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The Perks of Being an Artist

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Our Weird

08 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by emilypageart in art, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, friendship, fun gifts for him, gifts, greeting cards, quirky gifts for her, thank you gift, weird, your weird matches my weird

The last few months have been crazy, and inspiring, and terrifying, and complicated, and hard, and wonderful as I transition from one business to another. And along the way, my friends (I count you among my friends, dear reader) have put up with my bitching, cheered me on, consoled me, and rejoiced with me. And you’ve embraced my weird and brought your own to meet it and it’s so comforting to have people whose weirds match my weird. It’s what has gotten me through such a time of turmoil.

In your honor, I’ve made a couple sketches and put them on some shirts and mugs and cards and other stuff. If you want to thank someone (spouse, friend, child, barista, whatever) for their quirk, these might be a good way to do it.

EPSON MFP image

weird men's shirt

T-shirts like the one above, and prints and tote bags and just about anything else can be found here and here.

EPSON MFP image

weird greeting card

Greeting cards like the one above, along with clothes, and bags, and mugs and stuff of this drawing available here and here.

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Please Don’t Be The Reason a Unicorn Dies

08 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

book about caregiving, book awards, books about dementia, Emily Page, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, how unicorns die, rosie's book review

Hey, you! Guess what? My book was nominated for an award! Guess what else? In order to win the award, people have to vote for me. Of course. Sigh. So, here’s where I ask you to do me a solid (I’m Gen X, forgive me for that little turn of phrase) and go vote at Rosie’s Book Review, and then ask all your friends on social media to do that same, because if you don’t, somewhere a unicorn will get an intestinal parasite and rainbow-poop itself to death.

Book cover 1

Have someone you need to get a holiday gift for? Check out a summary and buy a print copy here. Or read reviews and buy an eBook here (you can also buy a print copy here, but I make virtually nothing on sales on Amazon, so it’d be great – and cheaper for you – to buy them copies through my website).

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It’s a Christmas Miracle

12 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, culture, gratitude, karma, mental health, tattooing, Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

areola tattoo, commercial real estate, hazards of being a business owner, high end tattoo, para-medical tattoo, paramedical tattoo, permanent make-up, tattoo, tattoo studio, tattooing

It’s a Christmas miracle! It’s Christmas now, right? Or a Halloween miracle? I’m not really sure. I’m unemployed, so I’ve lost all sense of time. After several months of trying to find a space to open a high-end tattoo studio, we are officially under contract!!!!! It’s been a long, strange trip, and it’s not over yet, but we’re farther along than we’ve been thus far. Let me back up a bit and explain.

We’re opening a tattoo studio. But maybe you figured that out from the first paragraph? I’ll be training to do permanent make-up, scar camouflage, and other para-medical tattooing (like giving women areolae following reconstructive surgery post-mastectomy, and giving people eyebrows after they lose them to chemo), as well as traditional tattooing. While I’ll be doing pretty much any kind of tattoo people ask for, my goal is to focus on transformational tattooing, helping people document life transitions. I’m super excited, because it means learning a new medium, and it’ll hopefully mean that I’ll be doing something meaningful for my customers. We’ll have a couple other artists there, too, that I’ll be learning under, and between all of us, we should be able to handle just about any style requested.

But first, we had to find a space. If you’ll recall, we had to close our paint and sip studio because our new landlord decided to double our rent when we tried to renew our lease. We really didn’t want to go through that again, and we’d already run into an issue with trying to lease a space for the tattoo studio and getting rejected because tattoo studios, are apparently, portals to hell. So we decided to buy a space.

We fell in love with one in Cary, NC, and put in an offer. The seller agreed to the terms, then emailed that he was un-agreeing. Apparently that’s a thing? So that fell through. We licked our wounds and resumed the hunt. We found two spaces in a plaza in Wake Forest, NC, one of which was going to auction. So we decided to bid on that space but given the issues we’d run into regarding plaza’s not wanting a tattoo studio, we sent out a letter explaining our vision so that the other owners would know we weren’t opening something seedy. But the other business owners really didn’t want us in there. Not only are tattoo studios portals to hell, but our clients are actual minions of the devil. Here’s a quote from one of the nastygrams we received:

“As property owners and fellow professionals, we have all worked to maintain the professional atmosphere of our buildings. In our opinion, the placement of a tattoo parlor at this location is wholly inappropriate and will diminish the reputation and image which we have sought to cultivate. In addition, it will bring a clientele into the area that will not enhance our reputation, and in our opinion, damage our  financial investment.

