I've been looking a lot at analytics data, and realizing that I don't always do a good job of posting what it is I'm working on. So here are a few bits:
I'm reading Eric Maisel's Creativity for Life
. I've been in a major, major creative slump lately, so I've called in some help. (On the plus side, my Animal Crossing town is doing great!) I've only just started the book, and although he is focusing on Art with a capital A, it's still very helpful. I bought it for the chapters on the artist's personality (i.e. depression, anxiety, narcissism, yadda yadda) because they seemed to ring true. And because I am in a dark spot. (Which is a soft way of saying "depressed and anxious and making everyone around me nuts") And I could always use some validation. One of the main ideas that's struck me so far is that a lack of doing is very likely the heart of my problem. Although, I also got this same bonk over the head from a recent article on 43 Folders. (Have you been over there lately? Big change!)
I wanted to step back from creating for a bit to take an objective look at what I was doing, and to see if I should change. I think this was a mistake. For me, slowing down turned into stopping which turned into sadness. Manic creating = happiness. Sort of.
In other news, I've started up an ArtFire shop. (http://absolutelysmall.artfire.com/ It feels like I'm cheating on my beloved Etsy. I'm considering this to be an experiment. I'll hang onto the shop for a year or two, and see how the site evolves. Right now it's a ghost town. And it doesn't have the good design that Etsy has. But, they are advertising like crazy, so we'll see. If you want to conduct your own experiment in cheating on Etsy, join me, won't you? $7 a mo/ for life, no other fees, etc etc. (That's how they snookered me into joining!)
Now that Etsy has Google Analytics all hooked up, it should make comparing how things are going on both sites even easier. I'll keep you posted.
4 comments:
I'm already "cheating on etsy" I feel so bad! but I've only listed 4 things-and need to get moving on adding more!
Heck! Don't look on it as cheating at all!! Get rid of that thought once and for all - its not true.
Do the people you buy clothes from stick to one shop? NO! Do the people you buy your food from stick to one venue? NO! Do your suppliers sell their stuff in one shop? NO!
Most importantly - do the shoppers who buy stuff online go to one shop only? NO NO NO.
I have a shop on Etsy, I am opening a shop on ArtFire, these along with a New Zealand online shop (www.felt.co.nz - main page) will be my online shops. Note the plural shopS. No more. Three I can give my serious attention to.
Good luck refocussing. I am trying the same. procrastination is my main fault and too much online stuff.
Good luck!
That bit about being depressed because you're not creating, how slowing down is more like standing still and how manic creating equals happiness and all could have been written by me. I'm just the same as you are, and right now I'm in a slump too.
I think I'm craftily bipolar, I have periods of manic, happy creating and then just as suddenly it all grinds down to a halt and I get nothing done & get depressed.
About Art Fire, I think it's very much like what Etsy was when it first started out: quiet, not very pretty nor polished. Like you said, it's good to give it time and see how it'll turn out.
Thank you all for your comments!
And Marjorie: whoa! Thank you for the reality shift. Excellent points!
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