Chanukah Challenge

First, I'd like to wish those celebrating, a very Happy Chanukah.  While I know it isn't one of the High Holidays, it is one that is special to me, because I really do love giving gifts. 

That sounds cheesy, I know, but its true.  My favorite moment is that one when I hand someone the gift I have chosen for them and they open it - the expression of unexpected surprise on their face which says, "I got it right".  I always try to find unique items that the receiver of the gift wouldn't expect - if its something they didn't ask for but didn't even know they wanted till they got it... Or maybe it is something they wanted but didn't realize someone else knew about it.

I love that simple joy. 

And it is cheesy.

I have good memories of Chanukah and some of them revolve around the time that my mother would take time to take each of us shopping for our siblings.  Certainly we would all go together at some point or another, but my mother would make a special day where we went, one on one with her to purchase the items we chose for each other.  It was great to have a special day with Mom who had to work often, but it was also fun to take time to figure out what to get my brothers.  At first Mom would have a list of things that we would get each other, but as we got older, we were able to pick and choose ourselves.

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah and I decided I was going to challenge myself and make a new piece of jewelry each night.  They aren't going to necessarily be holiday themed pieces, but I wanted to create something and I figured it was a good way to motivate myself.  Each item will immediately be put up for sale on my etsy site so you can purchase them if you want.  I won't think about the designs till the day I have to make them, so none of these will be planned out.  Hopefully being spontaneous will help me create something good!

I made earrings today that are Steampunk inspired.  Brass clock face earrings:

Check them out here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/117577395/brass-clock-face-silver-cog-and-bronze

If you like them, please head over to my etsy shop and pick them up! 

I have new jewelry in my shop and as mentioned in my last blog entry, I have other new items - cards, prints, bookmarks etc...  My special is still going on, so all items, no matter how many, ship across the U.S. for only 99 cents!  If you order now, they will arrive in time for Christmas!  So take advantage now! 


We'll see what I come up with tomorrow!

Stormwolf Studios on Etsy

Back to my Roots

Some of you might not know this, but I am a traditional artist at heart.  I started out going to school for it and spent many years traveling to different conventions on the East coast to sell my prints.  My most popular pieces ended up being something I did on a whim, which were my Chromatic Dragon Hatchlings, based on the Dungeon & Dragons design concepts.  This lead to more cute baby animals, not just for prints but for commissions.  I also did images of fairies, warriors, maidens and mythological beings and found many people liked my style and imagination.

Katsucon 2001

I used to be a steady attendee to conventions like Otakon, Katsucon and Dragon*Con, but as time went on the economy dropped and so did the sales.  I had to cut back on many of the shows I attended and then eventually stopped going because I could not make back enough to even cover for the trip (gas prices didn't help either).

My convention trips were really a love/hate relationship to be honest.  Packing and prepping for the show was definitely not always my favorite part of the weekend.  I usually ended up working up to the very end and last minute on things for the show and getting prints done.  Traveling was whatever it was, though driving from New Jersey or Pennsylvania to Georgia was always a long trip no matter how you lay it out.  I actually sort of liked that part, the travel I mean.  We got to see different parts of the country and since we went yearly to some conventions, we would get to see familiar places or make familiar stops.

Getting to your location didn't mean things quieted down either.  When we finally arrived at the hotel it was then always a mad rush to get the car parked, check into the hotel, unload all the stuff, THEN check in for the convention, check in for the art-show and artist alley and set up as much as possible before crashing for the night.  The next morning it was an early rise to head down to the artist alley to finish setting up and making sure we had everything at hand (which many times we didn't and would lead to someone running out to get something).

Nekocon 2008 pic care of Dierdre Mcclintock

Sitting down at the table in the artist alley usually had me feeling inadequate in the face of some of the talent I was surrounded with.  As the years went on I also felt like I was too old to compete around the much younger artists in the alley and their styles.  It basically became me beating down on myself as sales for me were always slow that first day and other artists appeared to be doing better.  By the end of that first day though, things would turn around and the weekend would sweep along: Sales would pick up, I'd see my convention-friends, talk to a lot of great people and sometimes even get to see the convention sites.

Otakon 2009

I never got enough sleep at the conventions and would be fairly exhausted on the last day as I tried to pack everything up to get it in the car.  But I also usually felt pretty good about how it all turned out and was also usually grateful that I had gone.

I miss those trips and the times I had but I have a lot of great memories.  I also have some really great friends that I am still in touch with because of those conventions and I definitely would not want to trade them for anything.  Having said that, if I was able to start attending the same conventions as I did years ago, I would not be able to capture the magic of that time.  Its not just because I am a different person, but the whole convention scene isn't the same as it used to be.  The attendees have changed and the markets that drew them to the conventions has changed as well.  Conventions like Otakon and Katsucon were the only places where people could see or purchase anime or manga many years ago, but stores carry the same items and everything is available on the internet.  The same can be said for the sci-fi/fantasy conventions.  The buyers are different as well - they are not willing to spend as much money as they used to on original art.

Perhaps one day I'll start going to shows once more, but it might not be focused on anime, or sci-fi/fantasy.  Instead it might be more for jewelry.  We'll see!

Chromatic Dragon Hatchling Set

I still have prints and such from my time attending conventions and there is no reason that it can't be made available to people to purchase again so I decided to post a lot of my work on etsy as items friends, family and fans can buy.  It has been great to look through my art and remember working on each one and the reaction of the fans at the cons to them.

Of course I have favorites in my shop like my Chromatic Dragon Hatchlings, but I also have some of my prints and bookmarks for sale.  Below are just some of the items I have available at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/StormwolfStudios

Gray Wolf Book Mark

Tiger Woman

Aura

To make it a little easier to navigate, I set up different sections in my etsy shop so that if you want to see my jewelry you can easily click over there, or if you just want to see the Chinese Zodiac prints, you can just click on over there.  My holiday sale is still going on which means everything shipping in the United States ships for only 99 cents, no matter how much you choose to purchase, so take advantage of it.  Or if you want to take a walk through memory lane, check out my work on etsy!