Let’s get caught up

So much has happened in the last eight months. I started producing more original drawings and found a style of representing wildlife and nature that was enjoyable and appreciated by others. I continued working with Chris Cunningham to produce a 5 song album. I applied for the Montana Artreprenuer Program (MAP) in July and was accepted in August. I set up my first booth to sell art at the Farmer’s Market in Harlowton through the summer and fall. I also started cleaning up an adorable little building to use as a studio.

In September I attended the first of four workshops for MAP. It was everything I had hoped for. If you are a Montana artist who struggles with the buisness side of art…apply for it. In October I attended the second workshop and applied for the Helena Holiday MADE fair in Dec. At the time I had two original works of art and knew I would need to make so many more. I had no idea how I was going to make a professional booth but trusted that my MAP instructor Liz Chappie-Zoller would cover everything I needed to know and help me learn the tools to get there. Now halfway through November I have a solid checklist, a plan for an epic and probably over engineered booth and 7/8 original drawings I planned to create. I’ve also upped my game to make 18 drawings by then. If I even get close I will have blown my original goal out of the water.

There is one MAP session left in December, the week after my first big booth show! After that I have the big task of fleshing out and producing each tool from the program so I can become a certified MAP artist. That means that other established, certified artists have witnessed my completion of all the tools outlined through the program. Liz likens it to getting your black-belt. It doesn’t mean you have nothing left to learn, just that you now have all the tools you need to be successful at what you do. I still have to put them into practice and plan to. The certification deadline is May 1 and it is my goal to submit my toolbox for evaluation by then. I am so hungry for this…

So it begins!!!

First recording session done! I can’t express how excited I am for this project. I am loving the creative feedback and already feel the vision (and what I am capable of) expanding.

I am also giving 100% to art and music for another year. Being in the midst of uncertainty never felt so calm or secure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m up and down and all around but when I think about the big picture and the path I am on, I couldn’t be more confident.

Looking Ahead

I had a very positive and encouraging phone call with Chris Cunningham of Basecamp Recording Studio before Christmas. His mission and my needs line up precisely. In recognizing my own limitations and seeking help, I’m allowing myself the opportunity to meet another incredible musician, bring life to songs in ways my recording skills couldn’t, and learn a TON along the way.

I don’t know what 2021 will bring but here are some of my hopes:

1. Greater skills in both music and art.

2. More connections with amazing and inspiring people.

3. Financial freedom to keep pursuing my art and music in depth.

4. More opportunities for “leaps of faith”.

I talked with a good friend a while back, seeking feedback on this big move to full time art/music. She asked me if I wanted to do my own work or commissions. After this Christmas season I can say I both love and thrive on commissions. I have ideas for my own works but I am stretched and challenged by the ideas of others. I end up making artwork I never would have imagined! So look for more of that. I will be permanently waiving the base fee for commissions as well. Let’s see what we can do together!

Follow up

Accountability! A month ago I post about getting my music out there. In the weeks directly following that I continued to put it off. It was still there but little excuses kept popping up: no time, no good space, too noisy, maybe later. Then life slapped me right in the face. No more. Enough. I hate that it takes hard times to motivate me to action but I am also thankful they do. This one really has me fired up.

I squeezed myself into my cluttered studio space in the front porch, sandwiched between a car seat and my portable heater, and I recorded. I fixed a few things, added some harmonies, changed a few lyrics. The songs are not polished and I am ok with that. They are enough to send out into the world. And I’m not stopping. I learned new things in the process and I will keep striving for more.

What is my motivation? What has me on fire? One reoccurring message that surfaces in almost every song I write. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!! Depression, sadness, grief, anxiety, loneliness, heartache, you name it…you are not alone. There is hope. There is a Light. It is real, unlike the misleading crap that is thrown at us daily. There are so many messages of hope and I want my songs to be out there fighting that fight too.

AND…I heard back from a local recording studio. We are working on setting up a meeting to discuss recording an album. We can’t do it on our own and we were not meant to. There is help for all of us in whatever circumstances we are going through. Let’s keep fighting and supporting each other till we find it!

