My first art fair turned out to be a fantastic experience for me, extremely fulfilling personally and as an artist. There, I said it, I'm finally starting to believe it (that I AM a fiber artist). A few years ago, I did an online art class with a very fun and inspiring young woman named Suzi Blu. Her funky videos, where she made you feel as if she was right in the room with you, often give a very strong message that everyone can be an artist, so I decided right then that I would embrace that thought.
My incredibly positive artist friend, Marti McGinnis, has taught and inspired me a lot creatively, too. She espouses the concept of focused intentions, whereby you visualize your goals and hold them in your mind (or even literally in a concrete form) until you reach them. Here's a great example of her inspiring and "Happy Art."
Artwork by Marti McGinnis, one of my heroes!
I gave myself permission this past year or so to take more time for creativity, and as I did I realized how incredibly GOOD and right I felt when I was in that "zone," so I chose to do it more and more. The economy has made it more challenging to make money with the farm, so it made sense to try to earn some income with my fiber art as well... and felting has become my true passion.
This first show I was juried into as an "emerging artist" is pretty prestigious, and I was intimidated when I first got to look around at the other booths of top-notch professional artists. Sales started out slowly, but as Saturday went on I kept getting a lot of nice feedback and the sales increased, too! It felt great to have my work admired and to expose people to handmade felt, and I have a new appreciation for the fact that everyone has very different ideas for what is "art", and that's a good thing! Some people would take a glance and walk right by my booth, others would enter excitedly and compliment nearly everything. One woman asked me if I would be interested in having a trunk show for her bank friends, and other potential opportunities arose as well. By the end of Sunday, I had met my sales goal almost exactly to the penny, how cool is that?
Suddenly I have more ideas than ever for new projects and concepts, and I'm investigating other art venues. I'm very grateful for the affirmations of friends, my parents, Mary from Damselfly Gallery who has affirmed me, and others that are encouraging me on this path!
I hope to be scheduling a few classes in July, so check back soon for more information.
