The process of art-making continues to teach me, every single day. I don’t know why that still surprises me. I could be tooling around, doing the same thing I’ve always done and BAM! something hits me.
As you know, I’ve gone through a business rebranding this year. Along with that I’ve tried to really hone in on what it is that I’m trying to accomplish. I came up with the name Quirky&Odd because I’ve always been a little quirky, my work has never really been mainstream, and I wanted to stand more in my truth.
What I’d realized this week was that I hadn’t been standing in my truth. I was still designing based on a model that doesn’t fit me; one where I consider the market in a way that doesn’t ring clear with me. Don’t get me wrong…I want to make some amazing stuff that y’all will love, that’s for sure!
I think this “issue” is one that separates one type of artist from another. I’m realizing that I’m in the camp of artists that need to create based on what is in them, as opposed to designing with what customers will buy, in mind.
It’s a conundrum. Of course you want to sell your work, and of course you want to make what people love. On the other hand, trying to figure out what people like is not an easy task–at least not for me. I find that people love my work more when I’m creating what I want to create. That’s the quirky stuff. The one-of-a-kind stuff. The “Wow, this is different, I haven’t seen anything like this before” stuff. It’s also what feeds my soul.
So, that’s where I am right now, and that’s where I’m heading. I’m getting back to listening to my materials and environment for where to proceed next. What to make next. What to explore further. Sometimes it takes me on a wild good chase that comes up empty, but I always learn something in the process. Sometimes it ends up being pure magic.
I’ve decided that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I’ll be counting on my Inner Sanctum VIP-ers for their valued input!
NOTE: The pictures in this post are the start of me getting back to following what comes to me. This week, in a meditation I got an idea for a collection. I’ll reveal more as the experiments proceed and it starts to come together physically. I’m really excited about it, and I hope you will be, too.