Believer's Statement

I was challenged today with the idea of a believer's statement. As artists we are taught and encouraged to write artist statements to explain to viewers who we are, what we do and why we do it. Since faith is the epitome of who I am and what drives me I thought I would take Peter's advice and make a believer's statement. “…if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 1 Peter 3:15 In a nutshell…

It doesn’t matter if you were born and raised in a church or spent your whole life outside them, it is all darkness until you have an encounter with the reality of God (not just the idea of Him). We all know people who basically live at church but can’t give or receive grace if it was handed directly to them (it was and is). I bet we know people (myself included) who tried the world’s way of doing things and found out painfully that it doesn’t work and never leads to peace. It comes down to “the good news”. Grace. The reality of grace. The reality that we were purposefully created, set apart, and given a way to experience the Divine that the world can’t give. I will never speculate on how God will sort it all out and frankly, that’s way above my pay grade. I know I experienced it and in one moment I was not the same. Like falling in love for the first time; all those songs on the radio finally make sense! I can’t give perfection but I can trust my source of inspiration to do more than I ever could. Like my artist's statement says: I do my best work when I get out of the way. Something bigger than me gets to shine and that’s the way it should be.

What’s next?

I have managed to build a habit of quite time in the morning after getting my son on the bus for school. It is possible! Part of that time this last week has been spent praying about and thinking of what is next on this journey. I bought a 2020 planner back in December 2019 that was going to help me map out and record my upcoming journey. It is great. Places to write down your goals for the year, habits you need to build to meet those goals, spots to break goals down into manageable steps…everything my forgetful mind needed to tangibly hold onto the vision God was brewing in my soul. Now 2020 is nearing it’s end (thank goodness I think?) and I have checked off all my creative goals for 2020 except for one. And it comes to mind when I ask that question…what's next?

Website - check

Original art - check

Make prints - check

Art feels good, I have commissions to last me to Christmas…steady on that course.

Write songs - check

Record songs - almost check

Publish songs - not check

Gah…..but I don’t know how to do that. I can’t quite make them as polished as I want. I don’t want people thinking about the lousy recording and miss the message. And does it matter? Am I being too picky? I feel these songs are valid for what so many people are going through (myself included) and I know how powerful music can be when walking through hard times. And if 2020 hasn’t been full of record hard times then I don’t know what it’s been full of. (Haha I got a mental image of what it’s been full of and it isn’t pretty and it doesn’t smell good). Point being, I don’t want 2020 to end without me responding through song. And I get fired up when I think about that message. 1. God is a real tangible presence if we just stop and honestly look for him. 2. He has….and always will…bring good out of the worst situations we find ourselves in. He redeems, he restores, he refreshes…that’s kinda his jam. (Wow, Amber, that is SO churchy.) Yea, it sounds that way. For me, it is science. In the great experiment of my life it is the intangible Thing that has truly changed me and opened up my brain to a different way of thinking and being in the most tangible ways. But I digress…publishing music.

Gah….but I don’t know how to do that!!!!! I don’t. But the words of Johan Sebastian Bach screamed out to me today, “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” It isn’t about me. Maybe I won’t end up singing my songs (weak voice, limited range, inexperienced), maybe they go out into the world and only reach a few ears, maybe they get picked up by someone else and blow up and are heard by millions while my name remains an overlooked sidenote in the “about” section. I am finally ok with that. Not in lip service but in my whole being. We need refreshed, we need reminded that it is ok to hurt and cry and feel “not happy”, we need reminded of what matters. These are things I have been reminded of and want to remember. My best songs have come through my own struggles and searchings. So. What's next? I, Amber Scally, am going to piece together a passable recording for three songs I’ve written and I am going to send them to other people. Not sure who, but they are going out. Like baby Moses in the basket. Maybe they will come back to me with help to record at a higher level than I am capable of, maybe they will end up out there for others to hear. All I want now is what Bach wanted - glorify my source of life and inspiration (God) and refresh any weary souls who happen to listen. I want to build up what others have destroyed, I want to help others give themselves permission to feel what they feel without the burden of shame and guilt, and point others to the only source of healing I have found to be true. We will see where this part of the journey ends.

