The Joy of Teaching & Creating

I SPEND A LOT OF MY WEEK TEACHING A VARIETY OF THE TEXTILE ARTS TO ADULTS AND CHILDREN AT MY STUDIO, THISTLE COTTAGE STUDIO, IN N.PROVIDENCE, RI.

  I AM ABOUT TO LAUNCH MY SUMMER SEWING & CRAFT CAMP FOR KIDS IN JUNE. PLEASE SEE THOSE DETAILS ON CRAIGSLIST.ORG, AND iLIST.COM.   IT IS ALWAYS A HARD BALANCE TO KEEP BETWEEN TEACHING, WHICH I LOVE, AND CREATING NEW WORKS FOR MY ONLINE RETAIL SHOP WWW.ORSINIMEDICI1951.ETSY.COM , WHICH I INTEND ONE DAY, TO MAKE MY FULL TIME INCOME FROM.  AS MUCH AS I LOVE TEACHING, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE, I FEEL CREATIVELY OBLIGATED TO BRING AS MANY OF MY ABUNDANT IDEAS TO LIFE AS POSSIBLE.  I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A FLOW OF CREATIVITY THAT RUNS LIKE NIAGRA FALLS!  UNFORTUNATELY, UNTIL I LEARN TO MARKET MY SHOP ONLINE IN A WAY THAT BRINGS IN A STEADY LIVING INCOME, I FIND IT NECESSARY TO REROUTE THAT CREATIVITY INTO SMALLER TRIBUTARIES BY WAY OF TEACHING.  I HOPE THAT DOESN'T SOUND TOO MUCH LIKE THAT CONDESCENDING ADAGE, "THOSE WHO CAN'T DO, TEACH".  IT ISN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL!  AU CONTRARE!!  IF I COULD SPEND 16 HOURS A DAY CREATING NEW DESIGNS IN ALL SECTIONS OF MY SHOP, I'D BE A HAPPY CAMPER!!  THERE IS NOTHING THAT MAKES ME HAPPIER THAN IMERSING MYSELF IN THE PROCESS AND MINUTIAE, OF MAKING THOSE TINY MAGICAL DECISIONS ALONG THE CREATIVE PATH TO A NEW RENAISSANCE MASK, OR A NEW PERIOD HAT REPRODUCTION, OR  SCULPTING A NEW IDEA FOR A PIECE OF HAND KNITWEAR, OR LEARNING TO USE MY NEW KNITTING MACHINE!!  I WILL BE GEARING UP FOR THE SCITUATE ART FESTIVAL AGAIN COMING UP IN OCTOBER. 

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE KIND OF ARTIST WHO REVELS IN HAVING MORE THAN ONE PROJECT GOING AT ANY TIME.  I GET BORED SO QUICKLY, AND THE GEARS IN MY HEAD SPIN SO FAST THAT, THE ADAGE, "SO MANY IDEAS, SO LITTLE TIME" RINGS LOUD AND TRUE FOR ME!

THAT ALL SAID, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT I'LL SPIN OUT NEXT.  I DO HOPE YOU WILL, AND INVITE YOU ALL TO VISIT THISTLE COTTAGE STUDIO AT WWW.ORSINIMEDICI1951.ETSY.COM, REGULARLY!  

  HAVE A LOVELY AND CREATIVE DAY!!

ETSY vs. eBay

There's been a lot of discussion about eBay and ETSY, and I'm here to tell you that there is NO comparison! I had an eBay store and closed is last Nov. '08, and cancelled everything there,  It was not my venue! They continued to debit my checking acct. for 6 mos., ignoring my commands, sending me round in circles, wasting my time with tabs and clicks that were dead ends!! It was only when I figured out that they were playing head games that I threatened to and did contact the Atty. Gen. office of CA, informed my attorney, and offered free publicity online.  I was pushed and bullied, ignored and abused by them!  I finally got a refund after an online war with them! I was pushed into using 4 blanking letter words, and am Twittering about it anyway, because people need to know that eBay has no respect for people.  ETSY on the other hand is a community of artists who care about each other, and it shows!  I've found a home and my venue!  I've also found a wonderful ETSY mentor who is devoted to teaching us how to make a living online. Check out Tim Adam DEsigns on ETSY, and Facebook, and his tutorial site, Handmadeology.com! He's phenomenal!! I made three sales on ETSY in April! Thank you to those who made those purchases at www.orsinimedici1951.etsy.com!!  I treat my customers like royalty!!