It’s Artist Down Time\u00a0 here in Maine. The time of year when the tourists have fled to warmer climes and I sit looking out the window at 3′ of snow. Often customers at the cooperatives will ask us what we do all winter; we wonder this too…..<\/p>\n

Once we close the cooperatives in late October (mostly) we do holiday shows, enjoy our families and then comes the lull in January\/February. We make no money in the winter months unless we have successfully navigated the Etsy\u00a0 or other online waters. There are a few shows between the new year and spring but not many, and generally not great anyway.\u00a0 Mostly I plan to make a lot of stock over the winter and to get to all those house cleaning projects I’ve put off all summer, but what really happens is I collapse,\u00a0 the last two winters I’ve experienced severe family illnesses, I try to enjoy the holidays, I do my taxes (OMFG) and come April I’ve created NOTHING.\u00a0 I’ve spent a lot of time organizing stuff for the coops, researching new products, new galleries, applying to shows, working on the websites, ordering supplies and I’ve even finished a few paintings<\/a>. I haven’t been in the studio.. except to clean .. for months. I plan to do better, but I always seem to fail.<\/p>\n

It’s ok my taxes are done, family is ok,\u00a0 and I still have April!! I have hope!! Maybe I’ll get some backstock created!! Maybe I’ll get some new products done!! I have designed a few pieces for an art gallery so hey I’m ahead already! A little down time is also good for the soul, helps us to recharge for the crazy season that is just around the corner!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Artist Down Time\u00a0 here in Maine. The time of year when the tourists have fled to warmer climes and I sit looking out the window at 3′ of snow. Often customers at the cooperatives will ask us what we do all winter; we wonder this too….. Once we close the cooperatives in late October Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[36,58,60],"tags":[59,39,38,61],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n