New Year's Day 2023 Sunrise

 

It's unusually warm for this time of year on the coast of Maine, so it is extra enjoyable to welcome in the New Year with my first cup of coffee at sunrise.  It also feels weird to be blogging, since it's been three years since my last post.  Little did I know that life was about to change in ways I could not imagine and many things in my life were interrupted and came to a screeching halt.  I have many updates and changes I want to make here, but I know me and I don't want to overthink this and find an excuse to not show up, so I am going to just begin it.  It feels good to be writing again.  Feels brave to be sharing my writing.  

My word for 2023 is Boundaries.  I will be exploring all the benefits of healthy boundaries and all the challenges that I have face over the years from a lack of them.  My intention is to create some new boundaries, while also letting go of boundaries that no longer serve me as I continue on my journey of peaceful, joyful, creative living.  I have started sewing, knitting and crocheting again and I made so much progress on my gardens and yard last year that I am already planning and looking forward to what I will do next Spring.

As for my creative business - it's thriving, which still feels amazing, because I thought I was going to lose everything when the pandemic hit.   Somehow, with a lot of hard work and many hard decisions, in complete isolation, I found my way.  This morning, I sat is quiet peaceful solitude, feeling hopeful and excited for what comes next.  

Mindfullness - 2020 one word

Did I get outside today and breath in the magnificence of where I get to call home?

December 24, 2019
Where has the time gone, where do I begin?
My creative business has seen many changes and new offerings since my last blog post, including another name change.   
I am now simply, Beth Doan Maine Artist.  It has been one of the bravest, scariest and most empowering decisions I have made for myself on my creative journey, other than quitting my day job back on May 1, 2015.

2019 has truly been an exceptional year for me as full time working artist.  It's been a whirlwind of painting opportunities and exciting possibilities for the coming New Year.  My heart is full.

I am going into 2020 with clear direction for what I want for my business and how I want to do it.   I am feeling a sense of confidence that is catching me off guard in the best possible way.  I am almost five year full time and this is the first time I have felt like this. 

I've got quite a bit of updating to do, but for now, on the left side of this blog post, you can see a few of the many hand painted ornaments that I offer.  On the right, you can see a sampling of the traditional Art that I offer.  All with links to my Etsy shop.

Merry Christmas,
Beth

Maine Wedding Artist

Maine Wedding Artist

 My creative business is growing.   It began as Beth's Craft Room in 2009.  That name made the most sense to me at the time, because I like to create a wide range of offerings and I had not yet found my niche.  In 2011, that all changed, but it took a few more years to really see the direction I was going.

My blog has not quite caught up.  But I am getting there...  

Photography bridges all my creative expressions

This is my Art Studio set up for a photo shoot for my hand painted Wedding Buoys.  I found some great

decorative lobster buoys for props.

    CobaltSkyStudio on Etsy is the Maine designer and maker of one of my favorite photo props.  Her Maine Buoy Pillows are made for home  decor but also make the perfect accent for my Etsy offerings.  Two of my little buoys look cute hanging off her pillow.

It occurred to me recently that I should offer my buoys as photo prop offerings on my Etsy Shop.  It was so fun photographing my wedding rings with my buoys.

                                          And then there are all the natural props that I love to harvest off the beautiful coast of Maine were I reside.

One of my many creative goals/dreams will be sell my photography as fine Art.

Photography has evolved into a very satisfying part of my creativity.  It's a great story teller, it helps me find the words I want to write. Photography bridges all my creative expressions, both in my business and for personal pleasure and play.

Beth's Craft Room - the Studio, the Blog, the Shop & catching the creative vibe

I have so much I want to write about, here on this blog.  I have so much I want to design, create and paint.

The new designs and ideas in my head are bubbling up so fast, I fear I will never remember them all and I won't get them back and I won't have time to create them.  This thinking is not good for my creative process. Not good for any part of my life.   As a grow as an Artist, a Writer and a business Woman, I realize it's time for a new approach.

These days, when the craziness builds and I start racing because I let the fears of failure and fears of success nip at me, instead of running ever faster to numb out the panic,  I simply get quiet.  I don't look for answers, I don't try to figure out how to fit more into less.  I just get quiet.  

When I do, something good always results, like this thought-

What if all the creativity that is a constant in my brain from the moment I wake, until the moment I fall asleep is not all for me to do.  What if some of it is supposed to be someone else's creative gift to the world and I just happened to pick up on their creative vibe??   If this is a possibility, it reinforces my belief there is enough creative abundance for all of us.  Then instead of my response being one of resentment, my response is one of graditude and sharing.  So to that end another of my dreams is being fulfilled.   Beth's Craft Room officially began selling craft supplies in 2014.  I had always daydreamed about owning a brick and mortar craft supply store, but it turns out what I originally envisioned was supposed to happen like this:

A photo of my unfinished Lobster Buoys I offer on my online Etsy shop.

My wish is that the person who buys my unfinished buoys has as fun and joy as I do painting them.

Creativity and the Universe

I know how my creativity and the universe works.  It's always the same.  If I ask, creative abundance presents itself.  Most times, so much so, I would get overwhelmed and promptly say no thanks and run back from where I came.  That place was of fear, guilt and unworthiness.   I am still scared of the abundance that keeps presenting itself to me.  But at the same time, again and again, I am also driven to keep asking for creative abundance.  I keep trudging along, wonderfully imperfectly.  These days, I have Faith, Hope & Courage and I believe I am worthy.  I believe that we are all worthy and there is enough to go around for all of us.    

This morning in my studio, new designs I am working for my customers and some for general sales on my Etsy Shop.

And I just began another amazing e-course from Kelly Rae Roberts. I don't believe in coincidences anymore.   Trying to decide what I wanted my blog topic for today to be, I stumbled upon an old blog post I made on old blog of mine before I remarried back in 2010.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Oh the possibilities...

When you say yes to the Universe, show me the possibilities, be ready and willing to take the offerings, because I believe the Universe is already looking for us and gifts we can give to the world. When I stumbled 

upon Kelly Rae Roberts, I was asking for the possibilities, but I didn't just get Kelly Rae and her story and gifts, I got so much more. I found a whole community of souls searching and reaching for the same possibilities and I am humbled and inspired. Like the sea glass I harvest from the ocean to create things of beauty, I feel like I have just harvested hearts from around the world. What a gift!