Mary Elizabeth Arts: A Brand New Year

A Brand New Year!

A new reason to be excited about what you are doing and how you are doing it.
A new reason to do something that you've always wanted to do, but were too chicken to try.
A new reason to love yourself more and take better care of your mind, body and soul.
A new reason to thank the people in your life who love and support you.
A new reason to forgive yourself for whatever you messed up last year.
A new reason to forgive people who treated you badly last year.

I love a new year. And for me, the new year brings a new age. My birthday is January 6th so I get all sorts of new starts and beginnings. January is one of my most favorite times of the year.

2012 was AWESOME. For those of you who know me, the holiday crush is usually when I turn into a zombie and spend most of December in a total mad sleepless panic to get holiday orders out the door. This year was different. There were only a few stress tears and hardly any sleep-deprived mistakes. Well, maybe just a few. I'm only human! I'm finally figuring out the business side of what it means to run an art-business. The art thing I've got covered. It's the business side that needs work. And thanks to Ashleigh, Lindi and Olga, my 3 very helpful talented workers, the Christmas season no longer terrifies me. I even have a few pieces of inventory left over. I'm in my 5th year of Mary Elizabeth Arts and things keep growing bigger and better than I ever could have imagined. Below are a few studio shots I took during December. The shelf with painted glassware is where I prep my outgoing orders for cleaning and packaging.

This picture is one of my many paint palettes I use for painting on glassware. I thought it would be nice to show some behind the scene pictures of how I create my work.

I owe a lot of thanks to the SCORE mentoring program. I've been working with 2 business volunteers who, between the two of them have more knowledge then could ever hope to fit into my brain. For anyone who is trying to grow or start their own business, do yourself a favor and contact them. Did I mention SCORE services are free?

2012 was AWESOME. I have a little baby niece who's turning 1 this January. (Yet another reason why I love January). Her name is Corinne and we call her our little Wren. When she gets excited she flaps her arms like a little bird. It's pretty much the cutest thing you've ever seen.

For Christmas I painted my mom a Carolina Wren platter. You know you've done a good job when your present brings tears.

I paired this platter with a hand-made little birdhouse from Willow's Keep Pottery. I'm always so impressed with potters. They literally create art from mud. I've taken several clay building and wheel throwing classes--all amazingly cathartic for the mind. If you are wanting a new project for 2013, try a pottery class. At the very least you'll have fun getting your hands dirty.

2012 was AWESOME. But 2013 is going to be the best year yet. I'm heading in a new direction. I'll be creating less everyday pieces and more unique, one-of-a kind treasures. I'm also expanding my Canvas Giclee Prints and have about 20 news paintings to list this month, including my much demanded Koh Samui Sunrise and Sunset paintings.

My brand spankin' new website maryelizabetharts.com is live and running and will be ever evolving as I add new galleries and listings during the year. I welcome feedback on any typos or glitches you may notice. Catch a big mistake and you may just earn yourself some free pieces. This year I'm switching over all my packaging to eco-friendly recycled paper and my packaging swag and presentation is getting a much needed upgrade.

I have several new listings yet to photograph and post. Below are a few of my most recent designs now available. If you see one you like, just click on the image and you can read more about the piece.