So, we have arrived at a new month.
Although I am well aware that time is just an artificial construct, I'm starting out the month with a certain sense of purpose and enthusiasm.
An older stone that was sitting in a "dead zone," now going to be re-imaged and given new exposure.
As I wrote in the last update, my wife has offered to help out with photography to relist and revamp all my listings on Etsy. She's far more talented at "presentation" for social media than I am, so that's going to be great. She has already started in on the project.
Today I also took my own steps towards consolidating my listings from many different places into just having a single online store on Etsy so everything is located in a single venue.
This afternoon we also spent a little time talking about the potential of advertising through Facebook and Instagram — actually, it would be a combination of just social media posting with adjunct advertising — just to generate some overall awareness.
One of the revised photos
I also spent a little time checking in and "creeping" on some of my colleagues in the stone painting business — yes, it actually is an art form that is somewhat widely practiced these days, and not just as ”kids painting on rocks for fun.”
Clearly I am lagging far behind in terms of the proportion of time I spend on promotional, social media and publicity efforts versus the amount of time I spend on simply painting rocks and putting them up for sale. I'm probably spending about 90% of my time just on the artwork itself, while others are spending probably 70-80% of their time on promotion and only 20-30% on the actual making of art.
I suppose that is no great surprise since one of the things I learned about myself a very long time ago is that I find any kind of self-promotion to be somewhat distasteful. It's a bit of a psychological block and aherence to an incorrect notion that "the work should speak for itself." It's a personal preference that has never stood me in good stead whether it comes to my online businesses, or back to when I was working a regular job.
That's the old saying goes ”the squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
Paintable stones, fresh off the beach!
All that aside, it did feel good to get going on something today and putting in a little work towards a better future. Or, hopefully a better future.
Weather my current state of enthusiasm lasts for any significant period of time remains to be seen. And as I've pointed out before, in order to stay enthusiastic about something I also need to see some tangible results... otherwise I tend to just sink back into the doldrums.
That said, I'm at least going to give the month of August a good old try at getting as much done as possible... and then we'll see if making these changes is going to have a material impact on my meager sales!
One can but hope. And maybe a fringe benefit will be that I get back in the habit of keeping up with this art journal!
Thank You!
If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a part time living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
My Alchemy Stones Patreon appeal
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Thank you for supporting independent art & creativity!
2025.08.01 AS-TXT-336/306