The Prison of Your Voice

I know, I know. I have told you how important it is to develop your own, distinctive voice. It is your trademark, and your brand. But,.....I can't help but wonder if all this emphasis on voice can be a prison or a poison to our creative muse.

Let's say you do what everyone says. You come up with something that is "yours"! No one else has anything quite like it out there. And, joy oh joy!!....people like it! They are buying it! Talk about gratification. There is truly joy in the creative process itself. It can be the best drug on earth for anything that ails you. But, when others see your work and "oooh" and "ahhhh!" over it, that is a very heady moment.

And, even artists are human. What happens when we get this wonderful rush of excitement over how much people liked what we did? We want to hold onto it, to preserve it, nurture it, baby it.....do absolutely anything to keep it going. Am I right?

The problem is, this very act is what might kill us as artists. As soon as we try to stay right in that moment of being surrounded by "oohhh's" and "aaahhh's"....better yet, accompanied by hands outstretched with credit cards or cash....as soon as we try to capture that moment, we may have hammered a nail in the coffin for our creativity.

As soon as we say to ourselves, "this is what is working, so I will do more of this," we have begun to build the prison walls. It will not be immediately apparent. Because it will take time for the light to dim, and the crowds to disappear. But, they will. Human nature, it seems, craves a certain degree of novelty. And if we do not continue to create, we risk losing our audience, and that excitement about our work.

Yes, we want, and need, to develop a line, and explore it fully. But, we don't want to kill the creative urge in the process. We must trust that if we had one good idea, there are more where that came from. Doing work to satisfy the market is not what this is about. It is more about letting the reaction of the market guide,....or misguide,...your muse.

What is the creative urge? For me it is the voice that says, "I wonder", or "Hunhh." It is that place where a question pops into my mind. Or a shape or form, or a new surface. This is the place we must nurture and protect. This is the place that needs care and feeding. If instead, we say, "Oh no, I can't do that. This is what my work looks like, what people expect from me....not that." We firmly turn our back, close that door, and put that nose on that grindstone, and grind away. And pretty soon, we will find that the ideas to explore have disappeared.

Another risk of closing off to new ideas that might pop up, is that we might become very, very protective of "our" work. When we get to that place of intense ownership, and protection of our work or our expression, we can start to see threats where there are none. People who are copying us. People who are stealing from us. Fear and paranoia are not conducive to creativity. They send us looking over our shoulder and around the corner, when where we really need to be looking is inside. Inside our heads and our hearts. Letting the voice that can't be too still for too long have it's say.

Fear of being copied can be a huge distraction. It drains our energy, and distracts our attention. It keeps us from moving forward. We always have one eye open for that dirty, rotten scoundrel who is ready to rip us off.

What if instead, we say, "Copying happens." Because it does. It is the place where many people begin. It is borne from admiration and enthusiasm, as much as any other place. When an individual copies you, it is unlikely to do much harm. They cannot copy your name, or your maker's mark....the very energy you infuse into each piece in the process of creation. They will most likely get bored and move along, or find their own muse and move along. And that is the essential ingredient for all of us, movement.

Movement is rushing, bubbling, flowing. It may have fits and starts at times, but the general idea is motion. Momentum. Seldom in a straight line. Our creative voice must move. It must stretch it's legs. Peek around the corner, veer off down that path. It is endlessly curious. Sitting still is not what this is about. Building an artistic legacy on one thought, one idea, one expression will not happen. Letting yourself grow as an artist means going with the flow more than discipline. I will explore that in a bit more depth in my next post. But for now, let me know what you think. How does your creativity bubble up? Does it move in fits and starts? Or does all this seem like a foreign language. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my American readers. And, any and all, please feel free to share a thought of thanks for the day, the week, or the year.

I personally, am thankful for the gift of watching my daughters grow up and begin to emerge as two incredibly unique and wonderful people.

Can You Afford NOT to Advertise?

Do you do advertising?

Where, and how often?

Advertising can be a leap of faith. It is often hard to measure the effectiveness of an ad, at least in the short-term. And ads will often need to have repeated exposure to maximize their effect.

