It's been an eventful couple of months with all the Christmas shows to do and then getting home on the 17th. of December and rushing right into the mad dash of last minute Christmas shopping for the few things that a person can't buy at a craft show: like gadgets for a teenage girl. It was fun to shop late for a change.
January has come and almost gone at this point. I spent a lot of time since Christmas just reading and getting ready for the wholesale show in Halifax. Most of what I have been devouring has been trade magazines and the ubiquitous self-help/success books which hasn't really been a bad thing. It lead to an A-HA moment last week.
Why some A-HA moments seem to take years to conclude, I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the impracticality of the choice and the fact that we can here our family members whispering over our shoulder about how that isn't a money making or stable career choice. Well damn them all, sometimes you just have to go with your gut in order to be happy... and to be happy doesn't mean that you have to make scads of money either, it just means that you are satisfied with what you do, and look forward to doing more of it tomorrow.
What I realized is that I have always wanted to work in fashion, as a designer/artist. Jewellery making is a type of fashion and like some clothing designers, we establish a sense of our own style and work with that to make our statement. This really didn't come as a great revelation to me, I've always known it just like I've always known that I wanted to be an artist. I also know that it was discouraged and that I was told that it was an impractical way to "make a living".
At some point in our adult lives we have to stop listening to the voices of our parents that are still in our heads, especially when they have finally, at 60+, decided to pursue their dreams of a business in the arts too. So why wait when you can do it now.
My partner reminds me that if all the business does is "right minus wrong equals zero" then we're OK, because it didn't cost anything and if what it takes to make it r-w=0 is to make and show the work, then go for it and stop getting hung up in the numbers.
What I realized is that all I need to do is what I want to do: make and show the type of art that I make everyday.
Yes, it really is that simple.
