Blog Post 4- The MAC Project

1. Where are you with your action? (e.g. what involvement have you had so far? Describe with examples)

Currently in my action, I have raised $250 from painting commissions and donations. After the last post I put up the flyers I planned to put up in places like Starbucks, No Frills, and Poirier Rec Centre. Because of this, I received many calls and emails asking for pet portraits, landscapes, and name art. In total, I accepted twenty painting orders and have completed eight of them. I have estimated that by the end of this project I will make over $450.

  2. What are some successes that you have had? Provide specific examples.

Looking back, I am very surprised that I doubled the amount I set for my goal. I originally thought I would make around $100 but trying to be optimistic, I set my goal as $200. The publicization of my project greatly contributed to its success. First, not only did the posters I advertised with encourage people to contribute, but also my mother’s coworkers in New Westminster Mental Health. My mother helped a lot because she explained how my project would benefit the mental health community, directly affecting clients that they work with. As a result, a great portion of my orders came from her work. Second, I am happy with how the paintings are turning out. Because the orders can be of anything I was worried there may be a painting that I would not be comfortable completing but, so far, I have been working through them just fine!

Below are the paintings I completed since the last post!

3.What are some challenges that you have faced? Have you been able to overcome them? If so, how? Provide specific examples. If not, can you problem-solve some ideas that might work for next time or if a similar situation arises? Again, provide specific examples

My biggest struggle was finding an effective way to promote my fundraiser. I started by making my Instagram account which got me 6 orders. Later, I created a poster to give out to friends and family. My mother, a psychiatric nurse, shared my project with her co-workers and was able to get 13 additional orders for oil paintings. Although this was a struggle, I’m at the point with the paintings where I need the orders to slow down for a bit so I can catch up on the work.

After I received my orders, I started painting as soon as I could. The first batch of paintings were ordered by friends who weren’t in a rush to receive the artwork. Therefore, for the first few months, the fundraising was very casual. Although, as my time diminished, I was not able to produce my paintings at the same speed. My work began to slow down, and I was feeling unproductive because of it. Worried that the customers would be upset, I attempted to work on the paintings in any spare time I had but after a while the process left me feeling burnt out. I started to feel tired of painting, so I took a break from it. Unfortunately, the break caused my schedule to shift but I felt it was necessary for me to keep going!

4.) What are you doing next and why?

Next, I will be continuing to work on the remaining paintings because I think I have successfully promoted and explained my cause to people that may be interested. Now it is time to tie up all the loose ends of the project. For any new orders, I do receive I will be explaining that it may be a while before they are completed. I plan to prioritize the orders I need to do at the moment but, I will still be accepting donations!

Thanks for reading!