In my quiet moments I have been thinking about my art and what I have done in the last few months. Over winter when I was accepted in a two new shops I applied some serious and unneeded pressure to myself to create more items. I made quite a few boxes and covered a few pens. Although I have sold a few things in one of the shops the other shop has shut down and as far as I can tell I made no sales in the 6 months that I had my items for sale in that shop.
This has led me to doubt what I am doing and why. I don’t have any answers yet. I have found a couple of good things to read online regarding my doubt and feel buoyed by the conversations I have had with friends and artists. Taking these things into consideration I have chosen to clean up my studio table and close the door and ignore the space for a little while. I do have a few ideas percolating and I have a full scale studio sort and clean up planned over the summer. I have given myself permission to ignore it all for a while and enjoy the summer weather and my family.
I am certain I won’t be away from my clay for too long as I enjoy it and love the satisfaction of completing a well made object that hopefully brings joy to someone else. I have realized that for me it is much more important to enjoy the process then to focus on the end results being a sale.
I have a box or three of finished items that I would love out of my home. I am considering starting my own Etsy shop soon as well so I have another outlet to sell small things that are easy to ship like crochet hooks, pens, magnets and business card cases. I also have a lead on a wonderful bright and cheery gallery about an hour away that I am working up the courage to approach and see if they will carry my things for sale.
For now I will take a break from the studio and let myself and the muse recharge and hope that I can find new inspiration.
