IT'S IN THE CARDS

Solstice Light Greeting Card -© Sue O'Kieffe 2007

Dancing in the Light greeting card - © Sue O'Kieffe 2006

I reached another one of my goals on Thursday when Plaza Design, the area's largest gift and home decor store agreed to carry eight of my greeting cards (4 of my holiday cards and 4 of my all season cards). I love 'em for their beauty and simplicity. If you would like to order something special during this gift giving time (perfect for tucking inside a box or sending in the mail), order now!
You can view my card gallery here and here and email me at the contact info at the right for shipping details. All cards are $4 plus tax, with a three card minimum.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS

Festival of Light Holiday Card
© Sue O'Kieffe 2007

I spent most of last week in a card making frenzy. It's part of why I haven't been commenting much on other blogs. Im sure some of you must know how that is.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what the holidays mean, not wanting to focus on any one particular tradition but wanting to capture the essence of the season. I polled people on my other blog and wrote to the only two non-European women (Neda and Rima) I know for their take on the winter holidays; what I heard mentioned over and over were the themes of love, family, light, and closeness

I am happy, though, with the six cards I have created. I am still evaluating my finished product and hope to take them to the major retail gift shop soon that I have been drooling to have my work in for the last year.

If you want to see the other five cards you can see them on my other blog here (they are also linked to the right under My Greeting Cards.

I would love to read your comments. Your feedback and encouragement means alot to me.

WE ARE ALL CONNECTED

We Are All Connected - (Healing in Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007

I suspect Diane Clancy has some good skills in persuasion. The enthusiasm with her post on ClusterMaps won me over; you will see I have now added a map to my blog as well. It will be fun to see exactly how we are all connected. Im glad I have an atlas next to my computer, too!

Where are you from?
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On another note, the months of wondering, questioning, researching and final decision making regarding my line of mandala greeting cards is about to go to the next level. I will begin taking them to stores this week. If you have never seen my cards, you can view them in my gallery here

Interested in purchase? Email me here for details.
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P.S. I will be back next Sunday with another Photoshop tutorial. Life, as it does at times, won over my best laid plans this week.

HO HO HO

Festivity Mandala - (Winter Circle series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007


Yesterday I created this mandala just in time for the holidays. I know, it seems kind of funny to be thinking about that now, but I have been thinking about making a calendar (or 2) for the upcoming season.

Recently I began reading Christine Kane's blog. She is an indie musician and self-proclaimed sensitive person (aren't all of us creative types?), who writes about business, creativity and the Law of Attraction. She doesn't know it yet, but she is also one of my cyber mentors. I highly recommend any artist considering the business side of the equation to read her great post, Business Advice for Artists and Sensitive People. Neda Doany of Papiers Colles asked me to write about the emotional side of business, but I don't have any good advice or experience for that yet. This woman does.

So, back to the calendars. I had a fun first experience with calendar making last year; it was also my first experience working with a print on demand company. The calendars turned out well, they were well received, people were happy, my sensitive artist self felt like Sally Fields (oooh you really do like me after all). But there were problems. The biggest one was I didn't make any money... the print on demand company did. What's wrong with this picture, anyway? In order to make a profit, I would need to price this product way above normal retail price for similar items. Which gets me back to a bigger desire of finding a publisher. But more on that subject at a later time.

This mandala will also make a great greeting card, and the printing issues I've been having are close to being resolved. So all is not lost.

Oh. And yes. You can expect more Photoshop Tips each Sunday in your inbox or the RSS feed reader of your choice!

Radiant Light Mandala - (Circles of Light series) - © 2007 Sue O'Kieffe

Tuesday afternoon I received email from my business counselor that he was trying to arrange a meeting with a professional printer to talk with me about my printing concerns. So I decided to postpone taking in anymore information until after I talked with him.

The one thing I am definitely questioning, though, is the need to use archival ink for printing these cards. Hellooooo answer, I'm still looking for you! Am I getting warmer?

