Don't Quote the Quote of the Quote Board

Almost as soon as I joined Pinterest (however many years ago it was...two?...thirty?...are there such a thing as years in Pinterest based on the number of pins pinned?  Because I have 12,656 at the moment of writing this post, so I'd make a pretty Methuselah right now), I began to see an increase in low morale amongst the female of my kind.  No, not just the Mom-breeders, but the crafters, the non-crafters, and us over-sharers of memes.  Blogs like Pintrosity gave us some hope that others were also failing as miserably as we at making everyone's first pin: the impossible cookie ice cream bowl, but after a while I began to see despair memes.

These memes displayed depressing expressions that I recall from my college days when people would see that I was an art major and then basically hate-compliment me.  You know, the kind like, "I'm so jealous that you can draw."  "Ugh, I can't draw a stick figure, I hate that you can paint realistically!  Haha, just kidding, you're so talented.  I hate people like you."

Okay...thanks?

Image from despair.com

I know that I won't survive a zombie apocalypse by running or hitting things (except by accident or at very very close range if the zombie has my Dove Chocolate), but I don't hate you because you are a graceful gazelle of a human, who could wield a battleaxe to chop off a zombie's head while leaping over the rest of us meerkats.

But back to those memes.

New ones appeared that were about how we were pinning but not doing, looking but not baking, planning but not marrying (you should see the amount of wedding boards!), and then ones about how angry we were that others were doing things better than we ever could.

So I leave you with this thought, plan, look, pin, then DO or do not.  But don't compare yourself based on the myriad of ideas that you're not doing right now.  It will only steal your joy.

And to husbands, don't quote the quote board if your wife only wants affirmation that her store-bought playdough and pixelated images are just as good as Becky's.  Please.

Artist Ave by Julie Kersting

What's going on at my house?

Well, remember all of these comics that I've been doing, those illustrations that I've done, and that pesky website full of gallery images?  Now I'm going to bring it to your house at affordable prices!  Greeting cards and prints will soon be available through the etsy.com store that I am creating, titled Artist Ave (read that as avenue or ave as in Maria...which ever you like).

I want to provide the personal touch, the affordable art, the unique look, but I need your help!

Many people cannot afford the cost of a real piece of art, so it is my goal to fill your homes with the unique drawings and paintings that I have been working on for the last twelve plus years and am continuing to produce.  They range from comedy to landscapes to familiar and unique illustrations.

Your help will be the foundation of this campaign.  Alone, I will only be able to produce a few greeting cards at a time, but together we can fill the void in the fine art greeting card and print scene!  

All funding will go to the initial output of original art greeting cards and prints, a scale and label printer for mailing, unique packaging, and advertising.

Anyone who contributes $10 or more will get 50% off the order of their choice when Artist Ave by Julie Kersting on etsy.com opens, which will be by the end of the month of February 2015.

Thank you so much for your help and support by clicking on this link and SHARING!

Iris Fairies

Over a year ago my goddaughter was born and this past June her mother asked me to draw a fairy picture to hang in her room.  It only took about six months, but at last here it is, ready to be shipped off!

The beautiful young ladies are my nieces who kindly posed to look as though one was telling a story and the other two listening.  The irises I drew came from the fairy-models' grandmother who dug them up and gave them to me a few years ago.  Little did I know that they, and the young ladies who likely helped her dig them up, would be a subject in a drawing!  Quite cyclical.

Please don't use this or any of my images for commercial or personal use.  Contact me for permissions.

Thanks!