An Honest August Update
Priorities, Shed Building, and an Art Sale.
I've finally found a moment to write this after what has felt like a whirlwind of camping trips, backyard hangs, client deadlines, birthdays, family visits, and yard work. Summer is always like this, and though I love it and feel lucky to have had so many fun plans, I always get to this point in the season and start to crave the quieter, slower moments of fall. It’s been cloudy the last two days, and I love it.
I spent June and July finishing a brand project, working part-time for Betsy & Iya designing emails and cute graphics, and trying to keep up my practice of drawing and painting alive. August has been slower (work-wise). I’ve been doing some outreach, thinking a lot about what kinds of work I want to do, and working on a shed build in our backyard (more on that below).
I tried to partake in an illustration challenge earlier in the summer but dropped out halfway through because I had too many things on my plate. It was a good reminder that I only have so much time, and it's my job to prioritize constantly. I have to say “no” to some things to say “yes” to others.
I'm learning this lesson across all areas of my life. I can't be everything for everyone. I can't do all the hobbies and all the house projects on top of all the other never-ending responsibilities of life (dentist appointments, anyone?). I must choose where to spend my time/energy/emotions because those resources are limited. The older I get, the more apparent it is that “doing it all” isn’t what I want or all that great.
I’ve found that the more I say “no,” the less stuff I have, and the more I really think about how I want to spend my time, the happier I am. The less stressed/anxious/tired I am. I spend a lot of time alone doing nothing, and that’s by design.
My favorite thing is a quiet morning on my couch, an empty afternoon I spend just wandering around my house, and a weekend with a lot of “downtime.” I wish I had learned this about myself sooner; I wouldn’t have wasted so much time trying to be an extrovert and host dinner parties!
That said, as a self-employed person with theoretically all the time in the world, I still need to work and make money. I also want to work and make money. So, the question I keep asking myself is: what kinds of projects/work do I want to do, what kind of clients do I want to work with, and how should I break up my day to ensure I’m getting new work, getting time to work on that work, and managing all the admin tasks that revolve around both those things.
Deciding what to focus on is a big part of being self-employed. I could do outreach, send invoices, design, or work on personal projects any day. I could paint all day and then try and sell those paintings. I could clean my house or take my dog to the coast. It’s the autonomy I’ve always wanted, but it requires a new level of self-discipline and prioritization. There’s no “job description” for what I’m doing. No boss checking in on where I’m at with Project A, how profitable Project B was, or our plan for winning Project C. There’s just me, my whims and wishes, and my very lovely accountant who helps me do my taxes.
As I’ve been thinking about ‘what kind of work I want to do,’ I feel I’m leaning towards more graphic design/ branding work and less straight-up illustration projects. I’m shocking myself with this realization, but my design work is more challenging and rewarding because it often involves systems thinking and more specific goals. As much as I love painting, drawing, illustrating concepts, and making capital A art, I enjoy the challenge of working with clients to help them solve their never-ending communication problems in a way that feels more rewarding than just drawing cute stuff.
Because of that, I want to focus on brand and graphic design projects for the rest of the year. I love to draw and make Art, so I’ll keep that up, of course, and I love illustration. So, for any design project that needs illustrations or any time I can use those skills for a branding project, I obviously will– but I’m not going to focus on editorial illustration, art licensing, or even trying to develop my Illustration style. I will focus on design work and finding clients needing help with branding, campaigns, event branding, and general graphic design support.
Now for a much more exciting section of this newsletter: Shed building!!
I’ve always wanted my own ‘studio’ to work out of. I’ve had a lot of daydreams about it for the last ten years. I want to have my own space that can get messy and help me avoid the distractions of looming household chores.
We got serious about the shed earlier in the year and started looking into what it would entail. I watched YouTube videos, downloaded plans, and built a giant Pinterest board. We floated the idea by a friend who is a construction engineer, a family friend who is an architect, and my dad (who built my parent’s house and a shed in their backyard.) We looked at getting a prefab one or a TuffShed and ultimately decided that building it ourselves would be the best way to get exactly what I wanted. Since my dad has a lot of experience building things and was down to help, along with my husband Nick, we decided to build it together.
Once we made that decision, Nick contacted a friend who owns a concrete company, and we had them come out to pour a concrete slab in May. We decided on a slab because I like the look of slab foundations and thought it would be nice to have polished concrete floors.
We agreed on 10x14 because that felt big enough to fill the back corner of our yard without being too big. We found a plan online, which we used as a starting point, and then had a friend who is an architect adjust that plan to the location and weigh in on materials. She suggested a slightly steeper roof, bigger windows, and better materials for the siding, roof, and interior walls. Thank you so much, Katherine Garber! Her expertise took our run-of-the-mill downloadable shed plan and made it so much better.
I said in my Instagram story I would reveal the cost of the shed, but now I realize that wasn’t a true statement because all I have is an estimate of how much we think it will cost. And that estimate is only for the exterior. (Whoops). So, for the full breakdown, you will have to wait. I do plan to keep track of all my expenses and reveal them at the end. The estimate I created based on the materials list is below. So far, we’ve spent $3500 on concrete and about $360 on the lumber/materials to frame the four walls,
We plan to frame the roof next week, order the windows, and finish most of the exterior before October (the rainy season). Then we’ll need an electrician to run the electricity, install the windows and door, and finish the inside. In my ideal world, we’d finish it before the end of the year, but we’ll see how it goes.
That’s it, that’s my August update! The last thing is– I am having a Yard Sale / Art Sale this Saturday. We’re selling some camping, bike, and house stuff, and I am selling some art and prints I’ve made over the last year. Details are below. Come by to say hi, shop, see the shed, or all three!
Thanks for reading, and if you are a subscriber, thank you for subscribing! See you next month.
Ariel
Love that you're discovering you want to do more graphic design work! It's inspiring to see people being honest with themselves about what work they like best (vs the work they think they *should* be doing!)