Creating... Because I Can...

I have been thinking a lot lately about art and business in general.  I know several local artists who are very successful selling their work and are able to have it be their livelihood.  I know several who want to be in that category.  I watch them work hard to grow their skills, stretch their boundaries and get the word out to their market.  I know they put in far more hours than I see and that it is a labor of love for them.  It is not easy to be an artist and sell your work. 

I would love for making art to be a good livelihood for me.  But it is not a requirement for me.  It is a requirement for me to create and have art in my life in lots of different ways.  I know that my business does not pay the bills and that I probably need to step up my marketing game if I want it to do that.  However, I also know that it is more important to me that I enjoy the creative process and do the business "stuff" in my own way that fits me. 

I might not do many shows this year and then again I might decide to do a whole bunch of them.  I go with my gut on shows and events.  There are some I will always do because I love the people who set them up and the people that show up there.  A lot of my repeat customers find me at these events and I truly enjoy seeing them there.  I never do a show or an event just for the sales. (If I never sell anything at a show or event, I still enjoy it - the people especially - and look at it as a way to connect with people.)  It is really transparent to me when I see someone there just for the sales and I tend not to buy from them, even if I love what they have.  I need to feel some kind of a connection from people when I buy something at an event or show.  I am sure that I am not alone in needing that.

I create because I can and feel driven to create.  I may never make a lot of money selling what I create but that is not my goal.  My goal is to create something I love and something another person will fall in love with hopefully.  I feel rich being able to create - having the funds to get the supplies I need, a place to create, and a network of other creative people that support me when I feel not so great about where I am or something I have made. 

If I was told not to create anymore, I don't think I would live very well.  These ideas have to get out and breathe.  I crave the creative process and all the shiny (and not so shiny) things I use to create art.  I need to see an idea that was in my head be made real.  Yep, I am driven to create.  I know lots of people that are and am so glad I get to watch their creative process.

If there is something you do just because you can and it brings you joy, keep doing it.  Don't let anyone tell you that you have to do it for any other reason or purpose.  It is really easy to get bogged down by expectations others have.  Do yours.  Stick with it.  Because you can.

Changes...

 *This post is not so much about my work or art as it is my life in general.  I will write about my work and art, of course, but sometimes I feel like writing about things outside of my business. I do hope you will read on.*

Changes are good.  I love them when they work to make something better.  I look forward to the ones that fix something that has been driving me crazy. The ones I dread make something good no longer good anymore.  They suck the joy out of change.

Change is a constant - or so the saying goes.  And to a degree it is.  Something is always moving us in some direction.  Whether we love it or hate it is up to us.  I choose to love many of the changes in my life.  There are those that just make me crazy - like social media sites changing something nice to something complicated or exclusive - but I weather those as part of life too.  

This past year I changed a lot .  I got divorced and learned how much it takes to do that (on so many levels).  I changed how many stores I  am in because it was time to just do that.  I had my daughter move back in to my home.  16 year old daughters change your world a lot!  I welcome that change!  I moved into the world of iPhones instead of sticking with a simple phone, discovering the things I could get done away from my computer.  In other parts of my life, I changed in ways I cannot put into words accurately.

Now that the divorce has been final for awhile, I finally changed my name and took back my maiden name.  It will be interesting to see how many times I sign Luedtke instead of Brown. I spent almost 13 years as Julie Luedtke.  First though I have to get that last name changed on so many things.  (Probably why some people choose not to do so.) It is a lot!!!  I need a list to make sure I get them all.  

So far, I have changed it here, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. There is the bank, insurance, vehicle registration, drivers license, and I am sure I have forgotten something.  Changing my name in all these places drives me a little crazy because each one is different in process.  (Did you know if you are divorced you might need a CERTIFIED copy of your divorce decree?  I did not. Social Security name change #1 was a fail because I did not.). 

It also makes me ask if I really want it.  I always come back to yes.  I used to think I would always be Julie Luedtke, even if divorced because a name does not define me.  But things change and it happened that a change of name was in order.  So tonight as I blog, I also find all the places my name is and hope to get them changed.  

Why did I change it back?  Simply put, I needed to reclaim who I was.  While a name does not define me,  there is a lot that gets attached to a name.  Some things you want, some not so much.  In my case, I needed a fresh start.  So Julie Brown it is again.  (Downtown Julie Brown to some artist friends...)  How a word can kick start a fresh start I may never understand but I totally appreciate that it does.

I am looking at trying some new things in my business too.  Change is not isolated in my life.  (I know people who do one change at a time.  I just jump in all at once and wonder how I thought that would work from time to time.). I will be checking out a new place to sell my work locally very soon and am excited about it.  Let's hope I introduce myself with the correct name.  ;)

As you experience changes in your life, I hope you will always look for the good in them and find ways to weather the less than lovely changes. Changes bring so many good things when you look for them.