The commingling of the typical tattoo parlor clientele with business professionals, patients of medical providers, individuals and families seeking counseling services, and many others does not create a welcoming or professional atmosphere.
This situation certainly will not attract desirable owners or tenants in the future.
The letter sent by Attorney Herman is manipulative and disingenuous in that it commands those who object to remain silent and only those in agreement with their plan to speak up.

In addition, the letter from you, the proposed owners of the tattoo parlor, seeks to mislead and whitewash the true nature of this type of business. Despite the carefully chosen wording, this is not an upscale spa regardless of the reasoning behind the tattooing.”

oh no they didn't.jpg

I was sorely tempted, after that one, to send a newsletter out to my 10,000 person email list letting them know that, if they have tattoos, their money isn’t wanted by any of the medical providers, counselors, or other businesses in that plaza. But no, I’m taking the higher ground.

While, legally, they couldn’t stop us from moving in, but we decided not to bid because we didn’t want to walk into so much negativity. The same day we made that decision, the owner of the original space we’d wanted in Cary reached out to our real estate agent and said he’d resolved the things he’d gotten stuck on before, and would like to revisit our offer. So we sent over another offer (that’d he’d agreed to on the phone and via email), which he promptly refused to sign again. So we modified and tried again. And again, he turned it down. The whole thing was getting kind of ridiculous, and everyone was getting pretty pissy with each other, but S and I sat down and talked it out and we decided to compromise one last time. And, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, the seller finally signed. So now we have to go through inspections and the other due diligence stuff.

Jeez, I feel like such a grownup. Cross your fingers and elbows and toes and knees and eyes that the rest goes smoothly and I can stop feeling like I could vomit any second and maybe not actually become the alcoholic this whole thing has tempted me to be. Thank goodness I had the cats to snuggle away the stress.

 

draped keely
yin yang cats

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Take Heart, Keep Singing

14 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by emilypageart in culture, gratitude, karma, kindness, music, singing, Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

charlottesville, how to face white supremacists, love wins, no place for hate, protest song, protesting, respond to racists, respond to white supremacists, stand up

“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
— Leonard Bernstein

As I watched my hometown get invaded by those sick, sick assholes, I was heartbroken. I still am. But I have several reasons to hope, and that’s the only way I can keep moving and not huddle under my blankets sobbing (anymore).

1) The reason violence errupted this weekend was that counterprotesters showed up. They showed up and said, “No, you don’t get to do this.” Would it have been better if violence hadn’t won the day? Yes. But was it important to stand up and say that that kind of hatred won’t be tolerated, and let minorities know that we have their backs and value them them as assets to our community; to let them know they’re not alone – that “they” are really “us.”

2) My friends are arguing about whether it would have been better to show up or to stay away completely so that the white supremacists didn’t get the attention they so desperately want. Let them shout into a void. They stayed away, thinking that if you don’t give them someone to scream at, eventually they’ll just disappear. Some showed up and marched peacefully and silently. Some thought showing up wasn’t enough and decided to fight violence with more violence. I’m torn about what the appropriate response is. I’m not sure there even is an appropriate response. But whatever their opinion on the best way to make the white supremacists go away, they still want to make them go away. That means there are a lot more of us on the side of love than hate.

2) At Jason Kessler’s press conference the next day, counterprotesters showed up and shouted him down and said, “No, you don’t get to do this.” Again, I’m not thrilled that someone ended up punching him, because that makes him look like a victim and I’m not okay with violence, but the people who showed up with pots and pans and cymbals to bang on to drown him out are heroes. They are beautiful, beautiful people standing up for our beautiful, beautiful city and country.

3) On Twitter, people have “outted” many of the white supremacists who attended, and at least one has been fired by a boss who said, “No, you don’t get to do this.” We should be sending equally clear messages to racist and hateful business owners by boycotting their businesses.  Luckily, it’s pretty easy to do since, again, I think there are more peaceful, accepting business owners than white supremacists.

