When I first heard the news that Patti Digh Designs For Life was going to carry a few of my pieces as part of their inaugural inventory of inspirational art, I bounced around like a baby goat on crack, bleating and whooping it up and head-butting everyone I knew with the news that I was WOW WOW WOW, OFFICIALLY AN ARTISAN because Someone with a capital S said so!!! Now, Patti *is* one of my heroes - a truth-teller of extraordinary caliber and a standard-bearer for anyone who wishes to live a more examined and intentional life. Her blog, http://www.37days.com, has been a daily read for me for several years now, and I give her full credit for inspiring my artistic leap of faith back on 2010 when I officially started selling my little altars on Etsy. But once the euphoria of The News wore off a smidgen, I started wondering why I hadn't considered myself an artisan all along, and what made this particular event so pivotal...
Literally as far back as I can remember, I have been passionate about making art. My mother was "craftsy" (as she liked to say) and always let me join her in making whatever the project du jour was, and as a teen I had a fabulous Fairy Godmother who introduced me to just about every craft form imaginable (from calligraphy to shrinky dinks and just about everything in between). In high school and college I painted; at some point later I was seriously into "picture" quilts. My collection of art materials has grown from a shoebox to an entire studio full of treasure chests, and I still love playing with all of them. But in spite of all of that, I never once considered myself an "artist". Really.
When I moved to North Carolina, all of a sudden I had the luxury (for the first time in my grown-up life) of not having to go sit in an office to "make a living". My husband graciously allowed me to set up the sunniest room in our new house as a dedicated studio, and I started playing. I had been making my own mosaic tiles out of polymer clay for a couple of years and putting together "little altars" for friends and family who needed a place of spiritual focus, and I wondered if maybe others might be interested in something similar. I listed my first altar on Etsy on April Fools Day of 2010 (!!) and it sold a day later, much to my amazement. Since then I have made close to 100 pieces that have gone out into the world - but not once, when someone asked me "what I did", did I ever reply that I was an "artist". Wow.
This past November, the local Arts Council put out a call for artists to submit work for their annual holiday art show and sale. I was so unsure about whether or not what I do would be considered "art" that I set up a meeting ahead of time with the visual arts director - who assured me that yes, it was art and yes, they would be delighted to include it in their show. About the same time, I was invited to sell some of my work at a local studio gallery. A few days after all of this happened, I met someone new for the first time - and when they inevitably asked me what I do, I told them I was a "stay-at-home mom". Yeah.
In my heart, I know that I have a calling which expresses itself through art. I understand that I need to shine this light, and would do this work even if no one ever paid me a cent for it. That being said... why is it so hard to feel "worthy" of the title of Artist with a CAPITAL A?
Selling my little altars on http://store.pattidighdesigns.com/ is a dream come true for me. And from now on, when someone asks me what I do, I know what I'm going to say. :-)
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