34/365- In the Shadow of the Sun King

"From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring 

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 I'm so excited to announce that my art is featured on the cover of the October/November issue of Harford's Heart magazine. In addition, there is a short interview and additional art work inside! I am so honored to have been selected and to have the owner, Fran Johnson, chat with me about my work. If you are out and about in Harford County, please look for it and pick one up, it's free! And it is a fabulous magazine.

As always, thank you so much to everyone who continuously supports what I do! A special thank you to Fran Johnson and Sandy Kapinos for their support in making my art the face of their magazine for these two months!

xo

Somerset Digital Studio- Spring 2017 Edition

I am very excited that I received my advance copy of the Spring 2017 Somerset Digital Studio in the mail on Friday afternoon. Being published in this magazine is a dream come true and I am so honored to occupy 6 pages of art and text next to some of my digital art heroes in the same issue. It truly is mind blowing for me and I am so glad you are along with me on this journey.

After a brief introduction about how I began into digital art, I discussed my artistic process in creating my digital art pieces, including what computer programs and mobile apps I use in each step.

Six of my images were featured, including The Wheel, which was also chosen as one of the cover images. That was a total surprise to me until the editor emailed me a preview of the cover and told me it has been selected! Unfortunately, I had to keep it under wraps until just a little while ago.

I love how this publisher has beautiful layouts and art arrangements in all of their magazines. The paper is divine and the texture when holding it in your hands is so satisfying.

 Some of my art pieces that are featured in the Spring 2017 edition of Somerset Digital Studio will also be showing and for sale when I am the Featured Artist for the Spring show at Arts By the Bay Gallery from April through June. More information is coming on that show soon so keep watching the blog!

I want to thank Jana Holstein from Somerset Digital Studio for working so hard as the editor for my article.  She was a dream to work with, answered all my questions quickly, encouraged me along the way, and was very openminded with me about my vision for my work and written article. I couldn't have asked for a better person to work with.

The Spring 2017 issue of Somerset Digital Studio will be on newsstands March 1 (although I have had people contact me already saying they have seen and bought it on their newsstands already!).  If you can't find it in at a local book seller, you can purchase a copy online by visiting Somerset Digital Studio where this issue will be available March 1.

Have a beautiful President's Day!

xo

Autumn Vineyard- Virginia Landscapes

The vineyard at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia

It's funny how if you make a dream board and really focus positive energy into putting your work and your story out into the universe, it eventually comes back. This past summer I reached out to several publications about writing articles or publishing my digital art and slowly but surely those seeds I have planted months ago are coming to fruition. In October, one of my digital art pieces landed on the cover of a local newspaper. Then, over the course of about three weeks, three different Instagram hubs have featured four of my creations. Every time I am notified it is like Christmas morning and I feel so honored that people are enjoying my work. But what happened last night was a dream...

Last night I received an email from Somerset Digital Studio magazine.  This is a well respected publication in the digital art world and it's 144 pages are just delicious to read through every issue. Here is a description from the website of the magazine:

Somerset Digital Studio showcases some of the best digitally created artwork around, and these breathtaking samples of scrapbook pages, ATCs, and collages will have readers joining in this growing trend of creating digitally altered artwork in no time. Each of the 144 lush, full color pages found in every issue contain captivating feature articles, a full gallery of digital eye candy, a digital dictionary, software comparison chart, digital tutorial, and more. 

The email contained 6 of my images that an editor for the magazine saw on my website and wanted to publish. In addition, they asked me to write a feature article for the Spring 2017 issue, describing the artistic process and techniques I use in my work. I was so honored and thrilled!  This magazine is only published twice a year so it is highly competitive to have your work featured!  My deadline is December 12 and the issue will be on newsstands on March 1, 2017!  I know I can rise to the challenge and do this and I am so ecstatic for the opportunity to be a part of such a great publication.

In addition to this wonderful news, I found out that I will be the Featured Artist at Arts By the Bay Gallery for the April-June 2017 show! This means I have prime wall space in the gallery and can hang as many pieces as I'd like in that space! I am hoping this opens more opportunity to be published in local publications and be interviewed with local media. My goal in the exposure of my art is allow me to tell my story about surviving Chronic Lyme disease in the hopes of helping others in the process. In addition, I am working on setting up a fun event in May 2017 for Lyme Disease Awareness Month at the gallery where a portion of the proceeds from the sale of my art will be going back into the local chapter of NatCapLyme, which runs a support group for Lyme patients and their loved ones in my area!  There is so much going on I feel a bit overwhelmed, but it is a delicious drowning...

