It's another Friday the 13th! And I didn't plan anything specific... again.
DeCult Conference 2024 has been and gone!
And I haven't edited any footage for this blog post.
It's December, which means this is the last blog post for the year!
And I haven't made or written anything about Xmas or 2025.
Woops.
I've just been busy. I feel like I've been in catch-up mode for a while. But I have ideas for 2025 and I'm going to tell you a bit about them later in this post.
Toitū Te Tirti
One of the reasons I got a bit behind in my plans is because my partner and I decided to semi-spontaneously go to a couple of Toitū Te Tirti related events to show our support. One of which was the end of the hīkoi at parliament. It was an amazing thing to be a part of, even in a really tiny way. I wish I'd thought ahead to do something like I did for DeCult but alas. Too late now.
But the fight isn't over. I won't go in to detail here about why you should support this as I feel like you either already know, or my words won't be sufficient. However, The Treaty People seem like a great organisation for education on te Tiriti and I particularly like these poster summaries.
I haven't yet made my submission, as I want to actually write something good rather than vomit out some words (which is what I'm doing on the blog post, to be honest). So this is as much as a reminder for me as for you: here is where you can make a submission. You can join the Green's submission as well as write your own.
Edit 14/12: I have now made my submission and decided to use this tool from Action Station which gives you prompts for what to write.
Also, typing this has made me realise that I haven't yet set up the Maori keyboard on this laptop. Add it to the list...
T-Shirts
I partly chose this title just for alliteration but I have been thinking about t-shirts and other merchandise a bit recently. The short, disappointing announcement is that I don't think I want to do t-shirts again. People occassionally ask for them because they missed out when I did pre-orders and I no longer have their size. But not enough people ask to make it worth doing another order.
I also feel like I have too many t-shirts. Surely I'm not the only one. You must have too many t-shirts as well, right??
Which is why, when I eventually reopen my shop, I think I'm going to focus more on accessories you can add to your existing clothes. Why add to the massive amount of textiles going to landfill?
I love patches and I always request patches from other artists. They don't seem to be big sellers, but that's what I'd rather do anyway. I've got some other ideas too.
What types of merchandise would you like to see, other than t-shirts?
Trying new things in the new year
For the rest of 2024 I just want to focus on catching up on tasks, enjoying Xmas, and planning for 2025.
2025 will have some things that I already do - like continuing my painting, obviously. I've said on this blog before that I have many ideas (like non-t-shirts), but I've begun to prioritise them. I'm not sure how many I'll be able to do next year (need to ACTUALLY do the planning first), but I'm stating it here now - there will be new and different things happening in 2025. I'm putting my ideas and intentions out there so I am accountable - I can't hide and pretend I was never going to pursue these things!
The things that are closer to the top of my list, at least one of which will happen in 2025 is:
Sketching more regularly and doing so in themed sketchbooks.
Making more art for the Ghoul(ish) category of my gallery.
Creating book cover art.
Entering some art competitions.
Some of my other ideas, which aren't likely to be seen in 2025 but may get started are:
Joining more exhibitions.
Doing online monthly art challenges (like Inktober).
Reaching out to other artists to make collaborative pieces.
Opening up custom and commissioned art orders on my shop.
Reopening my merchandise shop with small items and starting off selling at markets.
What would you like to see?
I'd love to hear your ideas. If the idea of book covers is exciting to you, what books should I do? What art competitions are in your area? What artists should I collaborate with?
As always, my ideas and goals are flexible. I like to stay open to opportunities, so if something different comes up maybe I'll go in an entirely different direction! But I do hope to do at least one of the ideas written above.
I'll see you all in the new year!
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