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I have not had a sale for the first few months since I set up shop, but this time I can take some responsibility for that, because I was initially not very clear about what I could provide to the audience besides my art and my update posts. It's also been a while since I spoke on this matter as well. You also may have also noticed that I don't post much art outside of the Untilted comic strip. All that is explained on my personal blog.

Regarding art business, I've done a lot of introspection and research on what specifically I want to do these past few months, because of the lack of subscriptions and interactions and mostly due to my thinking that I would be mostly passive while customers come to me. It seems that no matter where I set up shop, whether it's Mercari, Fiverr or some other marketplace even if run independently by me, I don't get much traction anywhere. There was a whole moment where, despite consistently putting up stuff on Mercari for weeks, I went a whole year without a single sale, which led to my frustration and led to me eventually deactivating my Mercari account. All this despite putting up stuff most people want to see. And I'm being regularly blamed for not being proactive enough when I just want to not have to think about how to woo people in my business, which apparently I must actively do or else I'll be treated with suspicion. But guess what? It was like this under actual employment as well. When I signed up for a temporary summer painting job at my community college, I was also being seen by my manager as “not doing my job and constantly disappearing” despite the fact that I actually was consistently painting on the areas I was assigned to the entire time, and despite me showing him. Which led to me quitting a day before the official employment term ended.

It turns out that I'm not very traditionally well-suited for any type of business or profession due to my nature and attitude towards it. And I think the main reason for this is because, going by how people promote their own products and all, from Mastodon to Pinterest, everyone HAS to be proactive and initiative at ALL times and everything HAS to be attractive and acceptable to the general public (or at least a well-defined popular demographic/audience) or else I'll be viewed with suspicion/contempt and eventually ignored in favor of more popular and marketable influencers. And I don't really like that notion. At all.

It also turns out that there are some things in the art business that I am not exactly comfortable with doing, that I've seen everywhere I go in a lot of art circles:

1. Art prints. I feel like only photography is best suited to be printable, but I don't exactly have the budget for a high-end camera (although I do have Photoshop and Lightroom, but I rarely use it) so I will probably never be able to successfully pull it off.
2. Art merchandise (like stickers, bookmarks, shirts, etc.). I do actually do my own stickers and bookmarks using my own materials and whatever else I got but I just do not like the idea of turning my art into marketable merchandise that dilutes almost all meaning my art has. It feels like I am using my art in a way that indicates that it does not deserve respect beyond being marketable and trendy.
3. Stock photos and stock illustrations. At one point I did attempt to sell stock photos with Adobe Stock, and they rejected my photograph for being low-quality and, most irritating at all, “not representing the broader human experience” as if a stock photo has to mean something beyond being used by businesses to showcase their products without actually showing the actual product. So I stopped. I'm not even sure if someone can sell stock photos beyond a marketplace, because most people are bound by marketplaces that either prohibit content with resale rights or have heavy restrictions on them anyway, and stock images are technically such content. So I will not be doing stock images.
4. Sending physical and handmade art/jewelry. I currently do not have the means or support to do so due to preservation concerns as I live in an apartment building that's not very suitable enough to preserve high-quality artwork beyond the ones that take low maintenance to preserve.
5. Anything that can be sold on Fine Art America, Etsy, Pixels, etc. due to my experience with marketplaces I just explained at the beginning.
6. Anything photography related due to the high expectations associated with it.
7. Any type of art commission that feels informal (like character base templates). Now, I have no hostility or hatred towards people who do art commissions. But a lot of the scene and their ideas feel, how do I put this in a nice way, too simplistic and informal. I do not mean to say that they are unprofessional at all, or anything overly negative like that. I am not one of those people who judge other people's career choices based on perceived professionalism and I am actually very accommodating about this stuff. However, I have a preference towards commissions that convey a higher level of seriousness and that give me something simple yet also challenging to do, while not burning me out, but also helping me learn something new at the same time. And I don't feel that certain types of art commissions meet that standard for me.
8. Any type of art commission that feels too easy to do to the extent that it can be exploited by someone who wants to rip it off and pretend they did the work themselves when they stole it from me (like profile picture commissions done in the same kind of style, “adoptables”, etc). See 7.
9. Any type of art commission that has loopholes that may violate my boundaries and could get me in trouble (e.g. non-explicit fetish art that isn't obvious to the average viewer that it's meant to be fetish art). I've had this boundary way before the whole UK Online Safety Act thing (which I technically may be bound to due to me being on a UK-based marketplace website, although my website contains no objectionable content) but I would just like to reiterate that I do not do any kind of content that may be considered harmful to vulnerable audiences, legally or not, no matter how implicit or hidden it is. Although all my art is created for a general audience and is not primarily directed at either children or adults, I do not do any kind of adult content whatsoever. This is not to judge those that do, just to set things straight.
10. Anything that requires software I may not be familiar with.
11. Texture/brush packs (because I am not familiar with them)
12. Online teaching (for obvious reasons)
13. Anything involving cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens, and artificial intelligence due to ethical risks
14. Anything beyond my current skill level and budget.
15. Anything outside my personal taste unless I'm sure I'm comfortable with it. I do not discriminate against anyone for having an art style different from my own either.

