GrayBunnyGirl

I know that I said I was still going to be at least somewhat active on here, but obviously, I lied. Stick around long enough, and you may realize that I am somewhat of a lazy person these days.

Hey, at least I remembered to upload before the end of the year, though. *sips tea serenely*

But wait--there's more! Despite an intense desire to curl up under the blankets with my laptop and play video games and not come out until spring, I managed to act human long enough to do a craft show! I can't recall if I mentioned it before on here, but my mother and I began trying our hands at doing some of these last year, and have continued them in 2015 as we learn about more of them in our area.

I have a full recap of the recent show, with pictures(!), on my blog for those who want to see more, but I still wanted to talk a little bit about this here. Mainly because I want to encourage some of the artists on here to try their hand at maybe doing some.

I know that a lot (okay, maybe most of us) are incredibly introverted and alarm bells start ringing at the concept of human interaction, but if you ever push yourself to do just one social event, I recommend doing a craft show. Here's why:

It helps you learn better ways to market and sell your art.
It helps you push your boundaries and try something new.
You can meet other artist and crafters who have been doing shows for years and who are always friendly and willing to share their advice and experience.
You can be inspired!!!
The more you do, the less stressful it will be, as you learn what to prepare for and expect!
You can expand your clientele and by coming in contact face-to-face with browsers, you can learn what kind of customer base you're working with and different ways to meet their needs.
On that same note, it's a learning process for you to find a balance in honing your skills and talents to create marketable art, without changing your style and/or core of what you love to do.

I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from doing even just a few shows (this last one makes it show #5). For a while after graduating, I got discouraged with my art and felt that the only people who were successful in making their passion into a career were those who changed their content to what was popular and to pander to the same old thing. I felt that there was no point in drawing anymore, because it seemed really pointless and like a useless thing that no one was interested in. However, I began to play with medias and through craft shows, began to think of new ideas of how to take what I loved to do and make them into something with purpose.

In more mundane news, I went to the mall to shop for Christmas presents and many hours (and half my paycheck) later, these are some things I've learned:

Even if you have a minimal circle of friends in addition to family to shop for, it is still expensive.
Always wear comfy shoes. It doesn't matter how cute those lacy, black, Victorian granny boots that hook up are, you are going to regret it when you finally escape at 7pm.
You can resist buying things for yourself by asking the question, "Can I make this myself?" and since the answer is usually, "Duh, yeah.", you will put back that adorable scarf and only buy multiple lotions and a really cute pair of pom-pomed leg warmers for yourself, and come out of Bath & Body Works with your hands smelling of 5 different Christmas perfumes.
Remember that trips like these are there to enforce your creed to never have children.

That's all for now...

Drink your tea, cuddle with your giant triceratops pillow pet (It exists. Her name is "Mama Groot".), and kiss your hamsters goodnight.

Much love,
Bryn P.
(Jsaren)

Remember when I was an exciting, young whippersnapper of an artist? Well, I'm now a more subdued (but still exciting!) and slightly older (but still young!) whippersnapper of an artist.

Just not on this website.

DeviantART has kind of hit rock bottom for me. Or rather, it hit rock bottom a long time ago. Period. There are various rants that I could go into, but I don't feel like, so I'll just leave it at a short* summary: it no longer benefits me the way it used to. Not for helpful feedback on my work like it used to, not for discovering new and awesome artists (everything is the same), all the really awesome groups have been obliterated by DeviantART's endless money-grubbing, and all my awesome/favorite people are gone (though I'm still in contact with some of them via the Book of Faces). So, if I don't reply back for several months to a year, that's why.

*insert absurdly long fine print here.

If you would like more consistent updates and/or are interested in seeing new work, I'm more active on my website www.sleepyhollowstreet.com/ or on my Facebook Page www.facebook.com/Bryn-Poliwczy… I make adorable slouch beanies for the drinking of coffee in cafes! I write teeth-grinding writing prompts for the testing of literacy! I make delicious dinners and then post photos to shove it in your face! I rarely occasionally draw glorious comics for the laughing of guts! (And did I mention the craft shows?!) And so on.

In the meantime, I shall critique things in an attempt to revive some of that actually useful feedback that this site once had, many years ago.


Meh.
Bryn P. (Jsaren)

[OBSERVATION.1] Have you ever heard that saying about how people look like their pets (or the other way around, whatever)? Well, my hamster Tugger has an attitude, doesn't like to be touched, and is fat; my hamster Cooper sleeps all the time, and is fat; and my bunny hates the world and is moderately loafish. So what does this spell for me? Is this an omen that I will one day be a fat, lazy, antisocial person with extremely hairy legs? I've got the lazy part down to pat, so we shall see. Look forward to updates on this one.

[OBSERVATION.2] I'm horrified to find that I've recently gained a startling popularity in life. Suddenly, half the world wants to hang out or talk or whatever....WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME?!!? My demeanor suggests that God intended for me to lock myself away in a mountaintop hut and be a hermit artist who is terrified of having a social life.

[OBSERVATION.3] My hamsters are currently ramming into each other in their plastic balls as hard as they possibly can--so hard that they ricochet backwards. Is this really fun for them or is this some sort of ploy to make noise, wake my mother up, and make her yell at me? Probably the latter.

[OBSERVATION.3] Seeing as we have only a very miniature Christmas tree, all the presents I've been accumulating were being stored in a big, blue metal chest. Today, I ran out of room in said chest and, as I sat there with these packages scattered around me, I realized that I am only 50% done with my X-mas shopping......which is really depressing. Apparently, what had happened was that seeing the tall stack of presents deluded me into believing that there were a lot and that I was almost done. BUT NO!

[OBSERVATION.4] It would be nice if I did regular updates, journals, art and whatnot, but whenever it comes to crunch time, I realize that I have no energy and/or motivation. Nowadays, I spend half of my time working and the other half sleeping. You can decide whether I am a hard worker who deserves that 50% of rest...or if I'm just a really lazy person who does not want to utilize her remaining time doing something productive. (Seriously: it's pretty sad when you buy a movie off of Amazon, watch it halfway through, and then wait a month before you watch the rest of it.)

[OBSERVATION.5] In contradiction to that last note, yesterday I bought some knitting needles and can now knit (using YouTube tutorials, of course)! YAY! LEVEL UP! Skill gained: "knittin' mitten kittens"! Hopefully, this won't turn out to be one of those things where I get really motivated and buy a bunch of materials, only to lose interest and never touch the pile of stuff ever again.


That's all for tonight, folks! (Because I need more sleep!) Maybe one of these days I will upload something. Lies.

Goodnight!
Bryn