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MachiasBanshee

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It's been a crazy summer here in New Hampshire.

Between the Heat waves and the crazy thunderstorms, the garden has gone bonkers and there's more stuff to harvest than I can keep up with.
- We've already made 15 pints of dill pickles, and there's more to come.
- The herb plants have turned into full-fledged trees
- My Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are so tall I can't reach the top of the plant, and I will be buried in a sea of tomatoes by next week.

Working and working out is taking up most of my time.
- My next competition is coming up soon, so I'm focused on improving my deadlift and getting into the next weight class.
- Having a larger role at my job results in tons of special projects.

And lastly, my brother's business is picking up now that fair season is here, and we're getting a lot more visibility.
- We're attending fairs and events every weekend this month and next month.
- We're also gearing up for fall and the holiday season.

That being said, there's very little time for drawing and storywriting. I don't get to do much online, other than checking email and streaming music.

I've been at a crossroads for a while.. On one hand, I'll always love TMNT and all of the properties that I've drawn and written fanworks on. On the other... I just don't have the time and energy to invest in the fandom. I feel like I've outgrown that part of my life. One of the artists I follow on here, :icondroemar:, wrote a really good article about fan art and fanwork in general.

  The Problem of Fan Art: Part OneI suppose I've been musing over this for a long time, and since I have released my first big piece of "real" work, I've found myself reading more about the phenomenon of "toxic fandoms."
That's not really what I'm going to talk about, though, even though I think it's a very obvious element to consider. It plays its part in the Problem of Fan Art.
And personal disclaimer: it's not like I've never done fanart myself. I obviously enjoy the aspect of fanart that is creative and expressive, and acts like the proper machine of artistic joie de vivre #notallfanart. But that allows me to move into my introduction: artists do great fanart; fanartists will never be artists.

Is it 'Art'?

Well, I suppose it was at some point, in the hands of the original creator or the creative team. But is fanart 'art'? After all, Roger Ebe


The thing I took away from this... if I want to grow as an artist and crafter, I need to branch beyond playing with other people's creations. I need to explore myself and develop my own works. In a time when there's so much done on computers and so many people live their lives through a camera lens, the importance of doing things with your hands....I think that's hugely important. Having worked with my brother designing things, I've been able to do it. It's a wonderful feeling to see something you've worked on become solid and real.

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So.. I've started cleaning up my gallery. My fan arts have been reduced to a single folder with my best pieces. I've cleaned up my favorites folder. I've cleaned up my original works and put more emphasis on my brother's creations. As I design more items, I may post those drawings here. It feels like a good start...



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Greetings!

Things have picked up speed, now that the warm weather is here. The sun sets later in the day, the smell of flowers and cut grass is everywhere... and everything that was hidden by snow is exposed again. O_o 

So... we've been busy cleaning out the shop, checking inventory, and preparing new items for the season. We've already got a list of items in the pipeline that will be getting posted both here and to the shop. Moose icon Piggy Petting 

Edit:

We had a great time time at this year's World's Largest Yard Sale at the Rochester fairgrounds in Rochester, NH. The weather was a bit iffy, but it was still a fairly good turnout. :)

This weekend, we'll be at Dover's Ultimate Yard Sale in Dover, NH. We've loaded back up with new items, and we'll be there on Saturday morning at the Ice Arena.

If this is your first time at my page, my brother and I run a small Etsy shop called Andre's Anvil. He is a blacksmith, welder and general tinkerer. He makes everything from lawn decor to hand-forged trivets and other items. I'll typically post images of new stuff here before posting it to the Etsy shop. 



Thor Check it out here: www.etsy.com/shop/AndresAnvil

~Machias
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Hi Everyone,

Damn, December went by fast. This past year was just a giant blur... things have been so busy with work and real life. I miss having time to draw and write for fun. I remember late night RPG sessions while drawing fan art, no deadlines and nothing but the imagination to hold me back. I'm surrounded by art supplies and paper, and I have no drive to create... Ashamed 



I don't imagine I get many visitors from the TMNT Fandom now... I've kinda fallen away from that group. I love the turtles, but I hate the drama.

I've been keeping an eye on the upcoming Jurassic World trailers and fan discussions. I'm so excited to see the direction they take with this movie. I actually sat down and read the original Jurassic Park book in its entirety for the first time in years. I forgot what a bastard Dr Hammond was and what Dr. Wu was up to...

