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.

This Journey

The journey awakens the soul.... a stamped piece that really does express how I feel about this journey I am on these days....  It is a pretty accurate description of WHY I do what I do too. 

When I was teaching, no matter the grade level, and when I teach small jewelry classes now, I tell people about my journey and how each step on it makes me light up even more, wakes up something inside of me that is very important for my personal growth.  I feel like I really NEED to share that message about making jewelry or art or just plain living. 

We can go through business wondering how we can build a stronger business, create a great customer base that continues to buy what we make even when they are saturated with what we make, and how to make it happen fast.  We all want to keep creating new work.  I get itchy fingers if I don't make jewelry.  The ideas MUST escape my head.  But people will reach a point when there is too much jewelry in our collection so there will be a slow down in the purchasing cycle.  It is natural. 

I use those phases to work on my online presence, explore ideas in mosaics and watercolors, and connect with people.  I adore connecting with people!  I truly enjoy meeting people and learning about them as individuals.  If I can support someone in any way, I do that.  I run out of money to buy others' creations but I can spread the word about the work they create.  Paying it forward matters more than I can ever say in words. 

I recently read a blog by Seth Godin.  He is really wise about this thing we call creativity and business.  He understands PEOPLE.  I read his work every time it lands in my email.  He may write something that is a quick thought or something longer like this piece 100 days later but it always makes me think, take a look at my business.  I just had to share this blog entry by him because it says everything I would tell people about building a business in art and jewelry or ANYTHING CREATIVE. 

We want to make a big splash, shout "Look at me!!!  Buy my stuff!!!" but we forget about further down the road.  My whole approach to my business and my art IS to look further down the road.  I don't panic if an event does not net sales.  Down the road it will.  I don't panic if my listings online don't generate an immediate sale.  Down the road it will.  If it does not, I control how i react to that.  I can panic, throw in the towel and run away saying I was defeated.  I can step back, think it over, and plot another path with a different goal.  I choose the latter - to re-vamp my idea or plan.  I have never run from a challenge and I am not about to start now.

I talk to lots of people at events and vendors will ask over and over again how it is going for me, how are sales, etc.  That is normal conversational topic really.  Some get mad, offended that people are not buying their awesome things.  I choose not to do that and it makes some of them wonder.  When I explain it is the big picture that is my focus, that I am looking months and years down the road, most of them get it.  Some never do and that is okay.  I am not them.  I do not expect anyone to do what I do.  I just tell them how I am not going to panic and fall apart when my big idea creates just a ripple, not a gigantic splash. 

That ripple.... that incredibly powerful ripple is what I am aiming to create.  A splash dries off quickly.  A ripple keeps you moving, bouncing along with it for so much longer!  It keeps you awake.  It won't let you rest.  And that, my friend, is part of my journey, the thing that awakens my soul.  May you find the thing that awakens your soul.  It is amazing when you do.