Balance

The vendor fair was postponed, but check out a few new pieces I have done above. Now I can really spend more time getting a few more pieces ready. A few people have mentioned they would be interested in some custom work and I am really excited about that. I have done custom work in the past, but it has been a while.

Life as a working at home mother is not with out it's challenges and rewards. I find myself trying to win a balancing contest. Sometimes it is art all the time... and then I really feel myself growing as an artist and living my art dream. I can become consumed by it and, if I am honest, I will admit that it runs most of the thoughts in my day. Even after I have completed a piece, I will constantly look up at it and review it.. critique it... evaluate the lines and the color. "The composition is okay", I will think to myself,"but if only this was different." And then I wonder if I am being too harsh.

I then have to wonder how I would feel about the piece if I wasnt the artist that created it. What if a stranger completed the piece and then wanted my opinion? I find it hard to be honest... maybe because I am too attached to the piece and the process. I can't overcome the fact that I KNOW I am the one who created the piece and therefore my opinions about it bounce back and forth from defensive pride to what was I thinking? I feel confident that I am not alone in this, and that all artists do it on some level....

And as for the balancing act, I don't think I will ever fully achieve balance. Not a 50/50 one at least. My family is just as important to me as my art and there are SEVERAL days that they are the only ones I focus my attention on. And just as I am grateful to God for the ability to create art and put forth the time I can into that passion, I am sooo grateful for my husband and children and the wonderful things I am called to for them. They bring me so much joy. All in all, balanced or not, I am blessed.

I have a vendor fair coming up in a few weeks. I am new to selling my art so it will be my first one... I am a bit nervous about getting all my pieces done in time. I think I can do it- just got to get better at the juggling act of life! Actually, I think it will all turn out ok. I can become a perfectionist at times(trust me, it is selective), and that can get in the way of being productive. It can also really hamper creativity.

At times I have been nervous while working on a painting or other art work and I can always tell I was stiff. When I am nervous, my marks are short and uncertain. The work doesn't have the flow it needs. The whole piece looks forced. But, when I am relaxed and I let the art move through me, some amazing things happen. I find that I can't really "plan" my work to the last detail. It ruins the surprise for me and will lead directly to stiff-ville. Sometimes, my best work is a first draft.

I guess that can tie into a life view as well. If we plan too much and expect things to go exactly according to our plan then we can become stiff when things don't go our way. Besides, our plans are not necessarily God's plans. He is the ultimate artist. Sometimes alittle trust and willingness to be free flowing can lead to the most beautiful artworks-us!