So when months ago I thought I'd eventually become less busy and have a better percentage of actually finishing my projects, I was terribly, horribly mistaken.

As of now I'm more or less wrapped up in getting my shop, [link] up and running. (As I speak -- er, type -- the framework is done, I just have to do writeups and upload images. Technically I can already take orders. But. Well.) That also means I have to fix a million gazillion spreadsheets so I can keep track of everything that happens. Not as easy as it sounds, since uh I'm really bad at keeping track of things! I'm way too reliant on my faulty memory!

Hm, what else? I'm working on a lot of calligraphy. This is not a coincidence, since I recently got interviewed? shot? --anyway, there was a photo shoot, questions were asked and answered in my usual scatter-brained fashion... It was about me being a calligrapher; a friend recommended me and... (Wow.) Anyway, that made me realize that -- hey, I should take this more seriously, there aren't a lot of calligraphers in the Philippines! Thus, I'm trying to do new things with alibata calligraphy. It's been interesting, not to mention instructive; you have all these letter forms that are entirely unfamiliar to you, so rather than assigning any sort of special significance to a particular part of the letter you have to take it as a whole, as a symbol made up of lines, and try to reinvent it in a way that's beautiful and new yet still retains the relations of the lines to each other.

The piece I'm currently preparing for -- I say that because technically I'm not doing the calligraphy yet, I'm just doing a loooot of letter studies over and over and over again! -- is one of my favorite bits of poetry ever. It's from Florante at Laura; I'm sure you could figure out which lines I'm doing, if you really wanted. Wink wink.

I'm also getting ready to sell artwork. I've been ready to sell prints for a while now, I've already taken a couple of orders, but this time around I'll be selling originals too. I've been researching prices and packaging and I realized that: 1) it's very hard to determine value, I now understand why there are people whose jobs consist of pricing products; 2) I'm very much a "give it as it really is" person in that I don't want to present original stuff as if it isn't flawed -- of course I also want it to be the best that it can be, but I won't pretend that the paper is perfect or that I didn't use pencil in that part, something like that -- and it shows in the way I package originals, even in the way I edit scans for prints. I think -- I may be biased, but stay with me here -- that flaws like little stains, marks, irregularities in the paper texture, they give artwork character. It's something digital stuff may try to replicate but will never truly match. (After all, we don't have Undo in real life.) Something done by hand, looking at the original... that it was done by a person, someone imperfect and passionate and striving after beauty... it shows. It really does.

As for jewelry... I've been going out more to look at designs, and online I've been spending a lot of time browsing shops and galleries. It's inspiring and at the same time mind-crushingly humbling, since I see all these fantastic pieces and I'm confronted with how far I have to go. I've seen girls here who started out small but now have their designs in upscale boutiques, and I look at their jewelry and the polish of their technique, and I think, I want to be like that someday. I don't know if I will; in my worst moments I'm deathly afraid I'll just fail. But, well, I'm going to do everything I can to be that good. Or better.

During the preparations for the shoot, while the makeup artist was doing my hair, the writer asked me whether I was going to pursue art full-time. I certainly want to, and I told him that. But, you know, I don't think it will happen, at least not any time in the foreseeable future. I need stability first, I need to establish myself in my chosen profession, so that when I do art I have the luxury of doing what I want to do, expressing the ideas I want to express, and-- besides, I really don't think I can live off of commissions and sales just yet. Maybe after what, twenty years' worth of anatomy lessons.

But you know what? That answer I gave surprised me. It was the first time I answered that question with anything other than an outright "no."

Trying to jump-start drawing side (since it's in danger of being eaten alive by my sick/gloomy/h8theworld side), I signed up here:

[link]

My username is ephemere, and I am here:

[link]

~! If you have an account please let me know your username so I can add you

I haven't felt like scanning art for a long time now. I've been working on some things, I just haven't had the time or the energy to scan and edit the drawings I've finished. I'm slowly fixing that.

Will also resume normal dA friend-watching. Rargh, I'm sure I've missed a lot of good stuff...! Oh, and if I said I'd e-mail you or something, and you didn't get my e-mail, please let me know? Both my ISP and domain servers have been acting up over the past few months.

I'm graduating in a few months (hopefully) and some people have suggested I do something with the designs/calligraphy I have lying around -- prints, stationery, notebooks, shirts, stuff like that. If you do want a print or whatever of one of the images here, do let me know.

Speaking of designs -- part of the business I'm starting? Invitation cards. I'm currently working on a design for a wedding. Much cuteness.

Just finished sending out the first batch of invitations for the exhibit

For anyone who's interested: [link]

Submit, submit!

(sorry, will reply to all comments soon -- and comment on artwork -- just have to get through this coming week, it's pretty crazy)

(crossposted from Another Miyaw)

Ang Bagong Libro (official site)

An art exhibit featuring reinvented, reimagined, remixed book covers for Filipino books. I'd like to encourage you to participate (Please note that we're requesting people to send in sample work/portfolio links first.) Any suggestions of books to feature in the book "wish list" are very welcome.

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I'd also like to ask you guys if you know of any local artists who might be interested in submitting artwork for the exhibit. We're soliciting pieces from some people and I'd like to know of any more artists I can contact.

Comment here or e-mail me: ephemere at gmail.

Thanks!