TIME FOR A CHANGE ~ Empowering My Audience

DEAR READER 
(a.k.a. "fan","follower", "tweeter", "blogger", "patron",etc.) 





It has come to my attention that there just is NOT enough time...for so many IMPORTANT Things....partly because MY time is being EATEN by social media demands to market AND "increase awareness" and "sell" my intentions....
I am bombarded on a daily basis with a plethora of urgent "tips" on best practices for 'finding my audience" "developing a target market" and promoting myself on social media. 

This month, the pressure-to-post-everywhere-in-case-there-is-an-audience-I-missed was getting to me so much that I even started a trial with Hootsuite to try to schedule my posts in advance to meet the "need" to market.

It just feels ludicrous to have to do that. 

I am actively managing my Studio Website & Facebook Page, The Belfast Organization For Artists Blog and Facebook Page, The Art For Arachnoiditis Project WordPress Website and Facebook Page, AND profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Patreon, Google+, Youtube,...and of course here at Blogspot, just to name a few. There is no "marketing team" doing the PR. I am doing all of this just to try to make potential patrons aware that I am here in the studio making the art. However, this continues to eat up more and more of my actual creative pain-management AND art-making time. The demand that we must engage via social media is a threat to becoming/remaining Sustainably Creative.

I am posting posts with no clue who is reading them...or if anyone is. 
IT IS TIME TO JUST SAY, "NO" to the time-sucking, no guarantees, commercial industry that all of that has become. 
Instead of blog-moaning about it anymore, I am making CHANGES. 

As an experiment, my NEW Art, Studio Announcements, Project Updates, Inspirations, Musings, and other Studio bloggy-news will now be posted in my Patreon Activity Feed along with patron-only printable portfolio art, special offers, events, and anything else the muses inspire me to make available to YOU. Art For Arachnoiditis Project news can be found there, too and (until July 25, 2015) on Rocket Hub. My Patreon posts for The Art For Arachnoiditis Project will always be FREE.

At Patreon you can choose any amount for your subscription price from $1 and up. That $1 allows you to have access to my Patreon patron-only activity feed. 
Then,  YOU choose how much you want to get, pay per Release, and YOU choose the limit for the number of payments you will make per month. The amount you spend determines the amount you receive. 

Not only does that sound like a fair exchange, it also Empowers YOU with the ability to decide how much of my Art and Commentary you receive... No more unwanted posts in your newsfeed, etc. You get JUST the SheilaLynnK Art Studio dose that you want and ONLY when YOU want it. 
AND you can win stuff like your own pet portrait
similar to this one:

Or Get Rewards Like this

$25 Subscription  Loving Love! You get one of these! 

From what I understand, this will be a way to consolidate ALL of my time-crippling marketing (read as "social media") demands, post my studio news and offers, and provide AFFORDABLE art to those who want and need it most instead of Making and Releasing my hard-won, heartfelt ART out into the ether in hopes that SOMEBODY who needs or wants it will catch it. 

 Become A Patron Here if you'd like to continue to receive Previews of New Releases, Public Posts about Charitable projects, and other Announcements Like the one about this NEW Summer Sale Idea from me at SheilaLynnK Art Studio. 

REAL LIVE ART SALE AT THE STUDIO~THIS IS NOT AN ONLINE EVENT

Mandalas, Mullein, Medicine

Common Mullein, Uncommon Medicine

My preliminary adventures into Making Mandalas and  Naming Nature have since expanded to living and sharing the benefits of this knowledge. 






As I open the last packages of dried mullein leaves from last September I am certain that this plant made this difficult NYS winter as productive as it could possibly have been. In Gratitude and Hope, I am watching the progress of the new plants that we moved into my yard last fall. 

The most benefit will come with being able to harvest and prepare this medicine right from my own property. No travel or transportation issues, or physical limitations will be able to interfere with the use of this wonderful discovery. 
FIRST TIME USING MULLEIN 
I started with a mild tea/infusion of mullein leaves to rule out allergies, etc. 
2-3 medium fresh leaves in a 1 quart mason jar
Cover with boiling water, (filling the jar)
Cover and Steep  4-6 minutes
Lightly shake to blend the mullein infusion into the water
Strain using a coffee filter *this keeps the fuzzy hairs from the plant out of your medicinal tea
While still warm, pour into a small cup and sip as any other tea

[Allergic reactions to mullein are quite rare. This preparation results in a low concentration of mullein medicine. However, if you notice any itching or swelling in your mouth or throat stop use immediately.]

Some pain relief and Uneventful consumption at this "dose" allowed me to increase to a higher dose using the decoction method and eventually building to a regulated dose of mullein root tinctures. Fresh mullein flowers and fresh flower stalks also work well for making tinctures. 
*Disclaimer - The information presented herein by The Wild Pantry at SheilaLynnK Art Studio is intended for educational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own trusted health care provider.
 As I work to share the Empowerment that I have found, I am reminded today to find time to keep healing and caring for myself. This is an aspect that is, unfortunately, easy to forget. 

In spite of everything that has happened, I still have some faith in the intentions of Modern Medicine. It has it's place but, there is another Medicine that works its ancient magic above and beyond the boundaries of Patient Harm.  

I am pretty sure I have mentioned it before but, just in case I haven't, I am using the Wild Plant Ally Workbook that I got from Food Under Foot to continue to document what I learn about Common Mullein and another ally, Evening Primrose. Foraged, dried, propagated, high-jacked from abundant "untreated" sources; I now have a few of these wild plants around my house. EPR seeds I found in my foraging adventures last fall are now sprouting in a comfy spot on my window sill in my studio.  

Both plants are upright biennials. Both possess safe and useful/beneficial properties found in the entire plant. 

Other Edibles Also sprouting-to-blooming in the yard now are: Henbit, Purple Deadnettle, Creeping Charlie, wild Strawberries, Chickweed, Speedwell, Yarrow, Milkweed, Cleavers, Lambsquarters, Mallow, Harebells, Grapevines, Sunflowers, Blue Vervain, Plantain, Dandelions, White Clover, and Mint. 

These spring-y images are creeping across the lawn and sneaking into my new Mandala drawings. 

(Cue Marketing Department) 2017 Update

Patrons subscribing at $8 per month are the Sprites and Sages who help fund the Wild Pantry at SheilaLynnK Art Studio Get Monthly High Res Images of my Original Art featuring indigenous and homegrown plants  and instructions for one monthly Wild Crafting activity  delivered via the patrons only activity feed.  (Begins 5.1.17)

Includes

• Vote on Future Content
• Instructions for ONE monthly Wild Crafting Activity
• Original Art featuring Indigenous & Homegrown Plants for Wellnes
• Patron-only content feed

SUBSCRIBE AT THIS LEVEL 
Local patrons might also like to browse my Wild Pantry Catalog