After serious consideration, I have decided not to create an art calendar for 2024. Time, costs and publishing obstacles are the main reasons:
- Creating the art, producing the calendar layout and completing many related steps require lots of my time; lately my ‘art time' has been committed to a variety of activities, like teaching scratchboard classes, doing art presentations, entering competitions, volunteering at exhibitions, and prepping for a 3-month solo show. And I still need to sneak in time to create new art!
- As we are all experiencing, costs have risen on everything, and that includes printing and mailing. I kept my calendar price the same for years and now I barely cover my out-of-pocket costs (the designer and layout artist doesn't get paid!). This would be challenging for 2024.
- The printer who did my calendar for years increased all their prices last year AND discontinued their standard wall calendar. Sadly, the fabulous local print shop I worked with for weeks to format my 2023 layout to their hi-tech printer has just suffered a tragedy, with the death of one of the owners at age 49. Thus my options for printing have become challenging too.
I thank all of you who have requested, purchased, collected, and gifted my calendars for the past few years. Your support of me and my artwork is very much appreciated. I am sorry to disappoint by discontinuing this tradition. Happy holidays!