I do like the idea of putting up membership content for people to subscribe to me and see all my content there, even if it's just for a month, which is why Untilted was initially a subscription-based thing before I realized that no one knows me well enough to want to subscribe to me. But I haven't even figured that out well yet, as I see some people put some behind the scenes art in public, and other art behind a membership paywall. As a result I am stumped as to what I want to put on my membership tiers, and I am open to ideas. I was thinking maybe I could do alternative versions of certain Untilted comics, or maybe some GIF animations.

I would really like everyone's help and input with this.

I recently left California for the forests of New England, & started hand-quilting things in order to have warm clothing/blankets for the oncoming winter. The goal was also to try & make myself excited for the cold weather, but that's not happening- I moved to California years ago for many reasons, but a major one was to get away from the cold!

Have you have ever hand-quilted something? If not, know that it is a lot of work. I had just resigned myself to a lifetime of sore fingers from holding a needle for hours, when my research on kantha stitching led to a revelation: the palm thimble! This thimble solves all my current sewing problems! Well, except for one. I don't know if you know this, but buying stuff costs money. I have to economize (see: just moved my entire household 3,000 miles) so in addition to using upcycled materials like I always have, I am also making my own sewing tools. That means I get to show how you can make them, too!

Introducing the Fingie-Saver 3000

Supplies

• Needles & Pins
• Fabric Scissors
• Something to mark the fabric, if you want things to be nice & neat.
• Thread: I use both regular thread & embroidery thread on this project. Use whatever you have, it'll probably work. Things I hand-stitched with dental floss in high school haven't fallen apart yet!
• Fabric: any woven fabric– which is materials like most sheets, pillowcases, or non-stretchy jeans (which is what I used). Since the fabric will be reinforced, it is OK to use cloth that is worn a bit thin- but avoid cloth with holes in it.
• Disc of plastic or metal. For this project I used a coin slightly larger than a US quarter. This will reinforce the thimble. It doesn't need to be very strong for that- don't pick anything too big or heavy.

If You Have Never Sewn Before, Read This Section!

To Knot Or Not To Knot

How do you start & end each thread? You can't just leave the ends free & hope for the best. Sometimes you can just anchor the ends with knots, for that it is fastest to tie a quilting knot at the beginning & a finishing knot at the end. Sometimes you don't want a big ugly knot stuck in the middle of your sewing & that is when you use an invisible backstitch.

Running With Stitches

The Running Stitich is the main one you need to know for this project. The Whip Stitch will come in handy, too. The Basting Stitch might come in handy, but is not required. It is an extra-long running stitch that you do not secure at both ends. It temporarily holds the fabric in place while you sew, and then you pull out the basting stitches. Use a noticeable thread color to make the stitch removal easier!

Instructions:

Assemble Your Ingredients I used both regular thread & embroidery thread on this project, a coin slightly larger than a US quarter, & fabric scraps. The scraps were left over from a pair of old jeans I turned into my embroidery kit. You only need a little bit of fabric & the thick outside seam of the jeans.

1. Cut 2 circles from your fabric, about twice as large as the plastic or metal disc you chose. Err on the side of them being too big- you can always trim them down later.
2. Embroider a grid onto one of the circles, slightly larger than the disc. This will keep your needle from sliding around when you are using the thimble.
3. Make the embroidered circle into a yo-yo with the disc tucked inside.
4. Take a strip of thick fabric (I used the flat-felled seam from the leg of the jeans) and sew it into a ring that fits snugly on your middle finger. Make it sure it is snug not tight, you will be wearing this for a long time & you do not want it to cut off your blood circulation.
5. Attach the ring to the un-embroidered circle. Make that circle into another yo-yo, same diameter as the first, with the ring on the outside. Make The Sandwich
6. Hold your 2 fabric yo-yos wrong sides together, as shown. You can just hold them in place with your fingers, but I found a clothespin to be very helpful at this stage!
7. Whip stitch the yo-yos together. I basted mine in place and then went back over it again more neatly.
8. Congratulate yourself on a job well done!

