emmalaiho.net/blog

colour sketch for an invite to a jazz-happening, drawing texts next

I am a busy busy worker bee right now, so just inspirational links today:
my namesake emmas designblog, where you can find all kinds of wonderful things like.. bubbo-tubbo’s lettering and finders keepers.

Any young entrepreneurs out there who do your own accounting? Do you use some kind of software or do you stick to your excel sheets? I’ve been excelling so far, and that’s fine, but… I’d like to find a simple and free system and there’s tons and tons of those for personal finance, but you can’t log in VAT and stuff like that with those.

For personal pennies I really like moneytrackin. And here’s some others.

While other people seem to think accounting and billing is a drag, I have to admit I secretly get a kick out of doing paperwork. What can I say, I like numbers… sometimes I think I am more of a business person than an artist.

I love to look through my flickr favorites, it’s a great way to see into one’s visual word. What colour am I into right now? (Turquoise and bright green seem to be constant.) What kind of images start to repeat… the whole thing. I love flickr and how it inspires me through other people’s work.

Thank you: Kaisa, Sia, Ray, Hanna, Tania, Abby, Pekka, Katri, Irina… and so many more. (There’s even a photo of kabk. got to mark your dreams somehow, huh?)

P.S. Robotface (illustration collective) have done a fab animal a-z -book. Take a look. I heard it will be available for purchase soonish, but not quite yet.

My business cards finally came out of print. Aren’t they fab? See a more detailed view of the two variations here.

The work crisis solved. I negotiated a couple of month’s leave, starting from May. This means much needed time for design work and whatever creative pursuits rock my boat. Time for illustration, time for living!

It will be a dip in steady income though. I have a couple of small design projects coming up. And I have some emergency money stashed up (like you always should), but I’d rather not dip into that. What I most want to do is live more simply.

Lately I’ve been inspired by these things:
the ladies at Sew green
the concept of Buy nothing year, at least nothing new.

I got a new mini moleskine, so I could get some drawing done while on the go. Love the mini format.

To return to the pricing subject…
What I strive for most is to do fulfilling, interesting work. Work I can learn from. I’d love to do more work for charities etc, but like everyone else I’ve got a rent to pay. What I hope to do is get it all in a balance.

The pricing post was mostly about graphic design work and bigger projects. Magazines most often have a policy for different size of illustrations they use. So the fee is not up to negotiation.

…….
Recent inspirations:
- Quiet stillness is a brand new blog by my illustrator friend Hilda.
- Trade Secrets is my favourite place to visit these days. Meg writes there about all kinds of practical matters concerning the trade of illustration.
- design sponge: bizladies, a wonderful resource of tips.
- 3191, a year of mornings in photographs.

Drawings for Eero’s MSpaint challenge

“Some of us are born with unrealizable and unattainable dreams. They push and pull our beings through life like a pack of wild dogs on the end of a hundred straining leashes. But just coming to realize that some of those dreams could be a reality can be the first step in a persons coming of age.”

Dan Price: Radical Simplicity, Creating an Authentic Life

the hardest thing: starting.

To be well, and happy, artists need to work. Otherwise we turn into the most difficult, pissed off creatures. Even more so than usual, that is.

And then, for the sanity of our loved ones, we have to start.

What does blocked feel like - other than bad? Blocked feels like nothing else. A blocked artist is a numb artist, a grief-locked animal caught on its own torpor and resistance.
- the sound of paper

Art is not often commissioned.
We commission ourselves to make art
- Julia Cameron, The Sound of Paper

Week ago a friend and I talked about choosing careers, and especially about creative professions. She said she just doesn’t have it in her. Whatever it is. She is one of those multitalented people who is pretty great at whatever she tries her hand on. Writing, making clothes, painting… you name it.

She tells me doing that stuff is nice, but she has no real urge to do any of it. She has trouble following through her projects and although she thinks she would like a creative profession, the thought of the hard work and unstability cripples her with fear. She also fears not being original.

Half-mockingly she says I live in “the world of big plans.”
What it comes down to, I tell her, is that the excitement is far bigger than the fear. There is some kind of residual childishness, that makes me see the world as a way more magical place than most. Do what you love and things will turn out fine. “But you know me, I am such a flake,” I end the conversation.

Now I want to say -
It’s so much easier than you think. Do the little things, one drawing, one page at a time, make it work for you, not the other way round. Find your muses and catalysts, whatever works is not cheating. It’s real work, but remember to have fun…

head in the direction you are drawn to, even if you think it’s impossible or you don’t know how you will manage. Once you make the decision completely to do something the universe will jump in to help you out.

This week I’ve kept going back to Keri’s blog just to read the words above, again and again. I don’t know what they told me. Waiting for the letter they calmed me.

Trust the universe.

(old and quick illo I still love)

April pointed me to this speech given by Steve Jobs. (love it!)

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something; your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

more inspiration:
directions in work
lunapark
kelly lynn jones
akiko kino quilts
ruby mag #6

sinulla on minut
sillä jokaisella
jossakin on
joku yhtä lailla lohduton

Thursday morning. Tired. Overwhelmed.
100 hours work on a project going to print tomorrow.
A meeting about a new one today.

In the midst of too much things on my plate I crave for more healthy things. Organic bread, avocado salad, really dark chocolate, fruit tea instead of coffee. Going out on a walk. Starting yoga again (first class tomorrow morning). Laying in my bed half listening to music, half-sleeping.

In the afternoon I will paint.

jennifer causey aka photo bird
almost naked animals buttons
Shaun Tan (my friend saw the Red Tree and declared it an “Emma-book”)