'What I’m Listening To' Update

A few years back, I wrote a blog post answering a question posed by the Etsy Success Team: “What music do you listen to while you make?”  At the time I wasn’t really into listening to music while I work, but primarily listened to podcasts.  Beginning in March, I found myself working and teaching in my home office. Throughout the first half of this school year, I've been either working from home or working from an empty classroom while my students meet with me remotely.  Every now and again, I need silence while I work, but most of the time I need something in the background. As the 2020-21 school year proceeds (in its own unique ways) into the second half, I thought this would be a good time to take another look at what I’m listening to.

            

Listening while I work falls into two categories, while lesson planning and while commuting home. Most of the time, my ‘listen while I work’ go-to is still Podcasts, though the ones I prefer have changed.  While lesson planning, I tend to listen to interviews or history podcasts. On my commute to and from work, which is about 45 minutes each way, it's time for trivia as well as books on CD.  Though this technically isn’t ‘while I work’ it is my decompress from work time and I like having my focus redirected. Lastly, I recently busted out my old boombox and cassette tapes. I took it into my classroom where I listen to 90s grunge rock while I work.

So what are the podcasts I'm listening to these days?  When I want to connect to my interest in history I listen to Miss Information or The History Chicks. When looking for something cheery, I like Dear Hank & John featuring the Green brothers of Crash Course fame.  My trivia podcast of choice is Triviality. When I need something calming, I turn to LeVar Burton Reads or Overdue.  

  

What are you listening to while you work?

Back From a Break!

It’s been more than a few months since my last blog post!  Part of the reason for this long gap is my position as a high school Social Studies teacher.  A lot of creative energy goes into engaging high schoolers in a discussion about our country: its history and current issues.

On a more personal note, I needed to take a step back from my art & Etsy.  My shop success or lack of was really weighing on my creativity. I was doing that comparing thing where I read others successes and think “Where is mine?”  So much of what I was reading about running a handmade business in Facebook Groups and Etsy blogs didn’t jive with what I wanted as an artist. There is a lot of emphasis on finding what sells, looking for trends, and making what the market wants.  But as an artist, I want to create what I envision. I’m not in this to be another ‘worker bee’ producer in the market.

So after taking this much needed time off, the creative juices started flowing again and I started painting.  A teacher friend gave me clothespins from a classroom that were headed for the trash can. They had student names written on them.  I came up with 3 design ideas; dog bones, flowers, and turtles. From there, I was inspired to paint daisies for my new logo and my handbags, followed by the urge to sew, followed by more dog themed clothespin ideas; fire hydrant, ID tag, and dog house.

                                  

My art will find its market.  I feel so much better about what I am creating and much more fulfilled inside.  Also from this break, my new logo and updated website banner emerged.

I look forward to sharing my art and more hiking adventures throughout this summer and into the fall.  

Happy July!

~Stacey

What I listen to when I work - Music? Podcasts?

As I look around my classroom, I notice a variety of earbuds and headphones plugged in while my students diligently work away at their assignments.  When I was in high school, way back in 90-something, we were never allowed to listen to headphones during school hours.  If there was one rule I could have changed, that was it.  I listened to music constantly, on the bus, while jogging, while painting, and having the opportunity to listen to music while I did school work would have helped me focus even more.  

Between then and now, I went through a period of ‘silence.’  Maybe it was music overload during college; I was a music major at Shepherd University constantly listening for class, practicing flute multiple hours a day, and being surrounded by others practicing and making music.  While this was the college environment and degree I wanted, when it came to studying and paper-writing in my dorm room, I turned to silence.

I still find myself sometimes needing that ‘silence’ while I work. I have also found a new fix for my ‘listen while I work’ - Podcasts!  I never thought I would be into talk radio, but over the past two years I have really come to like listening to these conversations.  And not just when I work, but also on my commute to and from school; the school I teach at is 45 minutes from home.

http://nottoodeep.com

What I listen to depends on what I am doing.  When I run, I love to have on something cheery like Grace Helbig’s Not Too Deep.  Her laughter lightens my mood. Other podcasts that get me in good spirits are Ask Me Another and The Dollop (a history podcast.)

http://www.npr.org  

www.betwixtandbetween.com.au/2014/04

When I am painting, sewing, or looking for creative inspiration, two of my long time favorites are Elise Gets Crafty and Etsy Conversations.  In a community that is largely online, hearing these conversations with other makers brings that much needed human connection.  

A few years back, the Etsy Success Team asked “What music do you listen to while you make?”  Amidst the variety of answers, I was pleased to see I'm not the only podcast listener.  When it comes to music though, my favorites include Impressionist composers Ravel and Debussy, singer songwriters like Jack Johnson, and the alternative sounds of Wilco.

What are you listening to?  Add your comment below!