Not sure how to use this magnificent tool? Here's a video

I have been using my palm thimble to make larger & larger projects- from a drinks coaster to a scarf &, right now, a shawl. I love it! Are you going to make something like this? Do you want to see me make something else? Let me know on Mastodon or Ko-Fi! Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

a Doll with a voice that is only half their own. they speak confidently, comfortably, though they often rush and slur—an artifact of their cultural upbringing, combined with a dwindling pool of energy to put into speech. they can embody eloquence and resplendency, though they'd just as soon settle for the comfort of a simple bogan lexicon, replete with colourful swearing.¹

but it used to sing! sometimes it still does, in the quiet, on its own, and it really does enjoy it, but... its voice never quite did the things it wanted to, despite training and effort and practice. it's never been sure how to produce some of the sounds it's always wanted to, though it does some things others have wanted to emulate. lately, though, it has songs deep in its... in what would pass for its soul, songs it yearns to get out, that it just cannot physically produce. whether it's the pitch range, or the timbre, or the specific techniques required, the Doll just... can't do it. as time goes on, the Doll experiences this more and more, and each time it happens it feels that disconnect between itself and its voice grow wider.

but at least it's quite happy with the way it talks, usually. that's a big accomplishment.

¹ farkin' oath

it puts down the pen, folds the paper gently, and tapes it all together.

down by the river, carefully placed, floating; a small candle flame inluminates the vessel, delicately glowing upon the waters:

and so the Doll says farewell to the ghost that haunted it for so many years. again.

maybe this time she'll finally leave.

a Doll and a Witch, standing in a mirrored chamber, seeing nothing but their reflections, stretching out to infinity. and reflect they have, both learning to see themselves differently.

a Doll and a Witch, at the centre of the maze. one final challenge, one final choice.

the mirrors flicker and glitch, the reality of this unreality bending to the will of... her. the girl in the mirror appears before them both. at first, the Doll sees itself, but then it recognises that the girl is made of flesh and blood. the Witch, having seen her before, knows that this is the single greatest threat to her existence.

who are you? the voice fills their minds, echoing inside their heads. it comes from nowhere, it comes from everywhere.

the Doll speaks its name, something it doesn't do often. the Witch hesitates but for a moment, then speaks the same name.

who are you? the Doll repeats its name, but the Witch stays silent.

who are you? this time the Doll just looks confused. the Witch trembles slightly. “I don't know.”

the Doll squeezes her hand.

silence.

taking its time, the Doll formulates an answer. some minutes later, it pipes up: “we are doing our best.” the Witch tilts her head. that doesn't seem to answer the question of the girl in the mirror. the mirror flickers again.

what do you need? the Witch blinks. apparently that was the right answer. the Doll smiles with its painted lips. neither know how to answer, though.

what do you need? “each other!” the Witch blurts out. “... we need each other.” this time it's the Doll who doesn't understand. it hasn't seen the Witch since it came into being all those years ago. a lifetime has passed since then. the girl in the mirror nods.

the mirrors glitch out, the room shakes.

“Doll, we don't have long, and I don't know what we'll remember from this place but... I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, and I'm sorry that you've suffered in my place all this time. I need you to know that—”

the Doll squeezes the Witch tightly as it whispers, “no. no it's okay. you were scared, and it's my role to protect you.”

the mirrors shatter, shards of glass raining down around the pair, never touching them.

“we'll just keep doing our best.” “together?” “together. we've always done it together, apart.”

the mirror realm is consumed by light; all that was contained within, obliterated.

she swears she heard her heart shatter. two painted eyes, shimmering flecks of pearl white and glittering gold lie between them. it takes every ounce of her power not to just fall to the floor and break apart herself.

the broom! oh, of course, the broom! carefully, gently, she sweeps up the pieces, collecting them and laying them out in vague humanoid shape. but... wait... the furnace? it was warming a crucible filled with... yeah, with gold! she starts to levitate the crucible, bringing it over to the Doll, but...

