...a piece doesn't sell:
a.) Believe that the work is horrible and has all been done in vain.
b.) Think that it's a sign from the Universe to quit and give up entirely (I mean, really, why did I ever think I could do this anyway?).
c.) Go on the offensive and sputter that "people" just don't know a good thing when they see it.
d.) Take things apart and rework them, show them in a different location, save them for another season when they might be more color- or texture-appropriate, and trust in the process of creating something for public consumption.
I'll admit to wallowing for a while in a, b, and c ~ but am now choosing d! What's the alternative, really?
My Mom's dining room table is entirely covered with beads, baubles, silver, and half-finished pieces at the moment. Before traveling home, I rescued a number of pieces from a retail location, where, although there had been a number of sales, let's just say the nature of the storefront did not allow my pieces to be seen to their best advantage.
I've now polished the silver findings 'til they shine again, have taken apart a number of pieces and am in the process of reworking them into different shapes, that I've discovered I LOVE as I learn and experiment in jewelry design. I'm making something new; making Belle Pietre lemonade out of what I'd been seeing as tarnished lemons!
Could this be true of other things in life, too? Sure, sometimes a complete overhaul IS necessary and worthwhile, but, oftentimes it's not about having to re-invent the wheel.
Perhaps a slight adjustment of the elements is all that's required to bring about the results we want. Maybe the answer "No" we're getting now, is just for the time being and not forever.
Already I'm seeing the fruits of my perseverance, and not only in the finished pieces themselves. I'm excited to report that what had seemed like a loss of one retail outlet, has already led to not one but TWO new potential venues, and with ideas for even MORE in the works!
"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
~ Harriet Beecher Stowe
Twas the night before Easter,
when all through the city,
not a creature was beading.
Not me nor my kitty...
~
Happy Easter!
After two days of exploring the inner machinations of the Psyche of the Artiste, and the challenges us sensitive creative types endure, I was faced with a dilemma that cut right through all that mumbo jumbo.
I was going out for drinks and dinner, and didn't have a THING to wear with my new animal print cardigan!
So, off to my little desk I went, and there were the funky pointed shell beads referred to in yesterday's post. They just begged to be strung with silver rounded squares (perfect items for this indecisive Libra who can't decide which shape works best, rounds or squares...) They're the best of both worlds really, like chicken-bologna that I've taken to calling "Confused Meat."
Because Jim was meeting me in less than 10 minutes, I didn't have time to stress, or fiddle, or fret.
I alternated the silver spacers with the shells, added 6 long tube beads (my little neurosis of always finishing a piece in mulitples of 3 - my numerology number) crimped the two ends to the decorative toggle clasp, et voila, away I went to dinner in my cute little jungle-motif ensemble!
Here's living proof then, that the creative process isn't ALWAYS tortured and arduous. And yes, sometimes it is, but not unless I make it so.
"Once you make a decision, the Universe conspires to make it happen."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Several years ago, I had an epiphany when, outside an audition downstairs at Riverside Church, a fellow soprano turned to me, rolled her eyes, and said, "Ugh, I hate this." For all the auditions I've done, and the countless times I'd actually screamed those words to myself in my head, I had always thought it was only ME! No one had ever let me in on their little secret. (I'm forever grateful to Iris Fairfax for that!)
And that's the thing that's so hard about creative endeavors, and the things in life that require us to show ourselves and our creations and work that is so precious because it is birthed from the deepest places within us. It's hard enough alone to let it all hang out. But then when we've screwed up the courage required to do that, we then risk judgement and anothers' measurement of our creative worth.
And THAT'S why the adage, "It's not my business what other people think of me" rings so absurd in an audition, or when certain pieces of my jewelry are swooped up at the local gallery within days, and others sit mournfully on their little black velvet stands, quietly tarnishing, like the oompy kid who's last to be chosen in gym class.
