Dream Job...

[gigiG]

So, what would your dream job be? Have you heard the saying, "If you love your work...you'll never work another day in your life!" What would that job be? Maybe you already feel this way, and if you do BRAVO! Or, do you feel that you have to wait until retirement to take this step forward...or are you already on your way? A friend at work said that when she retires she wants to work with rescue animals and open a Bed & Biscuit home for animals...but, she already is taking in animals...so she really is on her way! Myself, I love to do homemade crafts i.e. soaps, write storybook cards, sewing...so I combined all my passions to open a small business. From gardening to helping out our community we all have passions...

[dedavis]

Hm. If I were queen, I suppose I would be an artist without having to pay the bills or cook dinner. Sometimes in the winter and spring, I get to have what I call The Perfect Schedule: get up, drink coffee and write in my journal, hit the drawing table at 8 o'clock, work till 2, then go for a long walk to re-enter the physical world and remember how to speak with words.

But I'm not queen. Some days my day job is so great that I can't believe I get paid to hike in the mountains and cut logs. Other times it's raining, or there are clouds of mosquitoes, or there is some bureaucratic nightmare to deal with.

I am forging ahead with my idea to publish prints and cards. The first prints will be coming back from Seattle any day. I've designed 3 notecards that will be printed next. I decided to separate the card business from my original painting and drawing work. It's called March Hare Designs, and I've attached the logo. I want to market locally and over the web. I am dithering about the website--it's partly designed, but I am overwhelmed by the technical details. I've almost decided to pay for help.

So the never-ending dilemma for me is how to balance the day job with the art job. I know a lot of other people wrestle with this. Oh yeah, and I want to write...

Any thoughts?

Deb

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Very excellent on your pursuing your dreams, Deb! I think it's great you're going ahead with your cards. And I think the web will give you some real opportunities to inexpensively find your market.

I, too, balance a pretty intense day job (professional writing/marketing/project management) with the creative writing which I love. Traditional publishing had been very hard to break into, and the market has been shrinking, so the web's been a fun, effective way for me to do what I could on my own. I usually dedicate a little time to it each evening, and then maybe one day on the weekend.

It's possible to get to do everything you'd like to as long as you pace yourself and set reasonable goals for yourself.

I have this fortune cookie saying taped to my computer that I particularly like: it says, "Good fortune takes preparation." I like the idea that if you just think things through and pursue your dreams thoroughly, you can make your own luck." Rather empowering!

Wishing YOU luck in your work,

[gigiG]

Very nice! I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), it's a great network for writers and illustrators. I have attended a conference in my area, and sat down with some big editors one on one.... very interesting to say the least...But like you, I am not a Queen either and work my day job at a college for security, and run the business during the wee hours & weekends to save my soul! :) :o Oh- I love the illustration- you are very gifted. I can hardly color between the lines....

Hm. If I were queen, I suppose I would be an artist without having to pay the bills or cook dinner. Sometimes in the winter and spring, I get to have what I call The Perfect Schedule: get up, drink coffee and write in my journal, hit the drawing table at 8 o'clock, work till 2, then go for a long walk to re-enter the physical world and remember how to speak with words.

But I'm not queen. Some days my day job is so great that I can't believe I get paid to hike in the mountains and cut logs. Other times it's raining, or there are clouds of mosquitoes, or there is some bureaucratic nightmare to deal with.

I am forging ahead with my idea to publish prints and cards. The first prints will be coming back from Seattle any day. I've designed 3 notecards that will be printed next. I decided to separate the card business from my original painting and drawing work. It's called March Hare Designs, and I've attached the logo. I want to market locally and over the web. I am dithering about the website--it's partly designed, but I am overwhelmed by the technical details. I've almost decided to pay for help.

So the never-ending dilemma for me is how to balance the day job with the art job. I know a lot of other people wrestle with this. Oh yeah, and I want to write...

Any thoughts?

Deb

[gigiG]

Do you keep a notebook always handy? I do, in my car, next to my bed, etc...because I believe that once a creative thought can be forgotten rather quickly....:)

Very excellent on your pursuing your dreams, Deb! I think it's great you're going ahead with your cards. And I think the web will give you some real opportunities to inexpensively find your market.

I, too, balance a pretty intense day job (professional writing/marketing/project management) with the creative writing which I love. Traditional publishing had been very hard to break into, and the market has been shrinking, so the web's been a fun, effective way for me to do what I could on my own. I usually dedicate a little time to it each evening, and then maybe one day on the weekend.

It's possible to get to do everything you'd like to as long as you pace yourself and set reasonable goals for yourself.

I have this fortune cookie saying taped to my computer that I particularly like: it says, "Good fortune takes preparation." I like the idea that if you just think things through and pursue your dreams thoroughly, you can make your own luck." Rather empowering!

Wishing YOU luck in your work,

[dedavis]

Yes, I am seldom without a sketchbook. Another habit I have is "Morning Pages". This is from Julia Cameron's Artist Way series, which I can recommend to anyone who is serious about living a more creative life. I write three pages in my journal when I get up in the morning. It's stream-of-consciousness, but is a helpful tool for sorting out my ideas and priorities. I find that writing is a good thing for a visual artist to do. There are two kinds of ideas--the fleeting kind, and the ones that grab you and won't let go. It's the ones that pester me that get my attention.

How exciting that you (Jenn and Gigi) are both writers...it has been my dream since second grade to illustrate for children. Actually, I love illustrated books of any kind. Maybe there is potential for collaboration?

Thanks for the encouraging words, and best wishes to you too...

Deb

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

I don't necessarily have one notebook I carry around for ideas, but I do have one at home, one at work, and then... well, in the car I've been known to write on the back of receipts or any other scraps of paper I can find.

Silly, really, but many an ad idea has come that way!

If you love to write, certainly make time to do it. It's exactly like the art, in some ways-- you keep at it and eventually you find what you're creating just seems to work better, that your work has grown and improved.

I guess my hobbies are the precise reverse of yours-- I write for a living and love to spend a little quiet time drawing or painting, while you're an illustrator who loves to write!

[greenoak]

my dream job is the one i have...with more help, more money and more space...
.my favorite part is thr fun people who come into the store and hearing their dreams,and ideas
and then designing , especially with recycled and cool antique parts and then buying...
ann
www.greenoakantiques.com

[gigiG]

Okay- I am jealous! Currently I am working at a college, but nites & weekends on my "dream" business. For now, that's the way it has to be- but of course my dream would be to work on only at my shoppe. In fact, it's not work, because I love the creative side of the business, and of course the people I meet.

my dream job is the one i have...with more help, more money and more space...
.my favorite part is thr fun people who come into the store and hearing their dreams,and ideas
and then designing , especially with recycled and cool antique parts and then buying...
ann
www.greenoakantiques.com (http://www.greenoakantiques.com)

[cheapdiva]

ah, an editing job at a New York publishing house complete with a co-op in the middle of Manhattan. Then working on my novel on weekends at my beach house. Dream BIG!