In case you missed the news, we are moving! We are leaving Milwaukee behind and settling ourselves in a small town just north of here.
Life will be different.
Instead of drunk college students passed out in our front yard, we will have trees and a creek and a barn. Our neighbors will be wild turkey, bears, foxes, deer.
I'm going to take some time to nest and set up a new studio and write up a new business plan. I'll be posting here periodically with progress and some snaps of the new place. I hope you will check back in from time to time as I begin this new chapter. I am so excited to begin again, and the plans for what lies ahead are BIG and BEAUTIFUL and what dreams are made of.
If I can take away one thing from the journey thus far, it is this - waiting around for life to happen will mean a life of waiting. I know that I want to spend my time doing instead of thinking about doing.
I'm putting the finishing touches on the 2013 Calendar, and I want to share the new drawings with you, one at a time.
HEY CALIFORNIA! I'm heading to L.A. at the end of the month to be in the Renegade Craft Fair. I would love to meet you there.
She looks more like a little kid, less like a baby lately. She likes to carry things around the house, sometimes her babydoll and sometimes a napkin, both equally valued.
I have been very quiet on the blog lately, and that's because who has time for blogging when there is work to be done? (not that blogging isn't work, I mean that it isn't my work.)
Coming Soon:
new cards, tea towels and -the big news- silk scarves! Maybe. If I like them. I'll know next week. It's a work in progress.
Slowly but surely I am getting back into work and have a few new things up my sleeve. Here is a little peek at a new set of cards that will be available very soon.
The little fish you see is part of a new NEW project wherein I am breaking away from the botanical theme and trying some new stuff. I am pretty excited about the future of my stationary line and can't wait to get more time to work.
I am fantasizing about a new studio space that is larger and has a small table for Ava to work at when she's older. I had a lot of encouragement throughout my life to develop as an artist, and I am so excited to find out what it is she will want for herself. If it isn't art or music or programming, we will all have something new to learn...
A few people have asked what my plans for the nursery are. I'm not into the fantasy baby room idea for two reasons: 1. Tom and I have to spend time in that room so we should like the look of it, and 2. Babies don't know the difference. Do you remember anything from when you were in a crib? Me, either. So the room will have baby things but really it's just another room in a house inhabited by adults.
The walls are already a nice warm dark grey that we both love, so that will remain as is (I'll locate the color name - it's by Benjamin Moore). I was at first trying to shun the pink theme, mostly because I don't know about the whole girl=pink boy=blue idea, but it turns out that I like hot pinks and peachy pinks a lot, especially with grey. I'm choosing things for the room that are not so much "baby" as "kid", meaning that these are things that will grow with her. I'm sure there will be plenty of baby things mixed in here, but I can see all this stuff in a little girl's and even an older girl's room too.
The funny thing is that we plan to have her in our room for the first few months at least anyway, but designing this room is just plain fun. In another week I will be able to start pulling it together - can't wait!
hi guys.
I wish I had a good post today, but the truth is I am too swamped with deadlines to put anything together. I haven't even taken any photos in weeks! This is all good though - I am working on the giant paper cuts and want to have those out the door in less than two weeks. I will try to take some pics, but the room I am working in is awfully dark so it's not looking good.
I am also working at my regular job designing websites and such, and between that and growing a baby, I am beat.
ALSO there's the 2011 Calendar! Yikes. You might not hear from me in a while, friends....
I love this project from Purl Bee. Adding this to my list of things to do in the next 4 months, which is quite a long list, possibly the longest to-do I have ever undertaken. If you don't see me for a while, that's why. I have to clean out every nook and cranny of our house and rid myself of things we don't need. I have to de-clutter our lives so that we have room to play on the floor and to adjust our clocks to the clock of a new human. I have to ready us for an event that will change everything, already has changed everything. I have to make room for baby.
I started yesterday by attempting to clear out the guest room. This was a silly practice of pulling all the large things out of the room, only to place them in the hallway with nowhere to go. Sorry, chair. Your time here is up. Sorry, lamp. Your shape does not work for us anymore. Sorry rug. Your colors are not right for this baby.
Once most of it was out, I began to lose my mind because now? Now all this stuff was taking over our living room and dining room and then the crib arrived. Oh hello crib. I am itching to get the crib set up and really get this nursery in order, but. BUT.
It turns out that the other giant item on my to-do list is also the largest piece of art I have ever attempted, and the only wall in our house that will accommodate its largeness is the wall in the guest room. The wall where the crib belongs. The work I will be doing is a commission, due in the next 6 weeks, and its dimensions are such that our little house can almost not contain it. Except this one wall.
So, the crib will have to wait, and the house will be in disarray, and last night I dreamed that all my hair was grey. This is not to say that I am sad or even frustrated - not at all. I am freaking exuberant over here. Glowing. Skipping. Because yesterday we learned that in 4.5 months, that crib will hold our baby girl.
Help.
The annual Art vs Craft event is at the end of November, at which time I will be large and in charge at almost 8 months pregnant. I love this event, and I always do well at with sales, etc. However, it's typically really warm and crowded and kind of crazy, which normally I enjoy. But being that this is my first baby, I have no idea how I will feel by then.
So....this question goes out to all the crafty mommas out there - should I go for it anyway? Applications will be up next month with a deposit, and I just don't know if I should let it pass this year or not.
I would love to hear your thoughts...
Just a few snapshots of summer so far - long walks by the lake, boat ride through downtown Milwaukee, farmer's market, Summerfest (just barely survived), tubing on the Wisconsin River.
