasn’t had many chances to experience that, and that makes me sad. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of traveling. 

I can only hope that one day my daughter gets her own “year in Denmark.”

So let’s daydream together! Where would you like to travel to? Or tell me about an interesting place you have been.

Update – Sorry for the Silence

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I have been working my butt off! I love my jobs but I’ve been working every day and have no idea when I’ll get a day off. I like staying busy but I don’t know if I’m spending enough time with my family.

Despite the lack of downtime, I know I have to do this right now to help my family get back on track financially. We need relief.

Also, even though I haven’t been drawing much the last couple of weeks, I got into a couple more art shows. I will post more info as they open.

As always, thank you for your support. I miss you guys!

More Art Shows!!

Tears and Smiles 2024 opened yesterday. You can check out the show here. I was really impressed with the other artists. It’s probably one of the coolest shows I’ve been in so far.

I also found out Friday that I have been selected for an online solo show. More details to come!

I would write more but I am so tired! This week was so busy! I finally started my second job at the arts and crafts store. My back aches, my feet ache, but believe it or not, my knee hasn’t bothered me at all!

Faith poster at work – the saga continues. I finally spoke up!

Work has been strange this week. It’s been busy, and I’m a little stressed and emotional.

On Monday, my supervisor asked me to take a survey online. I had no idea what it was about, but to my surprise, it was about diversity in our workplace. Religion was mentioned several times in the survey, and I was brutally honest.

I finished the survey and broke into tears. My boss asked me what was wrong, and I didn’t hold back. I told her I felt ostracized, and I complained about the faith poster in the mailroom as well as our organization’s obsession with Chic-fil-A. 

When it came to the poster, my boss and I agreed that it is okay to have a religious poster in your cubicle, where you can see it, but placing a religious poster in the mailroom where everyone can see it is inappropriate. I felt empowered and validated.

However, the poster was still there when I came to work this morning. No one was around, so I took it down myself. It felt like an amazing release. I told my boss I did it. She didn’t seem upset, but she did ask me if anyone saw me. I said, “Nope.”

Turns out the survey was done by a third party, and my organization hired a diversity professional to help us out with our workplace environment. There are going to be focus groups and training in the near future.

The comments. The Bible quotes. So much happens at work that makes me uncomfortable, but could change be on the horizon? Are improvements possible? For once, I’m hopeful.

Maybe this was a breakthrough, and I’m finally finding my voice.

This experience inspired my art today, and I made this mask at work.

Some people I just can’t be mad at. How would you respond?

A coworker quoted the bible to me a few days ago. We were having a very vague conversation about politics and I admitted to her that I don’t feel like a democrat or a republican. I just don’t fit with either. (If you’re curious, I tend to be very progressive and wish we didn’t have a two-party system. We need better choices! I didn’t tell her that though.) She agreed with not fitting in and said a bible quote about unity, and while I agreed with the quote, I really don’t think it should be said at work. Guys, she even said, “god sayeth…”. This is a common occurrence at work, and it often enrages me. However, this coworker really is the sweetest lady. She’s very short and very pregnant right now. She’s just an adorable little meatball. She wasn’t pushy about the bible quote, and it made sense with what we were talking about, so I said nothing. I know this shouldn’t be happening at work. We probably shouldn’t have discussed politics even though it was very vague.

I know nothing will change if I don’t open my mouth, but I just can’t be mad at her. Guys, what if she was the one who hung up the faith poster?

Have you ever had that happen? When you want to be offended by someone saying inappropriate things, but at the same time it feels harmless? Maybe it was harmless, but at the same time, it reminded me of how out of place I feel at the office sometimes. I love my job, but I’m definitely uncomfortable around my coworkers at times. It shouldn’t happen, but it does.

Would you have said anything?

Art Shows!

I was in an art contest and the results were posted today. You can check out the show here. The show received 949 submissions and I am absolutely honored to receive special recognition.

I’ve been a little bummed because the same two pieces of mine keep getting accepted into shows. I was losing a little confidence and thinking I was never going to get any better. But I got into a show called Tears and Smiles, and I am so excited that one of my weirder pieces that’s never been in a show before was accepted! It opens on the 12th and I will post the link once it’s up.

Thanks for your support! 🙂