Grape Fest

Grape Fest. What can I say about Grape Fest? As it turns out, not a whole lot; we were pretty dead. On the bright side, I was working at a wine tasting room two blocks from a wine festival all week. There was great music, crafts, art, food, and WINE. Main street in Grapevine is really cool without these things, but add them, a few hundred drunk people and MAN- talk about a recipe for a good time.

We ran a special on seven glasses this week. A cab, tempranillo, port, viognier, house sangria, dry rose, and a white table blend along with a special on mimosas. We always have the best patio in town, and our musicians rival those at the festival, but in the end a two block trek was too much for people. I cant stand being bored at work, so one of the best parts of my weekend was spent handing out fliers. It reminded me of petitioning for Planned Parenthood in Southwest Missouri, but the audience was considerably more friendly; unfortunately, they were about equally receptive.

I finally consider myself completely unpacked and uncluttered. Keepsake boxes were the last items to find their place in my room, and within minutes many of their contents found places tacked to my walls along with magazine clippings and some sketches from high school. My sentimental heart feels MUCH more at home. We also had a neighborhood garage sale this weekend which benefitted my studio greatly. I'm very pleased with how it's coming together, and the light is even better than I expected.

Most else I have going on probably wont excite. I'm developing an idea for new business cards, a short bio, and photographs for branding with which my sister Ty has been a tremendous help and support. In addition to the portraits themselves on the agenda, there are a few books I'm reading to prepare for the sales side of the operation. My creativity is a little zapped as a result of all the constructive activity, but I have made a promise to myself to keep this updated. Thank you as always, friends near and far, for the views.
    

First Friday Art Walk

I woke up this morning for the second time at around ten-thirty. There are a lot of things to miss about starting my weekdays making people's coffee; waking up at five am is not one of them. I gave Mom a call. She was running errands around town- something about a cool little art gallery with a nice lady who LOVED hearing about her daughter's skills because she was looking for a portrait artist.
"Alright Mom, sounds good... Is there any food in the house?"
"No."
"Okay, I'm going back under my rock."
"Okay bye"

...2 minutes later...

"MOM! Someone with a full studio and gallery is looking for a portrait artist?"
"Yes. Come down here."
"............ugh... fine. Can we eat?"

We ate at the best burger place in town. I had a chicken salad sandwich with beer and cheddar soup. Afterwards we approached the cool little art gallery, but it turned out the nice lady eats around noon too. Humph, it's not like I was carrying a large sketch book around or anything. So with time and now sufficient calories to burn, we and my sketchbook checked out a nearby café and vintage clothing shop. The café had a good hazelnut latte. The vintage clothing shop had nothing. Thank God.

When Nice Lady returned, she liked my drawings(including two of Obama I had cranked out the night before) enough to offer me a job on the spot. It's nothing crazy; one day a month at First Friday Art Walk drawing portraits and invitation to do my thing whenever she has an outreach, but STILL. A little money=cool. Practice and exposure, access to a professional, her studio, supplies, and contacts= awesome. Feeling like I'm on the right track... don't really have the words for that one. I'll keep you posted. Grape Fest soooo soooooon YAAAAY!

The Catcher in the Rye

I'll be taking the first real steps towards building my studio tonight. It has been one of those projects I had been afraid to talk about. I did not want to jinx myself mostly. I can't say I haven't done well in the last five years, but I can confidently say nothing has gone according to plan.

For those of you unfamiliar with my life and care to stick with me, I'm a twenty five year old Cum Laude graduate with a Bachelor's in Science of Psychology from Missouri State University accompanied by dual minors in Biomedical Science and Religious Studies. That's what happens when a degree plan does not go according to plan. This combination happens to be attractive to graduate schools as are high scores on standardized tests, a clean record, successful internships, and employment history that includes years working with cancer patients. What am I doing now? I'm sitting at my Grandmother's house blogging, drawing pictures, and reading novels assigned in adolescent lit classes until the football game starts. That's what happens when graduate school plans don't go according to plan.

Around the time I moved to Dallas, I didn't have much of a plan. Without one, I was distracted by trivial BS. At my age (maybe at any age), BS-no matter how trivial- can be a serious threat. I was getting sick, loosing weight, attempting to self medicate with diet and sleep, jerks... Luckily my vices don't fall in the substance or self-mutilation category, but needless to stay I was not reflectant of the model healthy early adult of which I had such an extensive expensive testable comprehension.

So I made a new plan. I moved for the first time ever. I got a job. I made money which I saved and used to expand my credit limit. I traveled and saw how many ways this life thing I had been having such a hard time with was lived; I realized that no one, no matter how disciplined or knowledgeable, has ever created an entire successful human life without adjusting course or taking a few hits.

So that's what I'm trying to do. Navigate using talents and resources fate has granted me at this point. Turns out I can draw people. Really I can draw a ton of things, I just like people the best. I appealed to several friends via social media and from the few projects that have resulted, it has become apparent that I need more space. Space that isn't my bed or the floor in front of someone's couch. Good thing I've been working for tips every freaking second of my life since I moved to a higher income area without the burden of rent or debt! Good thing I've shacked up with a member of my family successful enough to secure a home with unoccupied rooms! There seems to be a ton of things in my life to be thankful for after a time where I became very good at feeling sorry for myself. So I guess what I'm after more than anything else with this post is a psuedo-physical manifestation of a grateful heart and maybe a level of social accountability.

Grape Fest is next week. In case you're missing the wine content hang in there!