I am relying more and more on advertising now that I have focused on wholesale, and have virtually eliminated the retail side of my business. With a disciplined approach, and some effective images, ads can definitely work.

I do most of my advertising through Wholesalecrafts.com. They offer a few options. One is their Buyer's Guide, which is like a catalog of craft artists. It has ads ranging in size from full page to 1/12 of a page. I have run 1/12 , 1/6, 1/3, and soon will be running a full page ad in the Guide. And I have found, size matters, as does repetition. The most recent guide went out a few weeks ago, and I came back from New York with three messages on my machine, and continued to get calls through the week. Not all are placing orders, and the orders placed have been conservative. No surprise there.

But part of what has helped me is that I am sticking with the advertising, in spite of being fully aware of how bad the economy is right now. The last Buyer's Guide was the thinnest I can recall seeing. Especially for that time of year. I had a third of a page ad, and it got noticed. People are asking for information, visiting my page on Wholesalecrafts.com, and placing orders. Three good measures of an ad's effectiveness. With less ads, it is easier to be seen. With pictures that I know work well, it is easier to get a good outcome.

I debated whether I should run another ad in the next issue which will go out in September. I finally decided that I should. People will place orders for the holidays, although they are likely to be smaller and later. And from the sounds of it, fewer artists will be running ads. I was offered the chance to bump up to a full page ad at a terrific price. It was a no-brainer. Yes.

The biggest obstacle to the decision is truly psychological. Am I the type of artist who would run a full page ad? In other words, had I crossed some imaginary line in my head that gave me permission to be so bold? No, but I decided I needed to do it anyway. Act as if. The best part is that I had fewer creative limitations. I could design the ad myself. I love doing that sort of thing, and spent too much time this weekend designing and refining my ad.

In addition to the Buyer's Guide I often run a co-op ad in Niche magazine. Niche goes to galleries across the country who purchase handcrafted work. My target market. I get a better price by doing a co-op ad with Wholesalecrafts.com. And I get exposure to the market that would be most interested in buying my work. It has led to some terrific accounts.

How can I afford it? I guess I have come to see I can't afford not to. If I hold back from advertising, I will disappear into the ether. Visibility matters if you want to sell your work. It is about seeing your work as a product, rather than an extension of yourself, and then doing what it takes to make sure that your market sees your work, and knows about it. I have said this before, and I likely will say it again. Marketing your work is a bit like dating. Sitting at home waiting for Prince Charming to come knocking on the door is about as effective as making your work and waiting to be discovered. Might happen. But, probably not. It takes effort. It takes putting yourself out there for others to see. Simply listing your work on Wholesalecrafts.com, Etsy, or Trunkt is not enough.

Sellers on Etsy rely on the Showcase, and Treasuries to be seen. Flickr users will often join many groups where they can post their pictures to increase their exposure. I have come to look at the expense of advertising as the equivalent to the booth fee at a retail show, with less wear and tear on my body and my work. It takes time to build an audience for your work, but given enough patience and time, and yes, money, it is possible.

What do you do to have your work seen?

What Do You Know?

It always surprises me how much insight is possible in the obvious. But it is only when we step outside our normal framework that we can perhaps have the vantage point to see.

When I began this journey into becoming a working crafts person, I found there were many steps and hurdles along the way. First, it was developing the technical skill with my material. I can still remember Nancy Markoe at a class at the Arts Business Institute. She was reminding us that no matter how much we learned and understood about the business of craft, in the end we had to also spend time in the studio, honing our skill. We had to be able to have our hands understand the material. She used an example of making a handle for a mug 100 times before you might begin to be competent at that task, and develop the muscle memory of the task. Her words ring even more true for me now.

I have come to understand that we often start from where we are. Obvious, yes. The experiences we have had will color what we see as possible. For me, jewelry was an obvious thing to make. I have worn jewelry for as long as I can remember. I have collections of antique and vintage jewelry. At a craft show, I have always been drawn to the jewelry. I know jewelry. I love jewelry. And my cranes came from a connection to that origami form.

But recently, I began to venture outside the familiar. When I began work on the Crane Project, I was scared to death. I knew nothing about this new terrain, or a project of this size or scale. I knew I was going to have to find a place to install the project. How do you find that? How does it get installed? How do I get the money to pay for it? How in the world does something so big and overwhelming ever happen?

