Week 5 Make Art That Sells

Whew!!! I made it through the most intense online class I have ever taken. Feels so amazing… Like I just ran a marathon, while on a roller coaster and juggling. I grew by leaps and bounds. I learned so very much, things that I think will be more and more evident in the weeks and months to come. I found more of myself in this process. I overcame some intense feelings of competition which led to comparison. It’s really hard to find your way back to you when you are in that place. I seriously had to step back and just focus on me and my art. I had to find what makes me unique. I had to find my joy. Sometimes it’s good to be in such a magnifying glass of competition because of all the things that rise to the surface. It’s so easy to feel that yucky feeling of not enoughness.

Because that is what it all comes down to… Am I enough? When I make my art, it’s a reflection of me. And when your art is not enough, it feels like you are not enough. That is why it’s so hard to put yourself out there.

There was something about this whole process that brought out my performance tendencies. This idea of being chosen by Lilla brought that out in me. Like I was somehow being rejected if she didn’t pick my piece. There was finally a turning point in the class, where I was talking to a friend about my emotional breakdown. Out of that conversation, I came to this place where I just realized that I need to make art just for me, not for Lilla, not for other people, not for a market… just me.

When I make art just for me, a magical thing happens. Joy oozes out everywhere and it’s evident in my piece. And like Lilla says, people buy your joy. I feel like this huge weight has been lifted. I feel like I have been given permission to just be me. Ya know?

So here is my last piece. I fell in love with this last assignment and feel like I seriously stepped into a new and different style, finding what is me. It’s what flows. I am going to now make some more pieces just like this one because I love it so. We made zipper bags. So much fun!!!

my happy place

my joy