Giving props

Yesterday I was having sort of a "blah" day - you know those days, when you're not really down, but not really excited about doing anything?  Yeah, one of those days.  I actually had to write myself a "pep talk" note to try and get out of my blahness.  My state of mind was mainly caused by a lack of motivation as far as my work is considered.  Being a freelance artist (or a freelance anything!) is wonderful, and I love that I get to make art all day long.  But unlike a 9-5 office job, where you know what you have to do and just do it, it's different with a job where your creativity is in control.  Sometimes your head blocks out the creative process and gets in the way of just, well, creating.  That's when the "blahness" sets in.

But something happened yesterday that turned my day completely around.  About 3:15 or so, I was taking a break (a euphemism for checking my Flickr, Facebook, Blogger and Etsy sites) and went to my Flickr page to check my stats.  In the stats, Flickr lists the main referrers to your photostream; most of my photo views come from other Flickr members, but sometimes an odd one sneaks in.  And that's when I saw it.

I noticed that one of the referrers was the New Yorker blog - as in the "New Yorker" magazine.  I wondered how in the world someone could get from there to my Flickr page, seeing as how I never went on that site before.  So I followed the link, and lo and behold......

The New Yorker used one of my ATCs on their site!!!  I was completely flabbergasted.  It took me a minute for it to register that I was seeing my work on a national site, and work that the author picked, not something I submitted!  Like my sister said when I told her - out of all of the photos she could've used about telephone directories (read the article - it's fun), she picked my artwork.  What are the odds of that?!?

So that is what this blog entry is about - giving props to the following bloggers/websites/authors who have given me massive support over the past month and a half.  I don't know if it's coincidence or fate, but the mentions on websites and blogs started coming in right around the time I made the decision to become a full-time artist.  And I'm sure these lovely people have no idea how much of a difference they've made as far as how I feel about my decision - heck, with a few exceptions most of these people didn't even know of my career change!

So without further ado, allow me to list the people who made me realize that I didn't make a foolish career move:

Pam Kueber at Retro Renovation - back in January, Pam contacted me to do some work for her super cool site.  As a result, you will see one of my "retro" collages every month throughout 2010!  She is the main reason I chose to leave my desk job.  Thank you, Pam, for helping instill that extra "oomph" of confidence I needed to make my career dream a reality.

D'Ette Cole at W5RAn.com - last November, my Flickr contact Viv Strauss told me about this great site.  I contacted D'Ette and she asked me if she could use my artwork for her site.  I of course said YES!  Have a stroll around the site - you could get lost for hours.  Thank you, D'Ette, for introducing me to your very cool collaborative magazine!

Gillian Allen at art e-zine.co.uk - about three weeks ago, I got a Flickrmail (e-mail on Flickr) from Gillian Allen, who had seen my ATCs and wanted to feature them on her site.  Again, how could I refuse this?!  What she did for me was amazing - not only did she feature about 20 of my cards, but she put up links to this blog and my Etsy shop!  Gillian, thank you for your amazing generosity!

Carolyn Brady, on behalf of Ronna Mogelon at ATC Quarterly - in the Summer 2010 issue of ATC Quarterly (I think), our Milwaukee trading card group will be featured.  This is exciting news but not surprising, considering that Carolyn has been our tireless leader of the group for almost three years and we're getting quite a reputation as being a very organized, thriving and fun group.  So imagine my excitement when Carolyn and Ronna chose one of my cards to be featured in the article!  Thank you, both of you, for being so supportive of my work!

Deirdre Foley-Mendelssohn at The New Yorker - it was only yesterday that I was made aware of the usage of one of my ATCs on this site, but it totally got me out of my funk.  I wrote Ms. Foley-Mendelssohn an e-mail, thanking her for using my work, and she wrote me a lovely note back.  How fun is that?!  I have to admit, it totally made my day.  Thank you so much, Deirdre!

Last, but not even remotely least, I would be remiss if I didn't thank all of my family and friends who have made my career choice so much easier - my wonderful husband Brian, my sister Jen and her amazing family, my awesome mom, and my incredibly supportive network of friends.  I couldn't have done any of this without you cheering me on.  Thank YOU from the bottom of my heart.

P.S.  Those of you who regularly follow this blog know that I try to not make this site all about ME, but rather just talk about ideas or current events.  So thanks a million for allowing me to break from the norm and be a little self-indulgent the last couple of days.  :D

Part of the Team

I can't wait for next Tuesday! We're in the middle of our big move - our newspaper office is closing its downtown building and we're moving into newer digs with the local shopper across town. All of the entities involved are owned by Gannett, so it only makes sense. But for so long we were considered "separate but equal" (not quite true, since the Shopper and the print facility are our money-makers. They had better stuff than we did).

And because we were separate, it was 'us' and 'them'. I think we always fancied ourselves way more fun. We are definitely louder, without a doubt. And now that we're all together (although I don't technically move over until next week), I think we all feel differently about each other. Like now, we're all in this together. We're a team. We're one big happy, dysfunctional family.

And looking back at other jobs I've had in the past, I've felt part of the team at nearly every place I've worked. The first "real" job I ever had was at WBAY-TV, Channel 2 in Green Bay, where I met some of my oldest and dearest friends. In fact, at one point we all lived in the same house, on East Mason Street. Don't tell my mom, but one of us dubbed it, "The Home for Wayward Boys". EEP! Sad but true.

After 2 years, I got a job at WFRV Channel 5, where I met MORE of my oldest and dearest friends, and my first husband Dan. Now these years were truly horrible in terms of the work, at least for me. They put us part-timers on the split shifts, so there were many stretches where we'd work 4 different shifts each day, our day beginning at 5:30 a.m. and ending at 11:00 p.m. But the hours between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. were all ours, and we definitely made the most of them! Nineteen Ninety-Two was a year in particular that I will forever cherish. Those were some of the best days of my life!

But because of the horrible work conditions, I eventually moved on. I did some temp work for a couple months but eventually landed a job at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. I met even MORE of my great friends there. I was there for three and a half years, and it was my favorite place I ever worked. My first husby got transferred to Fond du Lac so we moved here, and I was heartbroken. For a while I'd just take trips up to visit my work friends, but after a while you have to stop doing that because you realize that, although they're happy to see you, they have moved on and the world didn't end because you stopped working there (although, to their wonderful credit, they made my feel like it would at my going-away party).

I've had quite a few jobs in Fond du Lac, but none compare to the job I currently hold. And it's all because of the people, both at the Reporter and now including my extended 'family'. I'll be working somewhere again where it's loud. And fun. And exciting. And I hope, Lord willing, to be there for a long time. If that's not in the cards, I've made even more life-long friends, and that's worth everything.