Ready...set...

Lot 613 in DTLA

Pieces are dropped off and ready to be hung at the art show I'm participating in this weekend (see info in previous post) and I couldn't be happier or more proud of myself.  The artist lifestyle has been an uphill battle for me recently (I was super-sick for two weeks on top of dealing with the worst bout of depression I've experienced in recent memory), but just being in the venue and seeing the other artists' unloading their pieces gave me the feeling that all of the struggle is going to pay off when this room is filled with people looking at all of our work while eating gourmet pancakes and getting tipsy. 

I think depression is a common denominator for most artists' temperaments.  Art is, for the most part, a solo endeavor.  You spend hours alone working on something you hope others will like and appreciate and in the process it is really easy to lose yourself.  You can isolate yourself and not even know it.  I realized today, walking into the loft space that I have been very lost and isolated in my art for a long time.  I need this experience to bring me back to the reason I love art and wanted to make it in the first place. And that reason is because...

Art is meant to be shared!!

Plain and simple.  And I'm not just talking about on blogs or Instagram or YouTube or Facebook, which are all incredible outlets for art, but I think the live, in-person experience is really what is most therapeutic about art, making that connection with people face-to-face.  That's probably why I've craved things like improv and live concerts so much in my life.

Anyway, enough blabbering from me.  Here are the pieces I chose for the show:

 Thanks for stopping by and I'll hopefully see you this weekend!

~LH

My first art show!!

I am so happy to tell all of you that Little Hibachi will be in its very first art show this coming Friday and Saturday night.  I know it's short notice, but I only heard about it recently and was lucky enough to still get in.  Luckily I've been working on pieces consistently, so having something ready to show was no problem.  If you're in the L.A. area, please come!

And here's a sneak peek of the title cards for the pieces I'm going to show.  I can only afford to show 3 at a time, but hopefully those will sell and I can put up more : )

Again, thank you for all of your support!  It's been an uphill battle lately, but like Macklemore says, "A life lived for art is never a life wasted."

~LH

The game changer, dealing with failure, and following my arrow.

Hey, friends.  I try really hard to keep this blog bright and cheerful as that is the kind of brand I am trying to promote.  I think I've done a pretty good job of it, but I am a whole person too and as whole people go, sometimes we just feel crappy.

Part of being an artist is portraying yourself as something you either: most of the time are, might not be yet, or hope to someday be. Someone who:

1. ...isn't afraid to fail. 
2. ...who sees inspiration in everything 
3. ...who isn't afraid of taking risks.  

And when artists don't feel this way they are encouraged to fake it until they make it.  And I can usually do that for the outside world, but lately I have been really bad at faking it for myself because a part of me just feels like a huge failure.

I said it, the "F" word.  At the age of thirty-blank I feel like I've had my hand in so many different pies that something should have stuck by now.  And the mental energy it takes to keep faith that I will make rent, be able to pay my bills, and that that extra special something I need is right around the corner gets exhausting.

And then I see something like this:

Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley

"A real education needs to give equal weight to the arts, humanities, [and] to physical education."

Hear that??  It's not my fault!  And if any of you out there feel or have felt the same way I do, isn't it wonderful to know it's not your fault either?  I mean, PHEW!!  The education system failed us...MISERABLY!!

Anyone who saw me as a child would have plainly seen I was an artist and a writer and in a perfect world, those skills would have been nourished and doted upon just as much as math and sciences were.  But, unfortunately, those things were not promoted equally and that caused me to shut down and stop trying to learn. 

Seeing this video yesterday meant a lot to me because it made me see I've been living with a real handicap.  I've been trying to swim in an ocean when I was barely given a single lesson that I could actually understand.  And I shouldn't be surprised at all to learn that I'm drowning.

So...what now?  Those of us who are one of the millions of children who were left behind can take solace in knowing we weren't given a fair chance, but we can't stay there.  We can think about it and grieve it, but eventually we have to forgive it and continue on with our art.  And that is exactly what I am going to do.  It's the only thing I can do.

I'm starting to plan my first art show.  It's going to be very quaint and small and it's going to take place in my apartment most likely.  I'm getting very excited about it.

While I was at Target today I saw this shadow box frame for sale that comes with four little tacks.  I know it's going to be a game changer for the types of pictures that I make.  I can't wait to use it~

I know this is already a long post, but I wanted to include this Kacey Musgraves song because it's really helped me a lot through this difficult time.

"Just follow your arrow wherever it points."

A Day Without Instagram

Actually it's been a couple of days since I shut off my personal instagram account, but I liked that title better ; ) 

I wish I was one of those people with self-control who can just check their social media pages once a day, but I know myself well enough to know that I can't and so I have turned off my personal IG account for the time being (I haven't been on Facebook in almost a year!) to put my focus back on my work and being creative.  And so far, so good!

BREAKING NEWS:  MY ETSY STORE IS OPEN!!  And I already have my first listing up, ready to purchase!

www.etsy.com/shop/littlehibachi (That's a mouthful!)

 

I'll be adding a few more pieces to test the waters this week (it costs a little bit to list each item, so I want to see what sells).  I can't wait to make my first sale!  Please spread the word to anyone who might like a Little Hibachi piece of their very own : )

xo,

LH

Cutie in Seattle!

I was in Seattle this last week visiting a girlfriend from high school.  Her birthday was the previous week and so I gave her a Little Hibachi I had recently finished.  She sent me a picture of where she has it hung on her bathroom wall and I think it looks great!  What do you guys think?