What now?

Hi everyone of you! Thank you so much for all the love 💚 and welcome to the new subscribers! Honestly i’m still amazed by your interest in my newsletter, this really gives me strength to continue sharing my path. I would like to hear more from you guys, even if it is in a different subject, because one of the main reasons i make this newsletter is to get to chat with other members of the community.

The beginning of the year was a little strange for me. In November and December, I was on autopilot mode, painting to sell, all that Christmas adrenaline was exhausting. I am very grateful for the end of last year, for all the love I received personally and for the sales I made. But what then? What's next?

An emptiness follows. After Christmas and New Year's Eve itself, seasons full of emotion, with many presences, conversations, moments, the return to the 'self' follows. Suddenly we are reunited with the ‘I’ and it is kind of a shock. For me, the social component of markets is, along with sales, a very important part. Meeting new people, who help each other and share experiences is great. And so I think it's natural to feel this emptiness, even more so because at the moment I don't have the part-time job I used to have, even that has changed my daily routine.

I started the year by an order for 7 notebooks, which was placed at the last market I participated in. The order was to personalize each notebook for each person with the flower of their sign. And for me the best part is watching the customer's happiness when she saw the notebooks, that's what makes it all worth it.

I already knew that this start of the Year would be more slow, as the markets haven't started yet. In any case, I take the opportunity to put some projects into action, namely the creation of my website/online store. I currently have my Etsy store, which honestly isn't a good experience. When I created it I didn't have many expectations either, it was just a faster vehicle to be able to sell some products, but in reality it's nothing that I identify with, it's very impersonal. The truth is that I always wanted to have my own website and at first it wasn't possible. Now I'm taking advantage of this calmer time and I'm working on it.

---

I would like to love to know how you felt at the beginning of the year, or if you usually feel the same and what you do to overcome this state of loneliness. I know some people who felt the same as me and I recognize that it can be very overwhelming to see so many people with a defined agenda, projects in progress and us feeling some difficulty getting started. In the previous newsletter I mentioned that I didn't have goals for this year, but rather intentions. The real issue is that if we set goals, if for some reason we are unable to put them into practice, for a variety of reasons, we see this as a failure, and this takes away our enthusiasm and strength. Creative meetings and planning some projects can help at this stage, but calmly, we cannot be too demanding because this can make us lose our direction and focus.

• recently i discovered Anoosha Syed here on Substack and she gives great tips mostly regarding picture book illustration but also other things that catch my attention like ‘how to build a portfolio’. She also has a Youtube channel.

• this challenge made by my friend Teresa Blogletter a great idea for the all year ahead ‘52 CREATIVE THINGS in 52 WEEKS’ It appeals to your creative side not only in making art, but also in the more ordinary things in life, like trying a new food, for example. It's a great challenge that isn't too demanding and really boosts your creativity.

---

For you, and as a thank you for subscribing my ‘leaf’, you can grab 10% off your next order in my shop with the code WINTERLEAF10 (valid until February 23th).

I’ve got a new postcard for Valentine’s Day, which is approaching ❤️

you are welcome to visit my SHOP

---

I can’t wait for Spring to arrive so i can start doing my nature walks, i miss hiking.

Thank you so much for reading all to the end, i hope i can hear from you!

Stay well and enjoy life and nature,

Sandra 💚