TL;DR West Queer Art needs to change to adapt for my health. Earring listings are going on hiatus. All orders up to this point will be honoured. Stickers, prints, pins and badges are still available. You can also support me directly on Ko-Fi.
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Hey everybody. This isn't an easy post to write, but here I am.
First off, I want to say thank you so much for your ongoing support. It's been a pleasure to build this community and to interact with fellow artists, creatives, our LGBTQ+ community and our allies who really support this endeavour. You've helped keep me sane, feed myself, keep the lights on, and helped give me hope in my bleakest hours.
For anyone who may not be following my personal social media accounts (I don't blame you if you're not, they get pretty grim and ranty lol), I've been dealing with a lot of pain and inflammation in my joints the last few months. The epicentre of this pain is in my hands, which not only affects my ability to work but seriously inhibits my creativity. Because of these ongoing health troubles, I'm going to need to step back from some of my West Queer Art work.
This pains me so much because being artistic and creative is such a crucial outlet for me, especially in times of stress and hardship. The emotional impact of not being able to move, create, or even enjoy my hobbies ways I did previously is huge. The nature of assembling earrings and creating with polymer clay is very taxing on my hands, so it's not something I'm in a position to continue at this time.
I am winding down the earring side of the business for now, BUT West Queer Art stickers, badges, pins and prints will still be available, along with some of the smaller rainbow pride earrings that I had a bulk already prepared (especially for Pride Month, no less). All outstanding orders will be fulfilled, so if you haven't received earrings you ordered recently do not fret. It just takes me a lot longer to package things in my current state. I'm also keeping my Trans Solidarity Stickers available, so we can continue to share some trans joy in these bleak times.
To all of my disabled and chronically ill friends who've been the absolute rockstars with helping me cope with this ever-changing body - thank you. You help me take care of myself, show myself compassion and how to deal with all of this.
Talk soon, but enjoy this picture of my compression glove-d hand with Archie the Axolotl!
- Shar