To my one blog follower, thank you for taking interest in my journey, I do appreciate you!

The “joys” of pricing art…

Oh my word. If you have visited my page in the last month you may have notice some fluctuations in the prices of my originals. $500…no, $750, no $1,025, no, back down to $650. I’m content and then I'm up at 4 am freaking out. Every artists nightmare.

So, I’m going to be upfront about my current pricing and where it will go from here. For my originals I will be charging a base of $100 to cover materials, travel, making proofs, studio space, etc. Then I will track how many hours it takes me to finish and use a consistent hourly wage. Currently, that will be $30 an hour. Commissioned works will have a base of $25 as I will not be making prints and do not have the additional cost of making proofs. (Update: I will not be charging base fees on work. It just didn’t make sense to me in the long run.) If I do well, I may give myself a raise next year 😅. Letters are currently $15 per letter.

I hope that helps everyone understand how I arrived at my prices! If you ever have questions please shoot me a message through my website or directly at araemusicart@gmail.com. Thank you all for your support!

The Boys

Working on a pencil drawing of our two burros, Tyrian and Whiskey Jack. I started the piece with determination and a “get it done” attitude. That was at the beginning of August. Over the past week I’ve been attending an online master's class with Matt Tommey about becoming a THRIVING ARTIST. It has changed my view on so many things. In terms of this drawing, I’m not trying to force it. I have a more realistic expectation of it. I have removed the pressure and what I have left is a learning experience where I can grow my self and my skill. Art is for you but it is for me too. This piece will be in someone’s house some day, but the lessons I’ve learned from it will be mine forever.

Clarity

We are so broken. Broken, hurting, and divided. When Covid-19 hit it seemed to me there was some silence, some solidarity at first. Now there's so much noise it is overwhelming. My clarity in this moment is that we are all hurting and the healing we need is beyond us.

I am drawing and working on setting up a home recording studio. With kids. Pray for me.

Well, huh.

Covid-19. Didn't see that coming. I anticipated change was on its way for me and I knew I wanted to be home with my family. That came sooner than I thought. And it doesn't change a thing. The fire is still there to create and share. In fact I feel it even stronger now. I've been overwhelmed and inspired by artists and musicians blowing up social media with songs, free concerts, and artwork full of hope. I've seen everyone from famous musicians to children singing with their families. And it all sends me the same message. We're in this thing called life together. We always have been but now the “buzz” is silenced and our shared struggle overpowers the discord that used to be daily life. We've been handed a big dose of perspective. I'VE been handed a big dose of perspective! I just feel the need and desire to sing, write, play, draw, paint. And for no other reason than to do it. If it brings joy, peace, hope…I can't ask for more than that.

In her book Girl, Wash Your Face, Rachel Hollis says, “You create because you have a God-given ability to do so. You create as a gift to yourself and to the higher power who blessed you with those abilities.” She said it better than I could. So I'll just keep doing that.

Here we go...

It’s official. I am submitting a request for an unpaid leave of absence from my job as a speech-language pathologist. I love my job. I love the kids. I am blessed with amazing co-workers. Yet here I go, stepping into 2020 and a whole lot of unknowns.

I graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in 2005 with a degree in Fine Arts and was absolutely unprepared to make it as an artist. I wasn’t ready. Over the last 15 years I have slowly been shaped and molded by life and little opportunities. There isn’t a single point where I can say “that’s when things changed”. It’s more of a dawning realization that has grown over the last two years that this is the time. I don’t feel nervous about cutting off my consistent paycheck. I feel excited!

And the cherry on top? I’m going to be home with my kids. My daughter told me she misses me when I have to go to work and I was so relieved to tell her I won’t have to go next year. It will be her last year before she starts kindergarten. It goes too fast.

I’ve never blogged before so don’t expect consistency. I do want to put this journey out there though. According to Gretchin Rubin, I’m an obliger. I readily meet external expectations and struggle to keep internal ones. So this is part of my external accountability. I haven’t put myself out there quite like this. I haven’t been afraid of failure, oddly enough. I’ve been afraid I would succeed! And that means change! But I know myself better now. I have a clear vision. I’m ready!

Here we go…