I am still learning answers to many of those questions. But in the process, I have had my world expanded a bit. What seemed beyond me, and a world inhabited by others, more daring or more creative now seems like a place I might want to visit. I have had several ideas stirring up lately that I am excited about exploring. I don't know when there will be time to get to them, but nonetheless, I have experienced a shift.

When we move beyond what we know it is stretching our muscles. It may hurt. We may be rejected. We may not fit in. But, it may be worth the aches and pains on the way to creative growth. We grow when we go somewhere new, or try something different than what we already know how to do well. Growth is seldom going to happen by sticking with what you already know.

In the last few months, I have applied for, and been rejected for, several grants. A year ago, the idea of a grant was not even on my radar. I have now learned more about that process, and will continue to refine my approach. I have learned more about budgeting for a project. I have asked all sorts of people for all sorts of help. Some say no, but others say yes. Some days I feel like a politician running for office and trying to raise funds for the campaign. It is not what you are in this for, but if you don't do it, the other opportunities may not come your way.

By taking this step across the imaginary line of what I saw as possible, into the impossible, I feel like I am Alice in Wonderland. I have entered a new place, with all sorts of doors to explore and possibilities to consider. I may decide I want to go back to the safety of what I knew before, but I may end up feeling a creative expansion that would not have been possible if I did not step across that imaginary line. The line was only there in my head. I decided what I could do, and what was not possible. The line is mutable though. We can redraw it at any time. We can venture into areas we thought were off limits.

What you know and what you have done before does not have to set the boundaries for where you go in the future. They can be a foundation. A stepping stone. A safe harbor. We get to choose.

Do you have any lines you want to redraw?

My Buddy, Doubt

I am sure you have met my buddy. He goes by the name Doubt.

Doubt is one of those buddies who is faithful and loyal. But, also one that you are not always so sure you want to see! Things may seem to be going along just great. All the gears are turning, and there is a nice hum in the background. Then Doubt crosses the doorway, and everything comes to a screeching halt.

"Am I doing the right thing?"

"What was I thinking?"

"Is anyone really going to like/buy this?"

"This is already being done, and done better."

"I'll never be as good as..., so why even bother."

Many of the above thoughts have popped into my head at one point or another. Sometimes, I have weeks where the thoughts are popping up in my head like a paparazzi's flash. Blinding me. Everything gets thrown into doubt, and I have moved from the solid shores, to being perched on the wobbly rock in the middle of a fast moving stream. I can feel the anxiety bubbling up.

But, I have learned something over time.

First, I have learned to say "Stop!" Stop letting this doubt overtake all other thoughts in your head. Stop and think for a minute.

I recently saw an article about another memorial project using origami cranes. They had over four thousand cranes completed, and they were going to be showing the project on the mall at the Washington Memorial in D.C. this Memorial Day weekend.

My first thought, honestly, was "What is the point of doing what I am doing? It has already been done. I am far from finished."

Then the Stop sign went up, and I took a breath.

This is the dialogue I began instead. "What they have done is similar, but not quite the same. It is wonderful that they are able to have their project in Washington, D.C. this weekend so that people will see and be reminded. It is wonderful that there are other like minded people out there taking actions such as your own. It should be celebrated.....and reinforced with your own work, which is similar, but still different."

Am I rationalizing? Maybe. But maybe I am just adding perspective and depth to my initial reaction that was fear driven. The fear that I am not good enough. That others are better, and that no one will be at all interested in my project by the time I finish.

No matter where we are as artists, Doubt is going to show up. Unannounced. And it is up to us to decide how long of a visit he makes. Will he sleep on the couch, or the guest room? Will he be sitting in your living room channel surfing while you wonder why you ever thought you had what it takes to do this?

Or will he be acknowledged, and then shown the door?

Will he be embraced, or just waved to politely?

We really do get to choose how we react. The stop sign is the first step. Stop the flood of negativity that comes along with the doubt, and begin to bring in some rationale thought, and then.....get back to work!