With this image, I started a new series of mandalas. My art, at its core, is about the Light piercing the darkness. My intent is to find new ways to let the Light shine through !

EXPLORING PRODUCTION COSTS, PART II

Heaven's Embrace Mandala Greeting Card - © 2007 Sue O'Kieffe - $4.00 + shipping and tax

Yesterday I contacted local artist Andrew Daniel, who is one of my heroes and role models, as well as a favortite of mine in the local art scene, to ask him to print one of my cards on his printer. After a bunch of exploration looking for less expensive sources for Epson ink without going the generic route, I began to question the need for printing my cards using archival ink. Andrew has gone this route and prints beautifully colorful cards, but doesn't use much black in his work. It is the depth and richness of the black ink that I think makes my cards look elegant. Of course, black is the most expensive of the inks and I am guessing I use two cartridges for every 100 cards I print. I am still tracking that information. I'm really grateful that he was willing to help me out. I'm going to see him this evening.

RECLAIMING THE LIGHT

Reclaiming the Light Mandala Greeting Card - © Sue O'Kieffe 2006 ($4.00 + shipping and tax)

This card is one in the series of 12 greeting cards that I currently offer for sale. Of the twelve, the image and quote on this card are probably closest to my heart.

I want to thank those of you who offered such generous feedback and commentary on my last post. I know that I have a story to share about my journey; I don't know if I will do it I on my blog and/or website or not. I think I am a mirror for many journeys, just as much as you are for me. We all carry a bit of the "Divine Spark;" we are all related. We are all one. May we all be restored to wholeness.

If you are interested in seeing any of my other cards, there is a link to my card gallery on the right. If you are interested in purchasing any of my work, please email me for more information.

I want to thank all of you who read my blog, whether you comment or not. I would love to hear from all of you.

MAY DAY

May Day Revelry - (Spring Circles series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007

I took a few days off from blogging to regroup and renew my own spirit. Finding this stalk of yellow flowers yesterday springing from one of the largest succulents I have ever seen did much to elevate my mood. They seemed to be having a party, and they called me over to celebrate with them.Of course, I had to create a mandala to mark that time of revelry!

Today is May Day. I think of the festive days of old, when celebrants danced around the maypole and honored the day as a time of fertility after the crops were planted. The seeds have been sown; let 's party and honor our efforts.

May Day has significance for me as well, in that it is a day I have chosen to mark the end of the "beta testing" for my business. I have been blessed with great feedback about my greeting cards. My next step is to be able to provide large orders for wholesale accounts. I have to remind myself over and over that all development comes in baby steps.

I love my art and knowing the positive effects it has on people's spirits. It is that knowledge that keeps me moving forwards.

COLOR HUNGER

SUN SALUTATION -(Summer Circle Series) - © Sue O'Kieffe

Some days I hunger for certain colors, and it definitely influences my creation choices. Maybe it's because I spend many of my best hours creating before sunrise and I need that vibrancy to flood my eyes and my consciousness. Yellow is actually my favorite color. It enlivens me and fills me with optimism. Summer days, goldfinches flitting in the trees, the sounds of meadowlarks filling the air. This is how yellow speaks to me.

What I love about creating from nature is how the most ordinary and almost noxious plants carry beauty in them just waiting for someone to find it. Around here, scotch broom is an invasive weed, but I love its sunny side up, butter yellow blooms.

For those of you who are new readers, I want to point your attention to my mandala portfolio and greeting card portfolio on the right. If you are interested in purchasing any of my art or have questions about it, please feel free to contact me. I would love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment. It helps me feel like I'm not alone.

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandala Greeting Cards!

I am excited to announce the launch of my line of greeting cards based on my mandala designs. Each card is 5"x7". An inspirational quote is printed on the front, a definition of what a mandala is is printed on the back along with an indication of the source image for each mandala. Right now, I have seven cards in the line. More will be coming shortly. You can see my other designs by clicking here

Inquiries for purchase of these cards can be directed here
© Sue O'Kieffe 2007