I am really excited about the next week. I have set the perfect schedule to do a little bit of my print work! It’s been several months since I’ve mounted anything…
Although I am working each and every single day this entire month (thank you vacationers who trust me with your pets!), this week and next week my pet visits are super early in the morning (6-7:30am - and this early bird loves early mornings!!) and late afternoon (4:30-7pm) so when I get back home in the mornings around 7:30am, it is all about ME and diving into whatever it is that feeds my soul!
I planned on thrifting this morning after tending to 8 cats in two homes. I lucked out and already had tons of really great finds after two stops by 9:30 am, then off to Fresh Market for some groceries, and then the PO to drop off all those shirts you guys ordered for our rescue efforts (thank you!!). Tomorrow I have a wood scouting day planned for new print mounts, Wednesday is for going through all my photos (and possibly mounting a few), Thursday is for the vintage shop, and of course Fridays are usually dedicated to the local shelter dogs …
It was about this time last year that I started mounting my prints and selling them and to be honest, when I started it I wasn’t 1000% satisfied with what I produced until late in the year - I think December even. It was months and months of trial by error, ‘I kinda like these’, sanding everything by hand then having a friend loan me a sander which changed everything. I then bought my own sander, perfected my process and actually went from kinda liking what I was making to loving the pieces I was churning out.
Everything I do or have done creatively - and even in my employment history from the time I was a teenager, I just winged until whoever I was working for saw my ingenuity and how capable I was at adapting. I am in a position of not needing to prove someone how worthy I am… I just do what I do now, and people notice.
~~So let’s take a little detour here and go back in time for a bit… In my very late teen years, I wanted to be a bartender. I had zero experience obviously at that age - I had worked previously at grocery stores bagging and at a Little Caesars and a local bagel shop when I was in high school. Then at 19, I got in at a place willing to give me a chance behind the bar and I shined. Then after tiring of the depressing nature of watching all the ‘regulars’ come in day after day drinking their sorrows away, I worked a little retail before riding with a friend to audition for a bit part in a movie and landing work after I was coaxed into auditioning (by said friend) on the spot. Again, no desire to be in a movie, and I had no idea what a monologue even was - apparently at this time folks were auditioning by reading or acting out their favorite monologues and I was completely unprepared when I got called into the room with the now well-known director, Todd Phillips. I walk in, grab a broom that was leaning against a wall near what appeared to be a cleaning closet, and I proceeded with my audition by singing ‘Welcome To the Jungle’, using the broom as my mic. Having nothing close to a monologue prepared, I winged it with what I knew - GNR. I got called back the next day by the director who didn’t have a part in the film for me, but wanted me to work daily with the crew. He said wanted my energy. What?!? YES. So that marks the several months that I did production assistant work on a Dreamworks film (!!) which eventually turned into them needing me as an extra when they were short, and after that I became more interested in working film for a bit until I got my adulting office gig. Those days were before iPhones, so sadly no pics, but it’s all true I swear!
Ya see in Georgia, at that time, there was not a lot of film work here. So to get insurance like most responsible young adults at the time were doing, I applied for an administrative assistant office position without knowing the first thing about typing or office work in general ….. zero experience in that type of environment. And that gig lasted twenty whole years, and then me and that place parted ways and I began a journey to live with the fullest intentions and make every day count.
The first few years there I did work on a few movie sets when time allowed - one was a ‘Lifetime Original’ movie, and one was a horror film by Rob Zombie. That was truly a memorable experience. I made some good friends on that set and got to meet and hang with the one and the only - Malcolm McDowell.~~
Ok, ok - impromptu work history detour ramble has come to an end and allllll that rambling to say I have always been a go-getter, hellbent to learn anything needed for whatever it is I dive into.
Even with my mounted prints and the photography gigs I’ve had over the years - zero formal education on it with the exception of one photography class in high school. I am very passionate about the whole process that goes into mounting my prints. The wood I use, the mounting process, the sanding and smoothing, and even the work with the sheet metal. It is SO gratifying. With that being said, I’m excited to share some new pieces later this week! I have no idea what I’m going to do, but the process will be fun I know.
I hope you all find the time to work on whatever it is that feeds your soul. I consider myself very lucky to have found this little niche where I can use all my experience volunteering with shelter animals to pay the bills by caring for folks pets while they travel. I will never take this for granted and in hindsight I wonder why I didn’t see this as an opportunity sooner. I guess it’s possible to be so wrapped up in doing a great job for someone else, excelling in your career, getting raises, etc. - that you lose sight of what truly matters to you. Happiness is never based in financial wealth. That seems like a no-brainer, but it’s true. I made so much more money than I do now, and all that happened was I adapted to spending that money on things that I didn’t need…. The truth is, I make less money now per year than I have the last ten years, but I am richer the the wealth that matters than I ever have been… and my true happiness has always come from being home on the farm with my animals and Christian and spending time with family. The last two days I have had dinner at mama’s house and a lot of my clients are in the city she lives, so I get to stop by often! Gahhhhhh leee, what good release of ramblings this morning!
If you made it through all that, I applaud you!
Here are some photos from the last 24 hours…
I got to mow all of one hour before the rain came again…
See you tomorrow lovelies!
XO
-s
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