Following a Path to Joy

Almost eight years ago my dad died suddenly from a heart attack. He actually had at least three heart attacks over a few days. The second one brought him to the hospital, and he ended up with a stent in his heart. But, his heart never stabilized, and later that night he had another heart attack that ruptured his left ventricle. This one was fatal.

At first I was doing what I could to help my mother through this difficult time. But over the next few months, I found that his death affected me more than I thought it did. I found myself slipping into a deep depression. Finally, I sought out a therapist. Eight years, and several therapists later, I think of my Dad, and miss him, but I have also made some deep changes in the way I live my life, and along the way found more joy than I thought was possible.

Why am I sharing this with you? It relates a bit to the post I had recently about Critical Balance. Until this crisis sent me to therapy, I did not realize how much all the negative "stuff" I carried around in my head, and repeated to myself over and over again, inhibited my creativity, and diminished my life overall.

I continue therapy, even though depression is gone from my life, because I have come to realize the work to stay present, and not get caught up in all that "stuff" is something that is on-going. Once a month I get to check-in with the best therapist I could ever have. And once a month I meet with an amazing group of women, and we reflect and share on different aspects of our lives and our experiences. In this process, I can see better where I have been, and how far I have come. I can find where the residue of pain still resides, and carefully explore and heal. And I stay in touch with "me." And if you want to find your voice, there is no better place to start!

This past week, we met, and we wrote about the joy that is in our lives. We were in tears, and laughing, sometimes simultaneously as we shared our reflections. Tonight, I shared with my kids what I wrote, and given their response, I decided to post it here, with the background. I have come to believe, the work I did "on myself" was the best work I ever did to nurture my creative being.

So here goes....

I start to reflect upon my day and the little moments that made me smile, or feel in that moment. What unifies those moments is simply presence. Presence to what is. Presence to a moment that can’t be captured and preserved on film, or in words, or in any way at all as completely as just being there at that moment.

My mom calls to thank me for coming over and for the card from me that she found after we left. We talk for maybe ten minutes, and it is a nice re-connection and reinforcement of our relationship and our bond as mother and daughter.

I take a tray of beads out of the oven. As I collect them into my hand, and then into a container, the subtle sparkle and pattern catches my eye and makes me smile. Yes! This time it worked. These will make some nice pieces. But, just now, they bring me a moment of joy. I roll them around for a moment, in the container, enjoying the visual and tactile experience.

Later I am making cranes. I cover a sheet of clay with a variety of cane slices. The mix of color and pattern sings on this one. I smile in a moment of “yes!”

Packaging and sorting cranes to fill orders. These normally tedious tasks feel good today. I enjoy seeing each crane on the shred, and in it’s own little box. Soon two orders are picked and in boxes to ship. I take pleasure in the ease with which this happened today.

At dinner, I take in Colleen. Her eyes sparkle as she talks. A smile illuminates her already luminous face. We all laugh together as Kaela exudes joy and excitement at all the possible directions her life could take. Each fulfilling an aspect of her being. She can barely get the words out in a coherent sentence, she is so happy about all that lies before her like a feast.

My life is one of abundance. Simple moments. The excitement of the dog to do a trick and get a treat. The sound of my coffee press makes as it slides down. Dave’s voice on the phone.

I had moments of stress and frustration today. But the joy of the moment can be found like sparkling jewels scattered throughout my day.

My little mantra these days is “Create abundance.” Perhaps I don’t need to say create. Maybe it is just about noticing. Being present to all that is here for me already.

....so, what do you think? Does it make you want to start noticing the jewels in your own life? I can guarantee they are there. It is not about the big "wow!" moments. Those are good, but the sustenance comes from finding joy in the moment. The mundane, everyday moments. And, when we find it there, we have less "need" for the other kinds of that the commercials want us to believe are only a purchase away.

If you'd like, feel free to leave a jewel or two in the comments!

Rules, Schmules...

I have read one too many posts on what artists should or should not do in their blog, and/or website. Face it, as a rule, artists are not generally so in love with the technology side of the web. When we are told all the things we should be doing, or that we are doing it wrong, the first impulse might rightly be to throw up our hands and say, "Forget it. I can't do that, so why even bother?"

