Life finds a way...
Hello artsy friends and friends of artsy people and those who claim they cant draw a stick figure. Everyone is welcome here. Everyone has a creative side whether its cooking , writing, running, sewing, selling, crafting or making up lies. Our brains are just wired to create.
My brain is no different. Well not too different. I am an introverted soul with a wild imagination and an insatiatable hunger for all things crafty, artsy or altered. Creatively speaking, art is like breathing for me. I literally get depressed if I dont do art every day. It started as a theraputic thing for me and ended up defining a lot of who I am. It is how I heal and process life. It is how I engage the work it takes to grow as a loving, compassionate human being, at least the one I hope to be. It replaces all the chaos, muck and dark memories with light and color and definition. It helps me connect with God.
My etsy shop began as a way to fund my habit. I needed to buy more stuff so I could make more stuff. It was kind of a social experiment to see how others reacted to my art. It gave me courage to sell in art shows and galleries and out of the trunk of my van. It helped me be brave enough to get certified to teach and to keep on creating and to follow that process where ever it went.
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with Lupus. Getting sick changed the game. it made me unreliable and slow. I had big dreams that seemed unachievable. It was devastating to be unable to sit at my art table long enough to complete a project. But good care and diet changes and some meditation, medication and yoga helped me to get back on my artistic feet, back to my art room. It taught me to slow down,to just be, to live, to be present, to not sweat the petty stuff and not pet the sweatty stuff. I learned to engage what matters and let the rest of it go.
Now My priorities are different. I take care of me first. I take care of my family before I give myself away. Art has primarily become a recovery aspect of my life. I still get depressed if I cant do art and I still wake up at 3 am with an idea I have to write down, and I still feel the creative call on my life. But now my art and my time engaging it are more valuable and meaningful. My desire to share it is more about finding comradery and purpose than a job or my next gallery sell. And that is quite satisfying for a girl who spends a lot of time in doors. Life finds a way of showing you where you are suppose to be, what you are suppose to be doing and with whom you are suppose to be doing it.
Sharon xoxo