Highs and Lows of Being an Artist

First off – thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. Those comments, along with some direct emails, were comforting and made me smile. It was enlightening too, to hear that so many others were hitting walls too. Was there something going on with the misalignment of planets? Or all we all very driven women trying to be all things to all people, projects and problems? Must we always be experiencing the rush of the roller-coaster?

The nice thing about life is that it is a roller-coaster. How can you enjoy the highs unless you hit the lows? How can you tell it’s a low unless you know what a high really feels like? After hitting my low, I have been traveling high these last  2 weeks.

I don’t claim to have the universal answer, but I know that things turned around for me for 2 reasons: 1) I stopped and pampered myself for a couple of days and 2) I resumed “life” with a new attitude – if it gets done, great; if not, there’s always tomorrow (aka – taking time to stop and smell the roses). It also helped that the sun shone all week and the temps climbed into the 70s. I spent more time outdoors. I felt alive.

Basically, I slowed down the pace of my life. When you are rushing and scrambling for so long, it become a habit, a mindset. Once I stopped (was forced to stop) I had more than a moment to think and I realized that right now, I no longer need to be rushing.

Yes, there will be deadlines again, trips to take, too many things on my plate at once, but I’ll be ready for it. I will be ready because I am building a new framework right now. I’ve got a new mindset, my studio/office is now clean, organized and ready for the next project, and I am eager to leap tall buildings in a single bound…make that projects…and make that one step after the other. No more trying to leap in single bounds. My goals will be reached by setting priorities, outlining the steps necessary to get from A to B and all the way to Z, and then taking the first step, followed by the next one and so on. Easy, schmeezy if you look at it that way.

So back to the highs, They are all happening in the public arena, so I’d like to share them with you ~

1. My book, Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur, is a finalist for Book of the Year! Winners will announced May 25, but whether I win or not, I am thrilled being a finalist (in the Craft & Hobbies category).

2) My studio/office will be featured in the next issue of The Professional Quilter magazine. Which led to….

3) My studio/office is finally clean and organized after my whirlwind traveling schedule the first 2 months of 2010.

4) I’m starting my 4th book (and that’s all I can say about it.)

5) I got my webcam set up and working!!! in order to be a guest on Cool 2 Craft:

 

So there you have it. I’ve also got a few other things in the works. And if you want to be the first to know, sign up for my newsletter