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Housekeeping Time!
It's not spring yet, but it's time for a little bit of housekeeping! I've been going through all sorts of paper and old clothing, and have a car full of items to drop at my local charity. There's something uplifting about busting clutter and parting with old scraps. So in the spirit of (very early) spring cleaning, it's time for some Internet housekeeping to catch you lovely readers up on what's going on!
Commissions
Unfortunately, commissions are still closed until further notice. I took a lot of commissions over the fall and summer and have not been able to deliver on all of them yet. Part of this was poor time management on my part, part of it was being surprised with larger projects, and the biggest issue was changing jobs. Now that I have a position with a fairly set schedule, it's a lot easier to find an hour or two every couple of days to work on art!
Don't expect commissions to open again until spring at the earliest. I want to deliver on the workload I have now and have time to make new products for the convention season!
Videos
I do want to go back to creating videos, but it will have to hold off for a while longer. I'm currently deciding what kind of content I would like to make for formal videos, and I'm also contemplating live streaming! Once again, expect more news about that in the spring as I work out some details!
Major Projects
I have several major projects I'm working on these next couple of months. One involves some official convention art, and the other is a board game! I've also been asked to create some art for my day job and commissioned by an author to help work on a book of poetry. Hopefully another zine or two will accept my portfolio, too!
Conventions
The real reason you're reading this post! Unless something strange happens, I plan on doing less conventions this year than the year prior. It's odd for me to take a step back, but, for my health, I feel like it's necessary. I won't be kicking off my convention season until the end of May, but I hope that buys me enough time to make it a fantastic table! Here's a list of conventions I'm confirmed for so far:
Anime Oasis, May 25 - 28, Boise, Idaho, Artist Alley
Wizard World Comic Con, July 13-15, Boise, Idaho, Artist Alley
Gem State Gaming Convention, July 20-22, Boise, Idaho, Guest.
Snake River Fandom Convention, September 27-29, Pocatello, Idaho, Guest.
Vision
As I've discussed in the past, a huge part of changing my studio name came from a disconnect between "Milkcannon Charms" and my vision. I still didn't entirely know what that vision was when I finally changed to Spice & Rose, but I feel like I have a stronger grasp on that now. The advantage to taking a break is having the time to sift through the dirt.
Aesthetically, I want to push my art in different areas. No matter what I draw, I want it to be cute and cozy (rose) or dynamic and bright (spice). I plan on bringing more fandoms to the table, as well as D&D inspired goods. I'm talking stickers and custom character sheets. I had an issue for years where I just made what was popular, or a convention's focus. I ended up with an excessive amount of League of Legends and My Little Pony prints. Both of these franchises have a tooooooon of characters and, of course, everyone wanted multiple styles of their favorite. Which, don't get me wrong, is fantastic, but it meant that I couldn't create works for other fandoms and foolishly believed I couldn't work on original designs. Expect all that to change!
In the spirit of helping fellow artists, I also want to develop my own planner pages. These pages could either be practice spaces, creative prompts, or simply trackers for growth and income. I'm still deciding how I want to approach those pages and how it would be best to offer them. Don't be surprised if some pages become Patreon-exclusives!
Finally, I want to branch my art into different platforms. Money is restricting, but I still dream of offering shirts, bags, washi tape, and enamel pins online and at my booth. Hopefully, I'll be able to realize some of that vision this year!
And there you have, a quick little look at what's coming down the trail these next few months. What are you more excited to hear about? What's going on in your own life? Let me know in the comments!
