Keeping the Wind In My Sails

Confidence is...
the wind 
in my sails. 

Confidence
is silent...
Insecurities 
are Loud.


I love being an artist...
but, being an artist requires having confidence and having thick skin. Over the years, I have learned to 'convince' myself that, when it comes to my art, I have confidence. But I have to be honest, it is a struggle sometimes. Especially when someone knocks the wind out of my sails a bit.

I think most artists, whether they want to admit it or not, can be a little insecure about their creations. Putting your art OUT THERE for others to see, can be a boost to your confidence, OR it can be a blow to your confidence. It can be as simple as getting accepted into an art show, getting a huge thank you from a happy customer, or the insecurity can come from news that you did NOT get into a show that you wanted to be in. Or it can be a off-handed remark from a family member, friend, or stranger, that says, 'I can do that' or 'why do you do that' or 'why didn't you do it the other way?

I received both a huge thank you from a customer this week, and from another customer, a negative response to a custom piece. And this blow to my confidence just happened to come on my birthday this week. I was having a good day, up until that email.  Being a people pleaser, it crushed me to know that my vision, was not my customers vision.  

Custom orders can be tricky. You never know if you have the same vision as what your customer wants. That is why so many artists do not do custom work. It is difficult work. More difficult than just creating your own vision of what you love and then selling it.  It may be too small, too big, the wrong color, or not the style they wanted.

So, as I pull myself back up and dust my confidence off, I reminded myself that I cannot please 100% of the people 100% of the time.
I will continue to create what I love and hope that people who love my work will find me and help to keep the wind in my sails.


 Beth♥

Looking Back at 2014 and Forward to 2015

2014 ~ Simplify
Last year I chose the word 'Simplify' as my word of the year. That was before we put our house up for sale and sold it within 5 weeks and moved within 2 months. By the middle of March, we had moved across the state.  I thought my word 'Simplify' was going out the door with many of the things that we let go to downsize. However, because of that downsize, we did start fresh with fewer 'things'. But it was definitely not Simple! There were days I wasn't sure we could do it.

Nine months later, I can say for sure, it was the right thing to do. Things have settled down and we, my husband and I, are still working to simplify our life. He has found a job that he loves and a new hobby that he enjoys.  I continue to work in my studio, at home, on my own schedule...
...Keeping It Simple.

2015 ~ Focus
I have been trying to decide what my word for 2015 would be.  I want to grow my business.  That means I need to focus on what will help me do that. In my post from last week, I wrote about focusing on Texture in my Artwork. That is my focus for my artwork. But for myself, I need to remind myself to Focus on my goals.

5 Things I Need to Focus on in 2015:

1.  Create Art that is fulfilling to my creative spirit.

2.  Find 2-3 More Venues to Sell My Art

3.  Improve Social Media Promotion

4.  Develop Relationships and Roots in our new Community

5.  Improve Business and Organizational Skills

Happy New Year! 

To 2015!

Beth♥