My friend from New Orleans called earlier this week, asking how things were going. "Where's that fabulous new series of work?" he demanded. I hated to whine, but he did ask. I described the rut I felt I was in.
But something funny happened. He wasn't very sympathetic.
"I dedicate a day to getting an order out. Then the phone rings with some other professional emergency and I have to deal with THAT. I can't finish anything!"
"Happens to us all," replied Mark smoothly.
"I'm so behind in my paperwork I can't find ANYTHING! I couldn't find my paperwork for a show and I had to redo the entire application!" I wailed a little louder.
"We're ALL buried in paperwork," he said.
"I got to a certain point on the new work and now I'm stuck again. Not TOO badly stuck, and they're moving along nicely, but not as fast as I'd hoped."
"Welcome to the artist's club!" he teased.
"It took me half a day to pack one big order!!" Surely THIS will convince him how pathetic I am.
"Yeah, packing orders is time-consuming." Drat.
"I don't know whether to do the ACC show again or not!"
"You gotta give it another year at least. That's a no-brainer. You'll be okay!" he replied.
"Look, Lulu, this is what our world looks like," he went on. "We're one-person businesses, so we gotta do it all. On Monday we do some packing and shipping. On Tuesday we order supplies. On Wednesday we sneak a little production work in. On Thursday our kids get sick and all hell breaks loose. Stuff happens. You roll with the punches. You're doing fine!"
He bugged me a little more for details on my new business strategy. After I thought about it, I realized I'd actually made a lot more progress than I thought. I had resource people lined up for informational talks (and socializing!) I had a new marketing opportunity researched and in the works. Two new shows researched and applied for, both very new markets for me. A revamped catalog in the works. Two new series of work in progress. Research for new equipment that will help me create the larger work I want to focus on. And I'd sold a major piece, which paid for most of these next steps.
Hey!! I've done a LOT!! I AM doing okay!
All I needed was someone else's point-of-view.
Thank you, Mark!
