2020 - Bye Felicia!

Here it is, the end of 2020. Hallelujah...at least we hope. 

What a year. No one I know came out of this year unscathed (and all my feels for everyone <3)
In my 46 years I have never experienced a year quite like this one. But that isn't to say it was all bad. Here's my personal recap.

We started out the year doing our usual Colorado Indian Market show in Denver in January, and then the very last Pantheacon in California in February. Both those shows were spectacular, and it seemed it would be a very promising year for the show circuit.

But after Pantheacon, news of the Coronavirus began to circulate. As the virus began to spread, we started to fear the worst. By the time March came around, our next show, a local art show, was cancelled at the last minute. Then the dominoes started to fall and show after show began to cancel. 

It was also in March that we not only got the news that, after living in the same house for nine years, our landlord suddenly wanted to sell, but also that Sandra had endometrial cancer. So not only were were looking at all our shows being cancelled, but then we suddenly had to start looking and moving while dealing with Sandra's diagnosis.

Thankfully, our landlord backed off after the pandemic truly hit, and he decided to try and sell in 2021, giving us the space and time we needed for Sandra to get treated for her cancer. As her doctor began to make a plan for surgeries and chemotherapy, we jumped on creating face coverings to sell in our Etsy stores. We had bandanas and neck gaiters at first, then eventually found a source for face masks. That was the smartest move we could have made as sales in April went through the roof. Everyone needed some cool face coverings, and almost no one had them. Creating and selling masks also brought more sales of prints and other products. That, and the wonderful support of my patrons saved our bacon in a year of no shows.

Sandra got the surgeries she needed and did very well, and then started chemotherapy in late August. She got through all six sessions with flying colors, and now will have to endure a month of radiation therapy. We are trusting that afterwards she will have a clean bill of health for awhile. 

I've been acting as Sandra's care giver during all of this, while also trying to maintain my mental health through all the stress of the pandemic. I have been dealing with bouts of depression, but I do things to help myself like walk the dogs every day. Like many artists, I have been struggling with my creativity off and on, but I at least managed to get all of my back logged ACEO commissions finished, as well as a few other commissions. I was also able to get a few new pieces done this year as well. I almost have my second novel "Heat" ready to give to my beta readers, and am hoping that I can publish next year. 

I also upped my game here on Patreon and decided to dedicate myself to creating new exclusive merch and content, which has been a huge success so far. I hope to see my Patreon continue to grow, and that my patrons will enjoy what I have to offer.

And the other great news is (so far) Sandra and I have managed to avoid the plague. Aiming to stay that way until this crap is over with. DO NOT WANT.

So a weird, crazy, WTF year comes to an end, but it hasn't been all bad. We've been blessed more than others and are extremely grateful for all the support and good healing for Sandra that we've received.

I truly hope that 2021 will see this pandemic over with, and some kind of return to normalcy. There will be changes to be sure, but I really have faith that they will be good ones.

Happy New Year to all of you. May 2021 be a much kinder year to us all <3