Last night, in a desperate attempt to get my mind off all the insanity, I started a new image so my brain would stop grinding and I could focus on something constructive.

It’s a challenging thing right now to keep creating, to keep inventing, to keep adding to the fabric of the universe to counteract all the bad. I think of it as a sort of artistic duty to keep making, to counter the evils that are so proud right now with some sort of antidote…

It’s important to remember not to retreat into complete escapism and turn a blind eye. But it is also important to try to feed and sustain the soul and heart that’s being injured and bruised.

For me, trying to create in the face of so much hate is sometimes the only aspect of agency I feel I have. It’s one of the few things I can control right now. So I’m not going to stop doing it.

This is my piece, “The Ugly Duckling”, as well as the link to the speedpaint vid on MakerTube.

https://makertube.net/w/qX4ZSB94GCxEY2f4LBHVeE?autoplay=1

Don’t let them make you feel your creativity is just a simple diversion or distraction from reality, and that you should be doing other more substantive things. It is more than that. it’s your responsibility to “add" when so many are “subtracting". It’s what you can do better than anyone else.

She's a wild one...like me.
And we always will be

Heute ist es zwar etwas kühler, aber trotzdem wünsche ich euch allen ein wunderschönes Wochenende. Ich bin auch unterwegs und schaue mal, was der Tag so bringt. #bloomscrolling #artistsonmastodon #artistatwork #sketching #artistlife

Going live today, starting a new image in Procreate based on Rapunzel!

1-4:00pm PDT (UTC-7)

I’ll be on MakerTube: https://makertube.net/w/ww2zPQGGtEL5qSWxjAYNnd?autoplay=1

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/coreyartus

and Moonbeam: https://www.moonbeam.stream/Continuum

Come join me for soft music, a pot of tea, and a chill vibe. Lurkers welcome!

Bleh. Just tonight, for the first time in a very long time, I had to block a tech-bro troll trying to stir me up with a hit-n-run art dunk saying it looked machine generated. I almost fell for posting an umbrage-laced retort. But that’s what they want.

I have to remind myself to not feed them.

Blockity block block. That’s the way to deal with it.

Today, I learned the term “mimic-tech” to describe stolen-art-based image generation tools, and I love it! I think I’ll start calling it that from now on.

#spotlight #enjoythesilence

#blackandwhite #monochrome #monochromephotography #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #photography #stilllife #still #stillleben
#artistlife #Künstlerleben

I just handed over a whole bunch of my greeting cards to Marta, owner/operator of Good Day Shop in Arcata, CA. Her art consignment shop is going to be a perfect fit for me!

She is building a vibrant community around the store—she hosts music events and art openings at her shop, and has plans to expand to rent studio space to local artists and artisans if her plans work out!

https://dolphin-decagon-3e8c.squarespace.com/

She was incredibly kind, helpful, and generous to me today. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer guide to help me figure out what I was doing. Incredible person!

I’m SO happy!!! I have literally half a rack of greeting cards that are all mine! Right by the counter! I’m ecstatic!

I've finished today's lino prints and I'm waiting for my cyanotype paper to dry... Now it's time to get on with the letterpress finishing!

Everything's done by hand with the cheap little trimmer! I told you that my prints on https://boutique.lokipropagand.art are handmade!

#FediArt #Prints #Letterpress #Handcraft #Anarchy #ArtistLife

I have to cancel today’s art livestream.

My husband bought an entire cord of firewood, and when they delivered it, they dumped it all on our sidewalk.

We just spent the last 3.5 hours carting wood to our back yard and stacking it, one laundry basket at a time.

I think my body is broken now. Haha!

I can’t stream. I need to curl up in my bed and whimper for a while.

Maybe not a surprise that this is the latest gif in my collection.

So I’m in the process of putting on little “Now Proudly Relocated to Humboldt County, CA, USA) stickers on all of my greeting cards.

Because one can’t really say you’re a local artist if all your stuff implies it’s from a city 770 miles to the south.

And I can’t do that to local event managers and shopkeepers if I get into their shows. I won’t do that.

So I’ve got hundreds—literally hundreds!!--of cards to do that ‘ve already printed that have a “Made in San Diego” tagline on the back. I’m hoping this will be a good enough solution, because I can’t afford to reprint thousands of dollars worth of stock…

I’m settling in for the night, listening to good music and drinking a Humboldt Cider Company hard cherry cider. It’s chilly and wet out (as usual) so I think I’m just gonna huddle and feel productive tonight!

I wrote a new blog post about my Snow White image and what I’m exploring with the Art Nouveau style.

https://www.coreyartusimagery.com/musings/snow-white

I’m really enjoying the journey of discovery, and this image is a good step along the way!

I’m still not ready to do livestreaming. I’m far too tired, and need another night to rest. So I’m cancelling my livestream tonight that was scheduled from 7-9:00pm.

BUT--I’ll be trying something new tomorrow. A daytime livestream from 1-3:00pm. More info coming!

My sincerest apologies to all. I just need one more night to recharge my batteries. I’ll be refreshed tomorrow.

I wrote a new blog post about the new community I’ve moved to in Humboldt County, California.

I have so much more to share! I’m so excited about the area, and there’s so much more to explore here.

https://www.coreyartusimagery.com/musings/a-bit-about-our-new-community-in-humboldt-county-ca

Tried livestreaming this afternoon, but apparently MakerTube didn't quite work...

But then I had problems forming cohesive thoughts and pooped out an hour into it, wrapping things up. I went and slept for two hours.

I think I may have been a bit overly ambitious trying to livestream a short week after picking up my life and moving. I didn't realize that feeling tired is different from being fatigued, and my body is just not having it. The stress, the unfamiliarity, the new climate, the boxes, the boxes, and the boxes...

I have to change up my schedule anyway, as I can livestream during the weekdays now and I need to have my weekends free for markets and festivals. I have a lot of pondering to do!

But in the meantime, I have a lot of sorting, arranging, and resting to do. Oof. Sorry if anyone tuned in and didn't get to see it. I'm going to be checking my MakerTube connections and all that to make sure they're all still working.

I'll post soon what my new schedule will be once I figure it out!

I’m getting around to joining some local arts organizations in Humboldt County, my new home.

Redwood Art Association has a member gallery downtown which I’m really excited about. It’s a big part of a local Arts Alive monthly festival they have downtown just 5minutes away from my home.
https://www.redwoodart.net/

Humboldt Arts Council has calls for juried local artist shows regularly at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, so I’m also looking forward to submitting my work to those.
https://humboldtarts.org/

Making it happen!

My hands are so sore… They’ve been put through the wringer from weeks of packing, gripping boxes and shoving them around, unpacking, assembling and disassembling shelves… It’s flat out painful. They’re so swollen they feel like tight little sausages…

Any advice? I’m trying to draw, but I don’t think I can. I’ve put Eucerin lotion on them and I’ve been told compression gloves can help. Any other words of wisdom? They’re just kaput right now… <sigh>

Just a reminder--I'm not streaming again tonight. My returning livestream after my move is scheduled for March 9th. I'll be doing more art on MakerTube and Twitch and straming for the first time from my new studio!

I hope you can join me then!

Last meal in San Diego before moving day: Chicken Pie Shop.