Samantha Mash

This past month was the first month in over five years where I didn’t make at least one new illustration and it felt great to have that kind of a mental and physical break

Being an artist as a profession and being an artist as a hobby are two different beasts. When your livelihood depends on making it can make the whole process feel like a ball and chain! But hey that’s the choice we make

People always say to me “you’re an artist you *have* to create or you’re not happy” and truly that sort of sentiment is how I know someone isn’t a creative. We also need breaks or we will break

This past month was the first month in over five years where I didn’t make at least one new illustration and it felt great to have that kind of a mental and physical break

A old couple lives directly across from us and they also have a giant TV and they literally only watch HBO. Like 24/7

So if there are like reruns of something they'll just watch the same episode over and over throughout the day

In return I hope they all like watching me do weird physical therapy a lot and cradling my senior cat like a baby because he throws tantrums about food a lot lately and it is the only way to calm him down when he gets too loud

My neighborhood is purely high rise apartments and so you get really used to seeing the same neighbors doing their little routines every day. It is a real Rear Window type situation and I think we all handle it pretty respectfully, but I do like to check on what people are watching on TV

I think they know artists are maybe more desperate and hopeful than the general populace and they can at least get a small but sizable amount of money or even access to like bank accounts, which is apparently worth the effort. It sucks

All this is to say it’s that time of year that scammers ask you pay to be featured in the “best of” for publications that don’t exist or they don’t work for. I’m secure enough at this point to know I’m on no “best of” lists, but if you had hit me up when I was a teen that might have got my attention

I’ll never get over that scam artists have artist specific scams. Like you really have to be a certain type of person to come up with something that promises hope to some of the least financially well off people by and large and then snatches it and whatever funds they have away

Literally I would just slow down a little, make work I truly want to make, keep running my freelance business…have time to contribute back to the spaces around me and all that

Probably stop living in constant burnout, which would be a nice change of pace

Pale hand holding up a crab sticker over some warm toned brush in the background

A spread of Samantha Mash Illustration prints on a beige tablecloth in golden hour sunlight

Grab a mini print or a sticker from my Etsy and support my art business as I try to finish up the year strong!

samanthamash.etsy.com

Picture of an illustration by Samantha Mash print on a beige cloth with plants around it. The illustration is of a woman with snakes

Picture of a Samantha Mash illustration sticker of a set of tomatoes on tope of real tomatoes

Picture of a Samantha Mash illustration sticker of a peace dove being held by a pale hand over brush

Picture of a set of Samantha Mash illustrative prints including a zebra, cranes, and a crab

I can't offer a sale this year at my Etsy, but Inprnt is having a sale! My art is ready for you to take home as stocking stuffers and gifts. Shop small this year and support the creatives you love whether that is me, or someone else!

🎁 www.samanthamash.etsy.com
🎁 www.inprnt.com/gallery/samanthamash

Photo of a tree over an estuary outlook in warm sunlight

Photo of a very autumn looking roadside tree landscape in misty/overcast weather

Photo of a thick Pacific Northwest forest at looking out onto a body of water through the trees

Walked around Washington state a bunch this past weekend🌲

I have second-hand horror stories from customers who were not made clear about final prices with other folks they've bought from, and I'm honestly surprised at how many people just accept it out of embarrassment (though also understand)!

I totally understand and have even had a few folks be very weird about me mentioning the total out loud, but the amount of people who it brings peace of mind to (whether they literally thank me or just put something away they can't afford) outweighs any of those more negative interactions

I’ve had so many folks over the years say other venders will sometimes just charge them without total clarity of price and they feel a little trapped or embarrassed to back out if they realize they can’t afford everything

A sale is never worth breaking someone’s trust (or bank account)

Something that I’ve heard time and time again when I am tabling is how much people appreciate me ringing them up and saying out loud their total and asking if that is okay

Lots of folks are on a budget, maybe others don’t do the math or realize the price of everything. Always check before they pay!

I definitely read it as non-malicious, so I agree! It is just never been this commonly said I guess at all the markets I’ve done in the last few years

That’s smart! I will consider that! It would be nice too for when I have my friend helping me and people want to know if she made it and she has to explain she didn’t, but that everything is still handmade haha

The person helping me out even noticed this weird shift in language and it just feels not great

I suppose they could be trying to ask “is this AI?”, but I’d assume they’d just flat out ask that? Instead it is a lot of dancing around something I can’t put my finger on

This is the first market I’ve been at where people don’t assume I am the artist? Or that what I am selling is like hand drawn work? They keep asking “where is this from?” And it very much feels like they are asking if this is just art I find around and print out?

I don’t know how to put it to words

I normally walk five miles a day every morning as a routine and when I table I can’t do that. However, if I have an assistant I can walk loops around the space I am tabling when I get a break and work off that energy like a weird racehorse

People really can be weirded out by long walks! I get in ten or more miles on weekends (no car and being a big walking person helps) often and people are so surprised!

I normally walk five miles a day every morning as a routine and when I table I can’t do that. However, if I have an assistant I can walk loops around the space I am tabling when I get a break and work off that energy like a weird racehorse

Photo of the Samantha Mash Illustration booth with prints out on display

Come see me this weekend at Renegade Craft Seattle at booth 34!

Thank youuuu!

Photo of the Samantha Mash Illustration booth with prints out on display

Come see me this weekend at Renegade Craft Seattle at booth 34!