Thank you so much to all of you out there who support me day in and day out. Friends, family, artists, patrons of my work, and other bloggers. You all help me have the confidence and drive to do what I do and I am truly appreciative. When I reach wonderful milestones in my career as a digital artist, I love to share it with all of you because I feel like you all have helped put me in a position to reach my dreams. Thank you.

I am heading out of town tomorrow morning with my oldest daughter to visit my cousins in St. Louis whose children were in a tragic, horrific car accident about three weeks ago. I've been needing to get there to support my cousins and do what I can to encourage them. I may or may not be posting during this time. If I have time, I will set up a few pre-posts to go up each day, but if not, I am not going to stress over it. I will see what I have time for.

Sending Happy Thanksgiving love to everyone now just in case I don't have a chance to blog this week. Be safe and have a wonderful time with family. Please pray for a safe passage for my daughter and I...it is a long drive from Baltimore to St. Louis. And please continue to pray for my cousin's children who are recovering from devastating traumatic brain injuries.

xo

Proofing the Spreads

I had a totally surreal moment when I received the magazine spread in an email yesterday for proofing. I have waited for this moment for so long...to be published, not only my art but also my words, in a reputable, beautiful, magazine for art and blogging enthusiasts. I was so excited just seeing the PDF of how the format will look...6 pages filled with words and art that came straight from my heart, telling about my father's death and the diagnosis of my Lyme disease.  

I purposefully left the images of the layout small so you'll have to wait until the winter issue hits the newsstand on November 1st to read it!  I know I will be visiting the bookstore that day and buying several copies! I really wish my father were alive to see this moment. He was always proud of me no matter what, but I would love to share this moment with him. My mom and my family have been my biggest supporters and cheerleaders all along and when a moment presents itself like this one, it makes me happy to make them proud!

The magazine is getting ready to go to print, so they are doing last minute edits. The editor said they may make a few minor tweaks to this layout, but no major things should be changed.  Thanks to everyone who has supported me along this amazing journey. It has been filled with so many sad moments but also joyous moments. So many of you have been there to hold my hand when times were tough and to pat me on the back with words of encouragement when I took leaps of faith. Thank you.

Thank you also, in advance, for coming out to the opening of my art show at The Gallery at 122 Main in Elkton Maryland on Friday, October 2, 2015 from 5PM-8PM. I would be thrilled to greet you and chat with you there! You will see 20+ pieces of my art and photography displayed and a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of my art/photographs will go to the National Capital Lyme Association to support their mission of furthering Lyme (and other tick born illnesses) research, education, support, and advocacy (at both the state and federal levels.) This organization will be on hand at the reception with information, brochures, and a display table helping us get the word out about Lyme to the public! I would LOVE your support! Please pass the word and make a night of it! I would love the opportunity to tell my story and encourage others in their battle against this horrible disease!  If you are unable to attend the event, but would be interested in purchasing a piece of art or making a donation to National Capital Lyme Association, please contact me directly using the contact button on my blog.

Also, head out this Saturday from 11AM-3PM to Arts By the Bay Gallery in beautiful Havre de Grace, Maryland.  I have some pieces showing there and I will be working during that time...so stop in and say hello!

Hugs to all! <3

Get Up One More Time Than You Are Knocked Down

The Kiss- digital mixed media

That sheer feeling of elation when a goal you have set for yourself is achieved. That is exactly what I felt when at 6:41PM yesterday evening I received an email from the managing editor of Artful Blogging Magazine telling me my blog was chosen to be featured in their upcoming November issue! Artful Blogging is a gorgeous magazine published by Stampington and Company four times a year. I've been reading this magazine for years and admiring their beautiful printed magazine, drawing inspiration from many other artists and bloggers. For a long time I promised myself that one day I would have my work in a Stampington and Company publication, but fear of failure held me back for years.

Then, one day in May, I decided that I was being a hypocrite. I was writing blogs about taking control of your life, not living in fear, and reaching for your goals and yet here I was being held back by the very thing I told everyone else not worry about. Fear. So, I decided to get off the proverbial fence and just do it. So, that very day, May 22 to be exact, I wrote a submission email to the managing editor of Artful Blogging...and held my breath.  A week later I received an email telling me that she had received my submission and that a decision would be made at the end of June or beginning of July. Ach...that is a long time to wait. But, what was I to do? I felt encouraged that they didn't say no right off the bat, so I just filed it in the back of my brain and moved on with my busy life.