Yesterday I spent a large part of the day cleaning out my studio, thinking I would make more room for storage and get rid of unnecessary clutter. I got rid of ONE grocery bag of stuff, a few books, and an extra sewing machine. That's it. I did uncover a whole pile of one-off prints that will slowly make their way to etsy though. They are a mix of test prints and layered trials from all of the Goccos combined. Time for an art rummage sale!
hoping this image is of the larger size and that my coding edits worked...
* yes! Here's a secret: when you want to make a change, you will have a higher rate of success by actually TRYING some solutions than thinking about how to find solutions for six months. Yer welcome.*
I'm not sure what this orchid is called, but we have had it for a few years, and this year it finally bloomed again. I never noticed the bird before though, and I have to say it took my breath away when I began to photograph it. I didn't see it until I looked through the lens - I guess I just needed a new perspective.
(UN)SUBCONSCIOUS
I've been having a lot of crazy dreams lately - lucid, epic, startling dreams. I often wake up with confusion over what my brain just put together, but the overwhelming feeling is fascination. Dreams. I have always been intrigued by the unconscious mind and the puzzles it presents or solves. During this pregnancy though, I have been spending my nights protecting Oprah from a stalker, having elicit affairs with the man who in reality is sleeping right next to me, giving birth to a Chinese baby who suddenly becomes a 9-year old as soon as I turn my back - those are the tame dreams though. I have already washed away the others with my morning shower.
SPEAKING OF DREAMS
I am finally taking steps to make my little business a real venture. I want to get things rolling now, before the baby comes, in the hope that the momentum will keep moving forward. I have a lot of inspiration and solid plans, and I think the next step to make it a reality is to register my business name. Can you help me out? Should I choose:
marso marso handmade marso design marso home
I am stepping away from "amy marcella" and going with a combination of my middle and last name "marcella soczka". I think this short and sweet version will carry over to a full product line eventually, what do you think?
Sources tell me that in a few weeks, I will be back on this site on a regular basis, sharing my works and random ideas with you again! I'm pretty excited and have a few new things lined up - I will keep y'all posted. In the meantime, enjoy the beginnings of spring and the glory that is the sun being up past 6pm. What's old is new again! (who said that originally? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?)
It appears I have let my shop go quiet over at etsy. I am figuring out how to work full time and do this too, and I have to admit - it isn't the easiest thing to split in half like that. The good news is that I am still working on my own things and have some juicy projects on the horizon that I am very excited about. I find the challenge is in updating this blog and staying in touch with you all. I appreciate your patience with this process, and assure you (and myself) that things will even out again soon.
I miss it. One thing is for certain - I know exactly what I want to do with my work now more than ever. Taking a step back made me feel the pain of separation from the work, my self, and my need to make things. I'll be back!
if you checked in earlier, you may have seen a long-winded year end wrap-up in which I reflect on not reflecting, etc. I deleted it. Too boring, and it was more negative than I feel so I just wiped it out. Magic!
Art V Craft was awesome! Thanks to everyone who came out and to Sherie for helping me all day. My face is sore from all the smiling.
OOPS
It has come to my attention that the month of October was missing from a few calendars that were purchased at Art v Craft. If yours is missing, please email me (amy.soczka@gmail.com) and I will send it out to you right away. I am so sorry for that inconvenience!
NEW LIFE
Tomorrow I will start working full time for the first time in almost two years. What!? Yes, it's true, I am a working girl. I am going to wear shoes every day from 8 - 5 and interact with other professionals and not sing to my dog or go to the gym in the middle of the day. Wish me luck.
guys. I don't know what happened, but it's Thursday again and my head is spinning. This is GOOD though! I have had a huge response to the calendars, and getting them printed, packaged, and shipped has been my top priority. Things are a-changin' around here:
1. I am now employed full-time by a large company and will start this job the Monday following Thanksgiving. Oh my gosh. This means that I will have a regular person's schedule during the week, which also means less time to play here and in my studio. I'm a little sad about that but more happy to have consistent work.
2. I am hosting Thanksgiving for my whole family here in my house for the first time.
3. I am turning 31 this Saturday. I am trying not to care that it's my birthday, but a part of me will always be a little kid, making wishes and blowing out candles.
4. Art vs Craft! November 28th!
I will not be adding new things to etsy until after Art vs Craft - I need to keep the stockpile high!
Wow, I should really not blog when I'm angry. Noted.
Things are all better now, and I am sending out batches of calendars every day. They look very nice, all stacked and wrapped, and properly cut. Big sigh of relief.
LEATHER I am hoping to start posting my leather clutches to etsy this week too, but first I have to cross about 7 other things off my list. Feels good.
I am so pleased with the calendar orders! I am working hard to get these all printed and out the door this week. I would be well on my way through half of the orders today if not for an unfortunate incident at the DigiCopy. I print the calendars myself, (which I will NOT be doing next year)but I take them to DigiCopy to get cut very cleanly and quickly. I went to a new location yesterday, with 30 calendars all printed and lovely and me full of joy over having so many ready to go.
(insert a long string of curse words here and also steam coming out of my ears, and yes, maybe a few tears.)
I watched as a the young lady stacked my work in the cutter and carelessly turned it on without clamping them down properly. I silently screamed when she looked around for her manager before bringing the ENTIRE STACK over to me saying "You didn't center this right. I cut it on the line you drew, but they are all messed up."
(omfg)
They were centered perfectly, I have had them cut before and they are always great. Half of them were salvageable and look fine, but honestly? I am so mad still. I know these things happen, but now my customers are going to have to wait another week and I have to order new supplies and spend the time re-printing all these calendars. And then to find a new place to get them cut!
Argh.
So, if you ordered a calendar please know that my top priority this week is to get them printed and shipped in the next week. I love what I do so much, so to see it get messed up in the blink of an eye is so upsetting. But really, these things happen. The only thing to do is to roll up my sleeves and get back to printing. First, some laughter therepy:
