My Lupus Shot Me Down For Awhile

So you thought I disappeared from the blogging world, didn't you? Well, I thought about not coming back, I have to admit. Once you stop blogging it is always hard to start up again and I'm not sure how often I'll get here. I have decided that I really do like blogging, though.

I first got shot down by a huge Lupus Flare. Then my mom got sicker and then life just spiralled out of control. A flare can do that to you. My flare lasted a long time even as I was getting better. My mother has serious congestive heart failure and there is nothing more that can be done for her. She lives with us. My husband had to basically live out of town for several months working on a project to bring a new division to our town. My health issues just couldn't handle the stress.

I tried to continue to make jewelry. I couldn't get beyond the Etsy and Bonanzle inner networks to advertise it, so it hasn't been selling well. I haven't been making many new pieces either, so that doesn't help. I've made lot's of friends in both places who off good advice and support. Some have even twittered a few of my pieces.

I am now striving to bring some sort of order to my chaos. I need to care for my Mom, myself, my general home life, and yet I still want to make jewelry as an outlet both creatively and now therapeutically. I think its time to actually budget my time as best as I can. I've heard that many writers do this and some artists, such as sculptors and painters do this. So why not a jewelry maker? I'm just not sure yet how to do this, but I'm sure I can figure some sort of flexible time management that will work for me.

Lupus should not stop me from living my life. My mother's life slowly coming to the end fills me with emotions that just proves that life is continuous and changing. She lived a long, loving, caring and ever changing life. Nothing has stopped her, even now as she hears God's call ever closer to her ear. Mom paints. She has one last painting that she wants to finish. Its a slow process for her now to try to paint something, but I think she'll finish it. Parents never stop teaching. Children never stop learning.

Lupus shot me down for awhile, but not anymore.

Thanks for coming back to my blog!
Wendy

Confidence in Yourself, Your Art

Today I was reading through some of the business threads on Etsy and one person wrote about closing her shop. Her reason for considering this really hit me and apparently a few others. Though I responded in the way I believe outwardly, I realized that my words did not reflect completely the way I feel inwardly.

This person felt she was not selling her jewelry or crafts on Etsy or to her friends because no one thinks of it as ART. Her friends have called her jewelry "cute" and have bought some, but want her to reduce her prices. It was obvious in her writing that she wasn't very confident that her jewelry or craft items were art. GUESS WHAT? A lot of the responses she received were people trying to convince her to stay on etsy, to sell in other places, not worry what other people thought and to have more confidence in herself and her work. I was one of those people.

I have to say up front, I am not always that confident in my art. I have a love of color that goes back to my earliest memory. The problem I had was no one to nurture it even though the people around me had artistic abilities. They knew I could dance, but no one saw any other artistic skills in me. I would try different things and as I look back, some attempts were not bad for a beginner. I just didn't realize I needed some guidance. Eventually a friend showed me the basics of jewelry making. My ideas of color are really coming together for me now.

However, I am still fairly new to this art. Stringing beads together is not looked at as art by some people. Jewelry to me, though, is art. Someone has to create it whether or not it is super "artsy" handmade jewelry or mass produced jewelry, somewhere along the line someone created it. Some is simple, some is complicated and some as the saying goes about ugliness and beauty, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

I use a lot of Swarovski Crystals in my jewelry because the colors are so vast and beautiful to me. This makes some artist turn their noses up at me - literally. I also like to work with other materials. My jewelry is mostly simple, because I like it that way. I will, eventually, expand myself as all artists do, but for now I'm happy. I enjoy it, I'm comfortable with it, and I like the colors I'm finding.

I am not confident like I should be. I don't refer to my jewelry as art to many of my family members and friends as I know I should. Which brings me back to the person and the thread on Etsy today. I learned a few things there that apply to all artists no matter what your medium or how broadly you are known.

• 1. Always refer to your art as art.
• 2. Always refer to yourself as an artist, even if you are a hobbyist artist.
• 3. Becoming known for your art takes time, so be patient.
• 4. Selling your art takes time and work, because you are building a business.
• 5. There are many venues for selling your work, online and offline and not all of them are suitable for all art forms.
• 6. Network with other artists, they are usually friendly and helpful, Etsy forums is just one very good example.
• 7. Know what your art is worth and don't let others talk you into selling it cheap.
• 8. Selling it cheap will not necessarily get you sales.
• 9. Getting to know your market, who are the people who will enjoy your art most.
• 10. Being an artist is a job, no one has to know its fun!

I hope some of this will help someone else. Just writing about it has made me stop and rethink my own vision of art and my own art. I don't expect to ever make a huge living out of making jewelry, but that's because of my health issues related to Lupus not because I'm a poor artist. I just can't handle physically the demands to build a business of any size. I can enjoy my art at about a hobbyist level, but that doesn't mean I'm not an artist. I intend to go forward with more confidence.

How about you?

That's my view today. Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy