A new reader sent me a very nice e-mail the other day. In passing she said I should not fret that my art wasn't reaching people. She suggested maybe it was enough that my work inspired my writing, and I needn't necessarily worry about it being more than that.
Ouch!
I know she meant to encourage me. But it made me think....
Am I giving the wrong impression with my essays here??
Have I been so preoccupied in figuring out my next step, I've neglected to acknowledge the success I've already achieved?
Do I look unappreciative of the opportunities and the recognition I HAVE achieved?
Do I look ungrateful for the support I HAVE received?? For the countless people who have advised me, supported me, laughed with me, encouraged me along the way?
So let me officially say, I am grateful and appreciative. And I HAVE had success.
I'm just not done yet.
My first few years out, I mentioned to a potter friend how much I'd grossed on my art sales. She was impressed. She knew "successful" potters who have not realized that level of sales yet.
I've had loyal collectors who travel hours to visit my studio and visit my booth at my one big retail show here in New Hampshire.
I've been juried into a prestigious state guild, in two separate categories, and I was accepted on my first try both times.
I even applied for a third category a few years ago--printmaking, with my handcarved rubber stamps. I was put on "hold" NOT because of the quality of my work--the jurors agreed it was technically sound and aesthetically vivacious, I think was the word. No, I was told my prints were actually monoprints--one-offs--not technically "prints" according to our guild's definitions. And therefore, it was art, not craft, and not acceptable.
I think that's a pretty cool thing to be waitlisted for.
I've been juried into two great shows, the top-rated wholesale show and one of the top-rated retail shows in the country. I was waitlisted my first attempt at another a couple years ago.
I've been written about in books, magazines and newspapers, and I appeared on a regional TV show with my artwork.
I've written a book myself and write a regular column for a magazine.
At one point, before everything came crashing down (for ALL of us, not just me), I had almost sixty file folders in my drawer, representing stores that had placed orders from me in the last two years. Well, THAT'S different now. But still. It was true.
In the last 18 months, I sold two wall hangings priced at over $5,000 each. And I sold a necklace for over $1,000. Those were some huge financial milestones for me.
The thing is, no matter how successful we look, artists are still always thinking, "OK, great. Now, what's next?"
We constantly think about what new work is in us. We constantly look for ways to improve our techniques, our aesthetic. We constantly look to grow our audience, and to continue to delight our current one.
In a nutshell, it never stops, this search for excellence.
And what makes it interesting/frustrating/exhilarating/frightening is, the further you pursue this search for excellence, the less clear the road ahead is.
As the years go by, the old "sure things" change.
Shows get more numerous, and bigger. Our audience changes, in their financial resources, their preferences, even how much room they have left in their homes. Stores and galleries are changing. Many have changed their way of doing business, or changed hands, or even gone OUT of business. WE change--it gets harder to take your show on the road, or we want to try something different.
I'm sharing with you my journey as I enter this shifting landscape, even as I travel through it with my own changing expectations and expanding vision.
I hope it's informative, educational, and sometimes amusing. I hope it informs and educates you on YOUR journey, too.
So I hope when I share the messes I go through to find and move to that next step, you see it as part of a long growth process.
And not as me being a whiny-butt.