In regards to my brother's Etsy shop, we've been doing well, traffic-wise. Once the workshop thaws (it hasn't been above 10 degrees here in NH), we'll be firing up the forge and experimenting for the spring. We'll be adding more items throughout the next few weeks. Check it out here: www.etsy.com/shop/AndresAnvil


Outside of that, I've been working out and trying to get stronger. My hope is to get into a 5k or obstacle course this year. We'll see how that goes... I've got a good team and coach to work with.


~Machias
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Greetings,

Many of you may have noticed that while I have not been active in the TMNT fandom, that I have been posting a lot of creations from my brother.

We have finally decided to start our own Etsy shop! We've been selling items directly to the public from both home and at local fairs, but now we're branching out to the internet.

I'll be adding more items there throughout the next few weeks. Check it out here: www.etsy.com/shop/AndresAnvil

As for the TMNT fandom... I've kind of stepped away from things, due to work and other life stuff. I still moderate the technodrome forums, but I just haven't have time to work on art and stories like I used to. I'm sure once the new show comes in 2018, I'll get inspired to do more things. I hate to see the show end - I really enjoyed this cast. Hoon Lee was one of the best Splinter's we've ever had for the cartoon series. I will miss his portrayal of the character. He will be a very hard act to follow.

I hope the new show will be something good. It's just too early at this point to know...
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It's hard to believe it's been a year since I last posted on here.

Okay, maybe not to some...  Ashamed 

A big part of being in lurker status for so long was due to my job. Well, that changed this year.

And, oh my gosh, how things changed! I stepped down from being a supervisor. The stress and hours and constant pressure from staff and bosses just got to be too much. I've got too much work to do.  I'd work until I'd crash, take time to recover and then work would ramp up until I'd crash again. The constant crashes were destroying my health and making me so darned depressed, it affected everything in my life. My (lack of) writing, my creativity, my dreams... my few times RPing probably got a bit more emo than my RPing partner liked. Blush  Being sick so often was a drain on my body and my vacation time. As much as I needed an honest-to-goodness vacation, I was burning time with doctors and being out sick.

After some heart-to-hearts with HR and my boss, and a few attempts at interviews, I finally made the move to being a technical writer. I love the department I'm in now, and I've accomplished so much more here than I ever could have as a supervisor. OMG MOAR POEMS! 

Looking back, I can see how I pulled into myself and shut others out (like I did when I was younger). Part of me gets angry that I didn't make the changes to my life sooner. I'm going to slap some sense into you!  I've always been hesitant to take that big leap that I need to take, and I always regret it after. I beat myself up about these kinds of things, despite the fact that sometimes its due to something that's out of my control. It took a lot of tries to get where I am... Tantrum

I made a promise to myself stop the negative thinking and the dwelling on things that I couldn't change. Dwelling on past treatment is and always will be a waste of time and energy. Now, I am able to catch myself, stop and then re-look at things more objectively and think things through more carefully, which is a challenge especially when you're a Gemini... High-five!

The positive thinking has made big changes (literally!) in my health. With fewer hours on the clock, I now have more time to exercise, do less stress eating, and I've lost FIFTY pounds so far. I barely get sick now, I've stopped some medications, and I have so much more energy to do things. :hooray:

As I make these gradual changes, I am now trying to get back into my creative stuff. I've been watching the postcount on my last post count about the questionnaire skyrocket at a rate i never expected. I still am surprised and humbled that people would find it so interesting. So please accept my most sincere thanks... Blush   I've looked at that post as not just a list of difficulties from back then, but as a tool for planning where I want to go, and used it to get myself rolling again.

I've been working on a small story about a little boy having an adventure with some fireflies, am working on a new tmnt story (based loosely from an RP that I've been involved in forever), and am trying to get back into drawing again. I've been creating designs for my brother's fledgling blacksmithing business, but I want to get back to creating stuff to share on here. I've always done TMNT, so that won't change. As much as I want to post original stuff here, I'll always have a soft spot for the boys in green. And heck, I miss drawing Splinter the most!  I've always liked drawing my dino OC, but she will be updated a bit... so yeah, I'm definitely working on several things. Juggle

I hope everyone else's years have been productive as well. :)  Hopefully I'll be sharing some new things very soon...


~Machias
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Featured

Everything's Growing... by MachiasBanshee, journal

The good weather is FINALLY here...it's Fair time! by MachiasBanshee, journal

Here's to a better, brighter year... by MachiasBanshee, journal

Etsy Grand Opening by MachiasBanshee, journal

How much things change in a year... by MachiasBanshee, journal