Show season has closed and it was a joyous and successful one. I am grateful for that because it means I can afford to head into another season of creating art with the odds in my favor. But it is also a good time to check my principles and make sure I am sticking to them.
If my goal was simply to have a profitable business venture, my actions for the next year would be to maximize what I can produce in order to sell more. I would be expanding the number of shows I do and perhaps raising my prices. Based on the past 5 years all that would make sense from the perspective of the bottom line.
However, I continue to feel strongly that I want to create art for art's sake. I want to maximize the inspiration that goes into everything that leaves my hands. In order to do that, I have to have a balance in life. I need enough time to focus, contemplate, and find joy in the ideas, the processes, and the eventual results of the efforts I make. I don't want inventory for my booth. I don't want a product for my booth. I want a reflection of the marvel I experience when I have an inspiration that I can make reality just by using my imagination and hands for tools.
That balance I speak of means guarding time to enjoy the simple things in life, such as baking, reserving time for family and friends, perhaps by creating a well-received meal, and taking the time to just "be", perhaps by taking an unscheduled day to partake in a self-made adventure or pouring over my books with a hot cup of tea and a fire.
Those are the things that drive the art I create. While profit is alluring, at the end of the day it is not very inspiring!
Enjoy the season of gatherings and holidays! Find some inspiration of your own and guard that.
