Month: October 2004

Calling all artists…yes YOU!

Ok, it is here! I am actually setting up this week! We got our CO permit today!! Whoooya! So this weekend I will be the busy, busy bee setting up the gallery!! Now what I need, as I am extremely superstitious about these things, are tons and tons of good luck charms and inspiration for success from YOU! That’s right, if you read this I want a piece of you in my store. I will have a wall in the section where I paint that will be my inspiration wall. Where my quotes, photos, postcards will go. I will be putting Jill’s postcard from her Mortal Mom site and the print she gave me at our visit, Kate’s (Penguin Art) bookmark she gave, Elena’s (French Toast Girl) cd she gave me, etc. I think all those things are so powerful and instrumental in helping me remember that I am a part of something so much bigger. And that I have so many people that support me in this. Even if it is your favorite fortune cookie saying, scribble it down and send it to me! I will take a picture of the wall when it is all up and post it. I will post pics this weekend of the completed shop as well. So put on your thinkiing caps and send me some inspiration for success, please! I will be eternally grateful. Here is the address you can mail to:

Michelle Abeyta Studio & Gallery

479 A Flat Shoals Ave

Atlanta, GA 30316

You guys all rock! Oh, and if you would like an evite to the grand opening Oct 29th, if you are local (even if you are not) email me at: michelle@abeytacreative.com and I will add you to the list.

Chugging along…

So when I imagined working for myself I imagined this wonderful life of morning runs, coffee at Starbucks, meetings about the city….HA! Then I would see other successful business owners and wonder how they had it so together and I seemed to run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Well, we all manage to have our face we show the world. Once I began getting to know other small business owners I realized how alike we all are. Sure, some of us have a bit more business sense, and others a bit more organizational skills, but rarely do any of us have it all. Me, I am the one with a lot of energy and vision, and some days not much else. And I mean that in the kindess of ways to myself. But we work for urselves because we have to. We simply cannot not do it. Despite our selves.

A day in my life: Yesterday I woke up, got the kids off to school (with hubby’s help) had a cup of coffee, finished up a freelance poster design and emailed off a proof, got ready to go to my part time job that will pay for the studio, went to part time job, went to studio, dropped off business cards for the other business owner I am renting space from (trade out!!), saw my sign above the store front and had a panic attack. Yup. I freaked, people. What am I thinking??? I put my name up all big on a huge sign??? See, I thought I’d have this moment. Ya know, the running, starbucks type moment. Nope. I looked up there and felt like someone knocked me in the stomach. Not a sense of accomplishment and pride. More like, I’m gonna throw up! Now everyone is gonna realize I am a big scaredy cat! I just drove off in a daze.

I came home and painted. I painted because when I paint I am calm. I don’t think of anything else. I became more peaceful. Then we did homework, ate dinner, read a good old Nancy Drew, and got the kids off to bed. Then I painted some more. I tried to paint away my fears. I painted from 8:30pm until 11:30pm. It didn’t work, but it helped. And today I have a really great painting to show for all my big old scaredy cat fears. I haven’t conquered my fear that this could be a big old flop and everyone will be able to see it, but at least I realize that I have the strength to keep moving forward. Even if none of this works out and I have to start all over one day doing something else, I tried. I tried my damnedest and let me tell you that even with the panic attacks and fear, I love what I do more than anything in the world. And with every painting I finish it makes everything else worth it.

Sweet Sophie

Sophie learned how to ride her bike without training wheels yesterday. Like everything else she does, she decided today was the day. I am in constant awe of this little girl. Once she decides something, that is all there is to it. Like the last tooth of hers that was loose. She had wiggled in all day in hopes of getting the tooth fairly to come that night. By day’s end we were on her bed and that little tooth was just hangin’ on being stubborn. I said, “Well, it looks like today is not the day.” To which she replied, “Oh yes it is!!” And with that she grabbed that tooth and yanked until it flew across the bed. Yep, that is Soph. Then there was the time she wanted a rabbit. We said we didn’t know much about rabbits and that it was probably not such a good idea with the two big dogs. She decided she needed to learn as much as she could and so after many tears and pleading she got her daddy to drive her to the library at 7:45pm (it closes at 8pm) to get a book on rabbits. I am happy to report after several days of reading and studying them she decided she did not want a rabbit. Whew!

So we come to yesterday. Sophie has been wanting to ride her two wheeler without training wheels for a while and yesterday she declared was the perfect day. So with Daddy running behind and Mommy ‘s heart in her throat every time he let go, I watched Sophie learn. She fell. She got scraped. She got bruised. She bled. She cried. But every single time she got up and got back on her bike. Sophie is no quitter and has more determination than anyone I know. An hour after beginning, I stood at one end of the street and watched her ride her bike alone from Daddy all the way to me. (two house lengths) That’s ‘The Soph.’ She says it. She does it. And girlfriend doesn’t fool around. Sophie is who I want to be when I grow up.

Sneak Peek

Ok, for those of you that want a peek I have uploaded some pics I took this morning. The back doors are not put in yet and my counter isn’t in, but you can get the idea. The alcove that is yellow and blue is going to be my work area. And while I was taking these pictures a guy moving out of his store sold me a card rack for just $10! woohoo!

So if you want to wait for the finished studio wait, otherwise all others go SNEAK A PEEK