Lots of things in the works!
First, and foremost… the kids are back in school, including my youngest, who is in kindergarten! They are enjoying their school very much, and things look good so far. (Only 3 days in, but hey.)
This gives me three hours every morning to do my own stuff! I’m taking this week to feel out how much can be accomplished in this time, and may break it down into easel days and computer days, depending on how it feels. Having this much time every day is a big deal!
Second, I will be participating in a group show at the Utah Arts Festival Gallery in May! I’ve committed to have 20 paintings of various sizes, large and small, for them… so my easel time will be dedicated to that for the time being. I’ll have lots of photos of works in progress as I get closer, so watch for those…! Here’s one that I finished today; it should get a coat of varnish soon – and a proper photo for the gallery, too; gotta get that when the weather’s good.
Vigil. 16″x20″ Acrylic on canvas by Jennifer Broschinsky
A couple weeks ago we traveled up to Yellowstone, and before we went I printed out some parts of my Yellowstone activity book for the kids to try out. It was a hit with the younger ones! (The teenager was a teenager about it and wouldn’t even look at the kit.) I will continue building pages for that and working out what works and what doesn’t. My 9-yr-old LOVED the word finds, and my 5-yr-old WANTED to love them, but had a hard time… he liked the coloring pages better. I may have to do some age-targeting tweaks, and maybe come out with older/younger versions.
If you’re inclined to try a coloring page out, I posted an Old Faithful page on my Patreon, open to everyone; go pick it up if you like!
With so much time in the mornings I should be able to increase my production for the Patreon. It’s a monthly subscription, and I make sure to have things posted every month, but I’d like to increase that, and post freebies now and then, too.
I hope to get some crafting done in my copious free time, too; in fact, I made some “quiet shoes†for my kindergartener to take to school. I just finished them yesterday; here’s my 5-yr-old modeling them:
Slippers! Modeled by my 5-yr-old.
I may post about making them later. It was a surprise idea I got on Sunday, and I was able to execute the idea pretty quickly. They came together fast! It helped that I already had all the supplies.
Alrighty, then! More to do, so I’m off.