Merry New Year's Eve Monday

Having the opportunity (due to a snowy day inside) to make a scarf to send to the teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary. If you are interested in participating in this, please go to: http://www.sentimentallyme.blogspot.com/2012/12/can-you-help-newtown-directly-hope-so.html   for details

A great new book to inspire me to be a maker.

Handmade Christmas gifts like this rug (which was quickly claimed by my cute little Olive!) made by my mom. Thanks, Mom!

More handmade gifts, like these notecards made by my step-daughter, Laura B. Like the book shown above, she may become one of the next Brooklyn makers, as she is moving to New York as this blog post is being written.

And, best of all, the opportunity to ring in 2013 with our little Peanut! He gets to spend the night with us as his mommy and daddy get moved into the apartment they will be living in while their new home is being built. 

...A few things making me merry on this Monday. I couldn't ask for a better way to spend the last day of 2012. Looking forward to some exciting changes in 2013 :)
I hope you are also merry on this Monday :)    Juli

Reviewing and Resolutions

Olive, original oil painting by Juli Schuster

Knit, original oil painting by Juli Albers Schuster

Recess, original oil painting by Juli Albers Schuster

Perfume bottle, original oil painting by Juli Schuster

Baby Cakes onesie, hand embroidered by Juli Schuster

Cuff style bracelet, hand made by Juli Schuster

As I look back at my first year of listing with Etsy, I realized that selling only 5 items really isn't going to cut it! But, as I looked at my shop stats, I was happy that I was at least getting quite a few views, especially considering that it is basically a world wide online shop. And, really, considering that it is world wide, even 5 sales is something to be proud of. But, again, it's not going to cut it if I want to make some serious income with my work. So, above you will see the items that got the most views or sold. I had three of my original design onesies for sale, and I sold out pretty quickly. My "Recess" painting sold within the first month of my shop being open and my "Olive" painting sold just recently to a shopper from the Netherlands. Other items with the most "views" were my cuff style bracelets, and two other paintings- "Knit" and "Perfume Bottle". 
So, what does this tell me? For one, I need to keep painting- at least finishing a few small paintings a week. And even though the fiber pieces aren't getting much attention, it is really what I love to do, so I'll keep plugging away at that, even if it's just for fun.
The "stats" also tell me that I need to focus on spreading the word about my shop and getting the Olive and Ash name out there. So, that's what my resolutions will be for the coming weeks and months, as I try to get the shop going and as I start on getting my" Olive and Ash on the Go"-going!  I'm hopeful, so we'll see. Any advice would be much appreciated and welcomed, that is, if anyone out there is reading this! haha!    Juli

Stretch, Balance, Breathe

Okay, I've decided on another theme to keep me motivated to write on this blog...Wellness Wednesday. I know, this blog is supposed to be about what inspires me artistically, but I believe, wholeheartedly, that you must be well, both mentally and physically, to be creative. The "motto" that I've tried to keep in the back of my mind for a few years now is "Stretch, Balance, Breath". And they all refer to mental and physical health. Stretching our minds and bodies; balancing our daily lives and physical selves; and taking the time to breath with purpose and thought. Those are the things that I try to keep in my thoughts every day. I'm not saying that it happens every day, but reminding myself of them does bring me back into focus on my physical and mental wellness.
A few things that have been a tremendous influence on me are: Rodney Yee yoga, Mariel Hemingway's books; Healthy Living from the Inside Out and Finding My Balance, Jane Brocket's book; The Gentle Art of Domesticity, and Donna Quesada's book; Buddha in the Classroom.
All of these resources, in one way or another, remind me to Stretch, Balance and Breathe.

Balance, original oil painting by Juli Albers-Schuster

I hope you are well on this Wednesday :)

Juli

Merry Monday

I decided on Merry Monday for my Monday theme because, well, everyone can use a little "merry" on Monday, right?!  So the merriment I'm sharing on this merry Monday is a few of my traditional Christmas decorations that I've had since my kids were really little. To me, Christmas is all about traditions. A few of our family traditions are shown above: a balsam fir tree (this year's tree is more like a Charlie Brown tree!), always having a light-up snowman by the front door (the Santa is a recent flea market find) and always using the wreath that my oldest son made when he was in second grade.
I'll post more of our traditions on the next Merry Monday!

I'm back

After a very long break, I'm back to the blog! After my last post, I came down with an awful flu that lasted almost two weeks, with a horrible cough that lasted for another 6. Crazy!
 I'm feeling much better and have been doing a lot of pondering about my future. What I've come up with is really not a revelation or anything. I'm just really considering the fact that I'm closing in on fifty years old (I'll actually be 47 this month) and I'll soon have an empty nest ( my baby will be graduating from high school in May and starting college in the fall) and I'll have more time on my hands than I'll really want. Sooo....my goal is to turn my Olive and Ash Studio into the Olive and Ash Studio on the Go (a mobile art studio). I would love to be able to teach art to school age kids in a day care setting and eventually offer classes to older kids in a workshop format or through private lessons. This will be great for my summers off and eventually will be a perfect retirement "job".
I will still be painting and working on fiber pieces. And I'll be posting more on this blog as a way to communicate about my new "adventure". I initially had in mind to use this venue to document and communicate what inspires me from day to day. But now I'd like to focus on more specific blog topics for each day of the week, to help keep me on track. If anyone out there has any suggestions on this, I'm all ears ( or in this case- eyes!).

I'll leave you with a picture I took over the summer of a painted tree that sits in the midst of Joplin, Missouri's barren landscape brought on by the devastating tornado of 2011. I took it as a symbol of hope when I saw it and just couldn't resist pulling over and taking a picture of it. Inspiring.