This month has really been a steep learning curve into running an art business in Mexico. We actually got a Mexican bank account, which seems like a simple task but let me tell you, it is not. Just one of the hurdles we had to overcome was the requirement for an electrical bill as one form of proof of residency and since we are off the grid, no electrical bill. The work around for this is ridiculous but we did it and officially have an account.
And now that we have an account to manage, we hired an accountant to help us change our fiscal activities within the Mexican tax system and we are now allowed to make money here – amazing! All I have to do now is learn all the local rules for bookkeeping, reporting and taxes – in Spanish – Lol.
I also successfully shipped artwork from Baja Sur to the Pacific Northwest, not an easy feat considering that we are so rural that we don’t have an address. I was so relieved when I saw that the package had cleared customs without a hitch and shortly afterwards, that the piece arrived to my client safely. Tiny miracles happening everyday! I could not of done this without the generosity of a local art gallery that helped me through the process. But I learned a lot and I’m on the way to being able to start shipping on my own soon!
Next technical task for living abroad is renewing our temporary residency cards at immigration – we can’t believe we’ve been here for an entire year already! And at the same time we need to, keep making art, continue designing the sculpture garden, and get the studio ready for Open Studios in January. So yeah, all the things.