Art Patronage Wanted

As many of you know, I have a part-time retail job. I'm absolutely grateful to have it, especially because of the health/dental insurance and other benefits I get, but it barely pays the bills. In the past few months, I have been working hard to get my art career really going. Unfortunately, there are a lot of expenses associated with it -- materials, entrance fees, transportation costs, etc. -- sadly, it takes money to make money. I have been dipping into my savings fund (which was originally started to save up for a car), and it is dwindling, but I have a lot of things to prepare in order to be ready for Open Studios Hartford in early November. I have the potential to get a LOT of good exposure and to make a lot of sales. I have a few paintings to sell, and I can make prints and postcards of my drawings. I'm working on making a mold of the Bunnyken head too, and can make various sculptures and art dolls based on that. (I'm also totally open to suggestions about what to make/sell. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!)

Here are some of my upcoming expenses:

-- Business cards
-- Printing costs for art prints
-- Mats and frames
-- Website costs (Going to pick up a .com soon and have a REAL website, not just a blog)  - DONE!
-- More molding material to fill the other half of the Bunnyken casting (I underestimated and didn't buy enough the first time I ordered it)
-- Plastic/resin or other materials for filling the finished mold
-- New folio to archive new drawings - DONE!

If you can find it in your heart to donate something, ANYTHING, even a few bucks, I would seriously be eternally grateful. For anyone who donates $5 or more, I will send you a print of your choice of ANY of my drawings and a thank-you note. I have a Paypal site where you can donate directly. You don't have to have a Paypal account, just a credit card or debit card will do.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZALQ6JJ9TWTRY

I hope to make enough of an income someday from my art to be able to support myself, but I've got a LONG way to go and a LOT of work to do until then. I'm on my way, but it's going to take awhile. I love you all for your encouragement and support. Art means everything to me.