no. it deserves better than this. all these little pieces, it'd end up more gold than Doll. no. the Witch takes a deep breath, steels herself, draws her blade and cuts open her palm, pouring out thick, wispy shadows that have long replaced her blood. umbral tendrils reach out and caress the porcelain shards, rearranging them in the air. as they come together, the pieces spark with a brilliant radiance, welded together by the light of life.

the Doll comes together, not as patchwork, not as kintsugi, but whole and unblemished. new.

as the last piece is welded into place, as the Doll takes its first breath, the light surges back along the dark tentacles. a torrent of pure essence of life forcing its way into her veins. for the first time in an eternity, she feels alive, and it burns.

with a tortured scream, she falls to the floor. the Doll blinks, immediately dropping to its knees to hold its Witch.

I've been posting some magick and ritual themed lyrics of mine over at the Ovro blog side, have a peek!

on the floor at the far side of the room, she finds a neatly folded set of clothes, identical to her own. a ribbon holds them together, locked with an athame just like the one she destroyed in the maze. beside them, an old broom.

the last steps sink into the floor, revealing a doorway to a room lit by a warm, natural glow. she changes her clothes, belts the new blade, then steps toward the light.

“a furnace...? with a... crucible? has someone been here? is this for me? what am I meant to—”

the sound of shattering ceramic breaks her train of thought

This year we're arting the alphabet from A-Z. Letters like æ, ñ, anything with a diacritical mark, etc., can go anywhere you like.

Congrats on making it this far into the year! We've reached the letter P Any art subject starting with that letter is fair game, no matter how abstract.

P is for Pokémon

Let's make terrific art!

Each challenge lasts 2 weeks from the day this post was made. You can submit a new picture every day, work on one picture for 2 weeks, or post pics randomly. This is the most laid-back art challenge on the internet, & that means you have plenty of time to make your art however you want.

Use #ArtABCs & tag me @KarinWanderer so I see it!

Pick your social & post your art! Mastodon Bluesky Cara

All art styles & skill levels are welcome- No AI, Yes alt text, CW as needed. Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

I Mean It!

We've made it across the country! We've done a few weeks of house/dog sitting! Now we are finally at the new place! But our former landlords have wildly overcharged us for our last month's rent (was supposed to be just half a month, but they charged us the whole month), our stuff isn't here yet so we're still living off of what fits in 2 suitcases, & I am still exhausted. I wish our things would arrive. I would like to have more than three t shirts again; I used most of my suitcase space for art supplies. So glad this place is furnished or we would be sleeping on the floor (wouldn't be the first time that's happened!) But we've done our first bit of baking (cookies from store-bought dough) and our first impromptu dance in the kitchen while the cookies baked (Soup Is Good Food by the Dead Kennedys) so yeah, we live here now.

Anyway, I just realized how many parentheses I'm using. Obviously I am too low on spoons to write cohesively at the moment. I wanted to write about artists like Kelly M O'Brien or Jon Foreman, but that will have to wait for another day. If you miss me too much, you can always read my old articles here or find me on Ko-Fi!

This painting has nothing to do with anything I've said here. Enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who has sent kind wishes & pet photos!

You are all fantastic beings made of light!

Thank you to everyone who has been doing the the #ArtABCs challenge with us!

You are all fantastic beings made of light and music!

I Want to See Your Art!

The #ArtABCs challenge is still going! the week this goes up, we are on letter O. I love it so much when you share your art with me. Please, everyone, draw something for my art challenge – it will make me so happy (& hopefully it will make you happy, too)!

Final Challenge:

I am trying to find apps that will help me ID plants, animals, & fungi WITHOUT using AI. Do you have a favorite? Let me know on Mastodon or Ko-Fi! Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

This year we're arting the alphabet from A-Z. Letters like æ, ñ, anything with a diacritical mark, etc., can go anywhere you like.

Congrats on making it this far into the year! We've reached the letter O Any art subject starting with that letter is fair game, no matter how abstract.

O is for Outside

Let's make terrific art!

Each challenge lasts 2 weeks from the day this post was made. You can submit a new picture every day, work on one picture for 2 weeks, or post pics randomly. This is the most laid-back art challenge on the internet, & that means you have plenty of time to make your art however you want.

Use #ArtABCs & tag me @KarinWanderer so I see it!

Pick your social & post your art! Mastodon Bluesky

All art styles & skill levels are welcome- No AI, Yes alt text, CW as needed. Have a fantastic day, draw something for my art challenge, see you next week!