4) I attended a vigil in Durham in support of Charlottesville yesterday, and when protesters showed up and started trying to shout over our speakers, we sang them down. We drowned them out with song.

People are speaking up. Yes, more need to, but it’s a start and this weekend was a wake-up call for a hell of a lot of people. However we choose to stand on the side of love, we need to stick together and remember that we are all, still, on the same side.

We need to keep singing. Sing until the hatemongers get the point that their hate isn’t welcome. Sing until our allies know they’re safe and loved. Sing to comfort those trying to heal from this weekend and the hundreds of years of strife in America that came before it. Sing a little extra love and joy into the world.

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Cville Shirts

13 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, culture, gratitude, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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charlottesville, charlottesville logo, charlottesville love, charlottesville t-shirt, cville, cville t-shirt, cville tshirt, indie artist, no place for hate, t-shirt

You guuuuyyyyys! I asked my friend Meghan from Hogan Made to come up with a t-shirt for my hometown, Charlottesville, and she came through. She’s donating $10 from every shirt to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Show an independent artist some love, Charlottesville some love, and a great charitable organization some love: https://squareup.com/store/hoganmade/item/c-ville #noplaceforhate

original(1)original

 

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I Have a Fairy Godmother!!!!

11 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, gratitude, humor, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

artist posable figure, artist's figure, body chan, body-kun, cupcakes, fairy godmother, gifts for artists, posable plastic figure, posable wooden figure, things artists want

I know I haven’t posted in over a week. I swear, I’ll try to get back in the swing of things again soon, but my brain has been mush due to the stress about work stuff. I also swear that I’ll explain about that soon. But for right now, I’m just too excited because I found out that I have a fairy godmother!! A month ago, I saw this thing, a Body Chan, pop up in an ad on my  Facebook feed:

 

Posable figure

If you’re not familiar with the little wooden posable figures that they make for artists, this is what they usually look like.

Manikinb

It doesn’t even have a chin. And it has a stick up its ass. 

And they suck, because the range of realistic poses for them is severely limited. So I when I saw this thing, I got all want-y and posted on Facebook that I wished it was mine. And since I did, it keeps popping up all over the place because my computer is a pimp and is always trying to get me to buy its tempting shit. But I’ve resisted because, well, I don’t have so much of the monies. And also because I’m a little afraid of pimps. But it’s just been taunting me this whole time.

Today, it arrived in the mail. With no receipt. So I have no idea who sent it. I posted a pic of me with it and asked for the generous culprit to fess up so that I can thank them.

Posable figure in backage.jpg

I don’t look nearly as excited in this picture as I actually feel, but all the pics of me looking really excited also made me look really ugly. Hopefully, this adequately conveys at least mild appreciation and wonder, if not the complete and utter ecstasy that I’m actually feeling.

But it’s been 4 hours and no one has. This leads me to the only logical conclusion: I have a freakin’ fairy godmother, y’all!!! So now I’m thinking that I should start wishing for other stuff. Apparently wantiness works. Now that I have my new posable figure, who I have named Jackie (because the figure is called a Body Chan), she’s going to help me demonstrate to my fairy godmother all of my heart’s desires…you know, things like unicorns and calorie-free cheese. You never know. I might have multiple fairy godmothers with different powers like Sleeping Beauty.

I’m turning 40 on September 20th, and I’ve decided that what I really want to commemorate such a momentous birthday – no, what I really need – is 40 cupcakes.

Jackie with cupcakes

I recognize that these cupcakes, in proportion to Jackie, are regular-sized cakes, but I figure if a girl’s gonna dream, she should dream big.

Since I don’t want to be selfish, feel free to suggest things you want and I’ll wish for them for you.

Dearest fairy godmother, thank you for sending me my new best friend, Jackie. After her, you’re the bestest.

 

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They’ll Never Have To, But They’ll Never Get To

07 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in death, dementia, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Alzheimer's, caregiving, caring for someone with dementia, coping with dementia, death, dementia, frontotemporal dementia

Last night, I found out that someone from my hometown who had dementia died. I had posted about him about a year and a half ago. I never did meet him myself, but I had some contact with his wife and daughter recently as they were making decisions about placing him in a dementia care community. Today, as they were moving him into the facility they’d chosen, he had a heart attack and died. And I don’t know what to feel for them.