June passed.  No word.

July began.  No word.

I decided that if I hadn't heard by July 7th, the end of the first week of July, that my blog probably wasn't chosen for publication. July 7th came and went. Darn. I was disappointed, but not discouraged. Since it was a goal, I would just work on my blog for a while and resubmit. July 8th came...my mother called and asked, out of the blue, "Have you heard about your blog submission?" The question stung a bit because I wanted so badly to say YES and that it was chosen. I wanted to make her proud. But, I hadn't heard a word, so I told her the truth, "No, I don't think it was chosen.  I'll have to try again later."

I guess my mother putting it out into the world was a blessing because later that evening, at 6:41PM, my iPhone pinged the alert that I had received an email in my work account. I checked it immediately and was elated. All I read was, "Congrats! Your blog has been selected to be featured in the upcoming November issue of Artful Blogging that hits newsstands November 1, 2015!" I let out a squeal, jumped out of my chair, and exclaimed to the two construction workers in my house at the time, "I DID IT!" They paused in their work, looking at me like I was a nut and asked calmly exactly what it was that I did. I rambled on, my words a confused waterfall of exclamations and explanations, about setting a goal, going after it, and achieving it...My art was going to be published in a magazine I had long adored! I am pretty sure they thought I was possessed at that moment and I am not at all sure they understood a word I said.

I ran around the house telling anyone who would listen, including my daughter's friend who was over at the time, that I had overcome my fear of failure and had achieved a career goal! Elation.  Pure elation. I was proud of myself for overcoming all that has happened in the last year and a half and never giving up on my goals. So, please keep your eyes out for two amazing things happening this fall...I will be having a solo show at The Gallery at 122 Main in Elkton, Maryland, featuring my photographs and my digital art. I will also be published in Artful Blogging magazine, hitting the newsstands on November 1! Thank you to all my family and friends who support me in everything I do and celebrate life's victories with me. I love and appreciate you all. xo

Check It Off the List

You know that RUSH feeling you get when something exciting happens when you are least expecting it...that surge of adrenaline, the thump, thump, thump of your heart beat in your own ears, the razor sharp attention when the rest of the world fades away?  It's kind of like being a kid on Christmas morning the moment you realize the toy you wanted so badly lies under the Christmas tree and the only thing keeping you from it is a thin layer of brightly colored festive wrapping paper.

Ever since I began pursuing photography, first as a hobby, and then as a business, I have wanted to have my work published in a well known magazine.  I dared dream that one day I might be good enough to have my work in print...it was, as a matter of fact, on my career bucket list along with having my work in a gallery.  I've had my work used in brochures, advertisements, websites, and even etched into tombstones, but never have I been published in a popular magazine with a print circulation over 300,000 and an online following of about 270,000!  For 15 years I have wanted this to happen, so when my husband got the mail yesterday and threw a package into my lap saying, "This looks like good news," my heart started pounding.  It took a minute for me to process what it was...a quick glance at the return label revealed the address for Baltimore Magazine, and that RUSH surged.  The realization that yes, the magazine did indeed use my image in their April issue hit me like a wonderful ton of bricks. (I was reluctant to believe it until I saw it despite having a signed contract!)

I ripped open the package to find a note from the editor included.  "Hi Tracey-- Thank you so much for allowing us to run your photo, it's a great opener for our O's travel story and we couldn't be happier with it!  it really pulls the page together.  You'll find your photo and credit on page 120. Good luck with all of your future photographs and many thanks.  ~S"

Thump, Thump, Thump...I opened the advanced copy of Baltimore Magazine to page 120 and there it was...my image of Ripken Stadium taken near sunset!  As I was taking it all in, I could hear my kids each saying, "Let me see!  Let me see!" so excited for me knowing I've wanted this for a long time and knowing how much this meant to me personally.  They were celebrating right along with me.  A smile grew across my face as I raised the magazine from my lap to proudly show my family the image...the main image for the entire 4 page article!

Now that I have checked that off the bucket list, I have a new dream...to be published in an actual art journal (such as one of Stampington's publications)!  And I know it will happen one day, with my family and friend's support, my hard work, and my focus on all the positive things happening in my career, I know it will happen!

Have a great weekend, y'all!  See you on Monday when I post about one of my pieces that will be showing in an April art exhibit!