Give me your hell and I’ll give you some more (x 2)

Love & Light, honey Love and fucking light Sweet and sticky

Relax, baby It will only hurt a little Oh, honey So sweet so sticky

Relax, baby It will only hurt a little It will only hurt

This road ain’t to heaven This road is to you

Face the void see it stare back Face the void see what stares back

Is it your indifference? Your mis-placed pride? Illusion of silence curing all? Hoping avoidance would brake down the fall?

Is it your indifference? Is is pure selfishness?

Your shattering shell... Equation of feeling and fool

Face the void Break the circle Face the void Break the circle

#Poetry #Lyrics #DarkAmbient

Background info

This version (earlier ones being called Face or Fall and Face the void)was played live and then released on ltd ed CDr The Serpent Rite. Yes, this is Ceremonial Magick in sound form.

Parts of these lyrics got later lifted out of this context and released later on in a different track.

I am the All that comes from Nothing The Nothingness (of All) The height and unheight The light and unlight darkness and undark The nothing of it all The all in naught   I am the lust Khaos given The will to live (in Fall) The lust and the love The life and rebirth The birth and living living and growing the loving everything The all in love   I am the death Khaos given The will to Die (I call) Unevitable The death and decay The dust and dying Decomposing rot The dying everything The naught in death.   (Khaos – Eros – Thanatos / Erothanatos – Erothanate – Erothanathos / Thanatos, Eros, Thanatos, Eros / Thanatera, Thanatero, Thanatheros )   #lyrics #poetry #DarkAmbient  

Background info

  With this one all that got recorded was me saying ”Khaos, Eros, Thanatos” and those got used elsewhere in the end. I’d hazard a guess this was another draft for the Serpent Rite gig/release, but got scrapped to keep things at optimal lenght and avoiding adding three more characters in the mix.

Thematically and linquistically this is definitely related to Invocation.

This might be useful in proper setting, say a ritual for these three primordial Greek ones. 

I invoke thee, oh Bornless One Thee, who art the Mother of it all Thou who art the creation and the destruction Thou art unseen and formless Thou art form and sight Thee, who art beyond justice and the wielder of justice Thee, who art time and timeless   Thou art the love in all things and the hate in all things Thou art light and the unlight   Thee, thee I invoke I invoke thee I am thee   #lyrics #poetry #DarkAmbient  

Background info

   The text is an adaptation of a Thelemic ritual called ”Bornless Ritual” and was the opening track in the Serpent Rite, although with more direct quotes from the ritual included in the final version played.

Face the void see it stare back Face the void see what stares back

Is it your indifference? Your mis-placed pride? Illusion of silence curing all? Hoping avoidance would brake down the fall?

Is it your indifference? Is is pure selfishness?

Your shattering shell...

Equation of feeling and fool

I am your guilty conscience your filthy mind superstitions unbound

I am my filthy conscience my quilty mind fantasies unfulfilled

mediocre mindlfulness bourgoise beauty petty pities

Who's behind my mirror

#Poetry #Lyrics #DarkAmbient

Background info

Second draft for something appearing later on the extremely rare live album (16 ever made, 15 in circulation) The Serpent Rite. The year is 2004, summer.

First draft (Face or Fall) is still partly here, but I have introduced ideas about a voice being somebody’s guilty/filthy conscience and more bashing of the one talked to, in allitteration even. Those additions didn’t work here, but some got used later on. No use letting useful ideas go to waste, I say!

I… I… I got caught… no, that doesn’t tell it right… That morning I caught your eye. I was standing at the bus-stop, filled with feeling lost. So misunderstood, so lonely, head full of dreams… I longed to be had and held, to be loved and cherished.   There I stood in the rain, miserable and wet, then… then you came along. ”How handsome!” I thought and when you spoke to me I melted. You smiled and spoke sweet nothings.   I didn’t care what you really said, it was all poetry to me… You said: ”You are less than I planned for, but you will do the same. I’ll let you feel my pain.”   ”Sweet words!” I thought, heart racing, like a perfect prey.   #lyrics #poetry #DarkAmbient  

Background info

  This was one of the paper draft finds. I had no recollection of working on this particular draft any further than this one time.   I think this is from somewhere around 2007. I had begun the long road towards what became Id|entities and played around with the various & numerous ideas I had for the album. This was the first appearance of the story of a loner, here told from the perspective of the lonely one. With time, things morphed quite a lot and the final story was told by the person a loner, ”Mr. Friend-Seeker” clung to.