End of April Musings

Just thought I'd type up some thoughts for the end of April/beginning of May. Looking back over my previous entries on this site, and comparing them with other blogs that I frequent, I've noticed some things missing. Basically, my posts need to be more of a window into what I'm thinking and feeling, not so straightforward and business-like. Also, I've noticed that many blogs post more frequently (some MUCH more frequently), and this builds up a stronger following, and communicates the writer's message more clearly.

So, I've decided that I need to "step it up," by posting more frequent, more interesting entries. Not just what piece I'm currently working on, but to give my readers a better and more interesting look at what is going on not just with me, but with the world around me. Not just art-related things, but any interesting thoughts and ideas.

Along those lines, here's some things that are going on with me:

Friday, May 21st is Bike to Work Day. I'm going to (attempt to) participate in this. Anybody else planning on it? For the past few weeks, I've been training by biking around our neighborhood, to build up stamina and speed on my bike. The outside circle of our neighborhood is just about 2 miles, according to Google Maps. So far, I've gotten up to 2 miles around in the morning, and 2 miles around in the evening. I'll eventually move this up to 4 miles in the morning, and 4 miles in the evening, since my planned bike route to work is around 13 miles! I'm planning on taking the Monon and the Central Canal Towpath all the way from the Northside of Indy to downtown. Wish me luck!

Our garden at home is coming along nicely, the tomato plants have just about tripled in size over the past few weeks, and the pea plants, green pepper, and banana pepper plants are holding their own. We've been vigorously doing lawn maintenance, and the landscaping at the house is coming along nicely. I think it's about time to hack down the Forsythia's a bit.


The Spring semester at IUPUI is just about over, so I'll have a two day break before Summer semester starts. I've decided that the ES office I work in during the day needs some "sprucing up," and am planning to paint a piece specifically for my office! Since it is an interior office, with no windows, I'm going to go for something that is a landscape/nature scene. I think that this will be an improvement to the drab office decor, as well as serve as a great opportunity to show off my work to visitors.

Along those lines, I've also joined a few art forums, to get more ideas and communicate with my fellow artists, as well as monitoring ArtCalendar and ArtShow for opportunities.

Being an artist really does require more dedication and devotion than many people, especially new art school grads, realize at first. I've been reading Caroll Michels "How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul", and taking extensive notes, I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a little artistic motivation. I'll be updating my website, listing new items in my Etsy store and my print shop, as soon as I get some decent photos uploaded.

I've got a few friends who will be graduating from Herron shortly, and hope that they will stay motivated to keep making art, even outside of the artistic academic environment. Keep up the art work!