So then, the question begs to be answered, am I less of a singer if I don't get the job? Is my jewelry design not good if it doesn't sell?
No, no, a million times NO!
And this is what is so important to get, is that THIS is just another thing that can stop me from starting.
But "What if it doesn't sell?" "What if I can't recoup the investment I made in these supplies?" "What if people think I'm silly for doing this?" "What if, what if, what if???"
Right,...
...and what if I DON'T?
So, there it is - I have oodles of supplies in my super-organized slant top desk (see previous post). There are strings of gorgeous ice quartz chunks in aqua blue, champagne, and root beer colors, natural citrine, amethyst , lime green mother-of-pearl teardrops, funky pointy shells, amazonite rondelles and carnelian rounds - a rainbow of Mother Nature's myriad colors and textures and shapes!
I have all the silver findings I need, and yard upon yard of beading wire. And, from a burst of inspiration that, thankfully, lasted long enough for me to order them, there are watch faces, darling prayer charms, and book marks just begging to be made into something gorgeous!!!
What a waste all this will have been if, out of caring what others think (or don't) I allow myself to be stopped before starting! The thing is, I always thought it was just ME that worried about such things. It turns out, though, that it's a common human experience - for all 6.7 billion of us.
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." ~ Goethe
I watched the movie "Julie & Julia" recently, and was inspired to create a blog of my own, and to see what it might bring about in my life!
I asked for suggestions of topics from friends,and Mary Elizabeth shall be declared the winner for suggesting one centered around my jewelry. (My humble thanks to you, M.E., dear friend who always seems to actually DO the things that I only ever journal about...xoxo) Here goes ~
This, my first post - "Too Much of a Good Thing" - refers to one of the larger and more-encompassing of my fatal flaws. It has to do with a perfectionistic bent that serves me less and less well over time, and that drives my more spontaneously-minded friends bananas!
In general (and, of course, specifically) I LOVE to have all my ducks in a row, all the players on the field, everything in neat little rows, divided into color-coordinated organizing devices, with everything tied up neatly in a bow (neatly, that is, with wired ribbon that affords the opportunity to form and KEEP perfect, equal-sized and -shaped loops). I take great pride in my Just-this-side-of-OCD Organizational Abilities. In fact, I have at least one friendship with this firmly at it's foundation. (That's you, Alan!)
The thing is, is that once the Organizational Extravaganza has taken place, all the plastic boxes, bags, and trays are sorted, filled and filed, then I find it hard to dig in and make the mess that is actually REQUIRED to achieve completion of a new piece of jewelry, let alone BEGIN it!
Truth be told, I couldn't stand not having a place to create my jewelry. So I bought a sweet little slant-topped desk, with a cabinet, drawer, shelves (oh, the organizational possibilities!!!) along with a front panel that closes it all neatly away.
Beautiful!...
...except I've not made a single piece of jewelry since I bought it!
So here's what I've gotten from writing this first post: maybe the thing about making jewelry (or just about ANYTHING in life that is the least bit creative) CANNOT happen if I'm unwilling, or afraid, to make a mess.
By it's nature, creativity is ALL about the blip of an idea, the thrill of putting something together, and taking it back apart, and dropping $%&*'ing things, and cursing, and doubting, and wondering why I started any of this in the first place, and getting annoyed that it's taking SO much longer that I thought, dammit.
All that, then, makes the sweetness of completion even sweeter - when it's just the way I envisioned it, or even better, and I'm happy and proud of what I made, and then wear it all night, even with my pajama's because I'm so tickled with it!
The thing is, is that I can sit across the room and look at my pretty little desk with the lid shut, but that's NOT going to pop out new pieces of jewelry like an Easy-Bake Oven. And if it did, it would defeat the purpose of why I began doing this to begin with - which was to enlarge and nurture my urge to create beautiful things. And to inspire others to find the things that make them feel that urge as well...
...and to flounce around in pretty jewels in my jammies!
|
RSS Feed