Magic Turtle Studios

EDIT 2 (also 18 July): I’ve basically spent the afternoon in a street brawl between Brevo and Google’s reCaptcha and I think I landed on a solution that seems to be working. I’ve updated the links below, or you can hit the Newsletter Sign-Up link at the top of the page (or behind the three lines in the upper right corner on a mobile device). Also, if you don’t see the email confirmation link after a half hour or so, check your spam folder 😧.

EDIT (18 July): Apparently, the form, which had been working just dandy, is now just stuck in a loop. If you’ve tried to subscribe via the link, try using the form in the right nav section. I just tested that and it seems to be working 🤞🏼. ‘kthxbyeeeee.

(tl;dr I’m launching a newsletter and you can sign up here.)

Oops, I sorta went MIA for a bit, didn’t I? Well, that’s what happens, sometimes: I start building some momentum toward my creative career and then life steps in and redirects me. Sometimes, with a brick wall.

And, well, that “momentum” I was generating with the Magic Turtle Studios shop at the beginning of April felt…off. I was having trouble really putting my finger on what was demotivating me, but I was definitely feeling some resistance when it was time to create a listing or social media post.

Before I could really sit with that feeling, though, I had to take my sweet kitty, Charlie, to the vet. I had been trying to get him to lose some weight for a while, but then I realized he had lost TOO much weight. And, despite being on the Hobbit meal schedule, he was hungry all the time. Diagnosis: diabetes.

Well, shit.

The weeks since have been a blur of collecting all of the things one needs to help a diabetic cat: Insulin, syringes, an animal-specific blood glucose monitor, cotton pads and alcohol, alcohol prep pads, and, believe it or not, Karo syrup (in case he goes hypoglycemic).

And then it was a second whirlwind of learning how to USE all of this (I’ve only stuck myself with the needle once, so far). And also adjusting his diet because he was still screaming at me all day every day for more food. After three long months, we’re finally getting a handle on all of this (I hope). He is acting more like himself and his glucose finally broke below 200 this week, which, to me, is a big win.

Between the time, energy, and the financial pressure of integrating a diabetic cat into my life, plus a full-time job, there wasn’t anything left for my art business. I won’t lie; that was creating a bit of a panic in me because, historically, when I’ve started building my art career and hit a roadblock (or a wall), I ended up giving up on my dream. But, I can’t do that this time. I REFUSE to do that this time. Instead, I made the choice to accept this as a divine pause. A suggestion to slow down and listen to what my heart had to say during those moments when things with Charlie were less chaotic.

Yet, whenever I felt ready to get back on track, the demotivation kept nagging at me. Yes, getting sales from an Etsy store takes a LONG time, and I realize finding my collectors there is a marathon, not a sprint.*

Then it came to me. At the beginning of April, before Charlie’s vet visits and diagnosis, I had rewritten my shop listings. Instead of telling the story behind them in my own engaging, human, way, I had rewritten them for SEO. Even writing that, just now, as an artist and writer building a creative career, made my body totally tense up.

Now, look, I’m extremely familiar with SEO. It’s what I do every day. Having that spill into my creative life was making my heart sink.** And it isn’t just for the Etsy store; the same demands are in play on social media as well. So, everywhere I promote my work, I’m at the mercy of an algorithm. I’m a tenant farmer on land owned by someone else, where the audience I’m building isn’t really mine at all. I needed a better way to connect directly with my collectors and supporters.

So, as I found pockets of time and energy, I researched email newsletter services, wrote and rewrote signup and welcome newsletter copy, tinkered with template designs, tested and retested sign-up forms and email delivery. And now, I am excited to offer you a direct line to Magic Turtle Studios!

No more trying to outwit an ever-changing algorithm (and, for you, no more missing new work from me because you got tired of picking your way through all the FYP crapadoodle).

You’ll be notified when I put something new in the shop (spoiler: there will be an announcement coming soon). You will also be among the first to know about any upcoming events or exhibitions I’m participating in. I may even throw in a special mail list-only offer, when the spirit moves me!

You can sign up for my email newsletter here (if you’re reading this on the website, there is also a sign-up form just to your right 🤓). And I’ll make you these two promises:

1. I will not spam you with daily emails. You’ll get a message from me when there is actual news from my studio. So, you may get one or two emails a month. And maybe a bonus dispatch when things get really rockin’ around the studio.
2. I will not sell your information to any third party. Because, ewwwwww! There is no vet bill high enough to tempt me to sell y’all out!

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*My very impatient Aries Sun is having a toddler meltdown over this fact.

**And now it’s my Libra Rising’s turn to join in the meltdown, while my Scorpio Moon has been sitting in a dark corner making a Burn Book on these digital gatekeepers.