I’m devasted for his family. It’s so sudden and so shocking. After agonizing over the decision about how to move forward with his care, it’s all just been undone.

I’m relieved for his family. They won’t have to watch him continue to decline, to lose himself. They won’t spend a fortune on a dementia care facility and worry that the money might run out.

I’m devasted for his family. They don’t get anymore sweet moments with him. No more hugs or holding hands. They don’t have the privilege of caring for him and protecting him. They don’t get to tell him they love him.

I’m relieved for his family. They’ll never have to tell him they love him and have him look back at them blankly, not knowing who they are. They won’t have to fight for him to get the care he deserves, or deal with dirty diapers or disappearing hearing aids or choking incidents.

I’m devasted for his family – especially his daughter, who wasn’t there when it happened and so didn’t get to say goodbye.

I’m relieved for his family. His death was quick – no nights spent in recliners by his deathbed, waiting for his pain to finally end.

There’s no good way for this whole journey to go. There’s no easy path. Dementia sucks, plain and simple. So maybe send a little love out to the universe for his family – and all the other families coping with dementia – today, in the hopes that it will ease some tiny piece of their pain.

Dad and Em at Bodos 10-27-14 2

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YouTube Book Review

04 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, blog, book, culture, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

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Alzheimer's, art about dementia, book about dementia, book review, dementia, Emily Page Art, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, frontotemporal dementia

Brittany, from BrittanyReads, posted her spring indie author wrap-up on youtube, and included a review of my book, Fractured Memories. So now you don’t have to read the review, you can watch it, because screw reading, amiright? Oh, wait. The review of my book starts at around 4 minutes 45 seconds. Please go show her channel a little love, and check out some more indie books!

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Getting Your Book Seen

03 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by emilypageart in book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, karma, kindness, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, art book, book about dementia, book review, caregiver, caregiving, dementia, dementia art, dementia writing, Fractured Memories, gift for caregiver, Raleigh artist, Raleigh author, self-publishing

Hello there, glorious Fractured Memories readers!! As you all know, I opted to self-publish Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too, which means that promoting it is up to me. So I’m going to do some uber-begging. First, in order for books (eBooks, soft cover, or hard cover) to be seen on Amazon, they need to have at least 25 reviews. So far, I have 7. That means I need to get at least eleventy more (I’m good at art and writing, not math, people). That means I need help. That means that, if you read and liked the book, you could write a review on Amazon. That means that people would know the book exists. That means people would buy it. That means I wouldn’t have to live off of ramen noodles, which are terrible for my triglyceride counts. Instead, I could live off of cheese, which is equally bad for my triglyceride counts but so much tastier. It also means that I could support my bourbon habit, which sterilizes my insides, washing all those triglycerides out (yup, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works).

And now, another big ask: if you liked the book, tell someone you actually know! You can post about it on social media, or just tell a friend who you think would like it. If they’ve been a caregiver, they’ll be saying, “Me, too!” the whole time they’re reading it. If they haven’t been a caregiver, you’re prepping them for something that most of us will go through at one time or another with a parent or spouse or friend; or, you’re helping them know how to be a better support for the caregivers they know. Win-win! If they want to order a print copy (or if you want to order a copy for them), they can do so on my website at http://shop.emilypageart.com/ (I make more money this way than on Amazon, AND they’ll save a little money, too). If they’re not interested, try describing the book as “a staggering work of genius,” or “the best thing that ever was – EVER.” If they’re still not interested, they sound like pretty boring people and you should probably not be friends with them anymore.

Many, many (and a few more) thanks in advance!!

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Urhous Interview

31 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by emilypageart in art, book, dementia, Fractured Memories, gratitude, interview, karma, kindness, painting, Uncategorized

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Tags

art book, artist interview, author interview, caregiver memoir, dementia book, Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, Emily Page author, Fractured Memories, home makeover, memoir, purchasing a home, real estate

Okay, so this is kind of random, but the folks over at Urhous, a real estate company, asked me to do an interview. They’ve done a series of these videos with past buyers, and the one they did for me went live today:

https://urhous.com/2017/05/31/ep-4-where-r-they-now-wemily-page/

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Emily Page

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