Ratty Progress!

Well today started with some fairly impressive weather here in my corner of the UK. We're talking rain, snow, huge hail with strong winds and then a good dose of thunder and lightning. It was fairly impressive. I haven't seen weather like that for a while!

So with the weather like that I decided that today would be a great day to get working on the projects that are desperate for more attention. 

I've managed to get prints sized, worked on the necklaces that I need to photograph so that I can list them on Etsy! and got to work on more cards and the ratty zine.

It's a blurry image but I'd prefer not to give it all away just yet! This zine has gone through so many different stages since I begun. It started out being an A7 folded zine but due to too many good ideas it has now grown to be an A5 book full of ratty goodness.

The little rough book at the front was me trying to work out what pages went where, for some reason my book binding brain has failed.

So it's now looking absolutely amazing apart from it needs another page! So another rat needs to be drawn but once that's done I can finally print this baby out and get it together.

This is still a joint project between me and my partner. We're both ratty obsessed and it's been lots of fun. Having an amazing writer for a partner works really well at times ;) His writing was one of the reasons the zine grew from A7 sized, it was just too good for that. Sure it's meant that I'm having to spend more time than planned on this but I'm actually getting something that I'm feeling proud of. Something that hasn't happened too much lately.

So I'm really hoping to have this done real soon! The Zine will also be available to buy from my Etsy for any rat fans out there!

I've come to the conclusion today that working hard is a really awesome thing but at the same time it's also really hard and a huge strain on you. I'm still at this major panic stage where my work has just become stuff to sell which adds a huge amount of stress to an average work day.

Today for example, all I kept thinking was what will people like, what will sell, is this really good enough...

Yes the self doubt has set in and it's not fun. It's just like taking a bath in a sea of worry and negativity. It's never fun. And then I'm also adding in a lot of pressure on top of all of that to actually do well and in reality I doubt as an artist I'll ever actually see something I've made and think yes! that's perfect! it's an artist thing, we tend to be too hard on ourselves... especially when you have other people saying it's wonderful.

Ah it's fun. 

I know I'm not the only artist to get this way and I guess it's down to starting Etsy and growing online or whatnot and I know I'm desperately trying to grow but at the same time I know I'm also comparing myself to people who have been doing this for years! I'm expecting to be racing after just learning to walk.

I know I'm being hard on myself which I guess actually makes it worse. I know what I'm doing so why don't I stop it!

And I've gotten personal... but that's okay because I'm just an average person and I have self doubt along with all the hyper rainbow unicorn stuff.

I do however have some ideas at the moment that could lead to some fun badges! Oh I nearly typed badgers then... maybe badgers need to feature as well ;)

By the end of this week I will have some new listings up on my Etsy shop including these babies!

Yes! The necklaces will be available soon!

I hope you have a wonderful week filled with smiles!