I do a lot of things wrong according to the rules. And somehow, this blog goes on....

Post at least three times a week, and predictably. I post sporadically. Sometimes nearly every day, and then I may go a week or more without posting. "Good blogs" post at least three times a week.

Images. Lots of images. Make sure that people coming to your blog can see your work. I have a teensy excuse on this blog, since it is not exclusively about my work. But on my crane blog, I have a scarcity of images there as well. I guess for me, the blog is the words behind the work. Both the studio work, and the other work that an artist engages in on a regular basis. My website, on the other hand, is image rich and text poor. Together they fill out the picture.

Keep entries short. Too much text turns off readers. Sorry readers, but when I get on a roll I am not going to say, "Oops, I am at the third paragraph, I better tie this up here". I write about what is on my mind. If I can do that in three paragraphs...uh, five?....great. But more often than not it takes me more than that to process the idea and communicate it coherently.

Feeds, etc. I think there is an RSS feed somewhere on the page. Is it easy to find? I don't know. I don't even really know what an RSS feed is to tell you the truth. Could I do better with this part of things? Absolutely. Is it worth my time and money? I frankly don't think so right now. It is low, low, low on the list, and the list is long. Somehow, in spite of my absolute ignorance, and neglect here, people still find my blog, and even subscribe! I love you subscribers out there!

Hire someone to do your website. Broke this rule too. But I pay a bit more to get template options with my website host. It means I can update my web page regularly without having to write code. I am not going to learn code. I am not interested. But I want to be able to update my web page fairly frequently and easily. Is the template exactly the way I want? Nope. But it does the job. I compromise on layout, fonts, colors, etc so that I can at least have images on the web.

In the end, I would rather suffer the wrath and criticism and "just do it", than not do it for fear of doing it wrong. I have made plenty of mistakes along the way. I am continuing to make mistakes. I will tweak, and play and continue to evolve as I continue to work my blogs and my website. I don't want to do it totally by the rules, because in the end, it is mine. Just like I want my art work to reflect how I see the world, I want my blog to reflect my thoughts and experiences. I use Blogger because they are easy, and Google takes care of so many things for me that I do not want to learn. I will risk the imperfection.

How much of the writing about the rules of how we engage with this technology is shutting down voices that we would all benefit from hearing? Isn't this the benefit of the Internet? The rules are still evolving and we can decide how we want it to work for us?

Are you on the sidelines? Do you have a point of view, something you want to say or share? But the idea of doing it the wrong way is just not worth the risk? Trust me, it is. Go ahead and do it wrong, if you have the inkling of a desire. Do it the best way you are able with the time, money, and savvy that you can muster. And if someone tells you that you are clueless, nod in agreement. Yup, you are. But in spite of that you are blogging, or have a website, or whatever. And each day you are learning a little bit more.

The democracy of the web depends on us being able to do this imperfectly. I would rather see some one's amazing work or words up on the web without all the right feeds and widgets, and so on, than have them stay away because we built the technology wall too high.

Being open to learn new things is great. But feeling like we have to do it perfectly in order to do it at all is destructive. The way I look at it, we are about in kindergarten when it comes to the Internet. There is more time for recess than for dissertations. And everyone gets a turn, not just those who are at the front of the line.

Maintaining Critical Balance

One of the biggest challenges we face as people who rely on our creative output is to maintain the delicate balance between being creative, and engaging our critical eye. Too much in one direction, and we risk never reaching our potential in developing our technique or our design ability. Or, too much in the other direction, and we may never get beyond the sketching or thinking stage.

Criticism is a sharp knife. It can be used as a fine editing tool. Honing our design, refining our technique. All good chefs will tell you a well sharpened knife is an essential tool. A dull knife can make a mess of things, and make the job harder to accomplish. Without the critical eye looking at what we have done, we can only get so far. The critical eye can see the weaknesses that need shoring up, as well as the strengths that maybe should be amplified. It can see what is distracting and needs to be removed.

But that same sharp knife that can be a tool can turn into a weapon that shuts down our creative energy if we do not know how to rein it in properly.

Each needs it's time and place. Creativity is often best served by being unleashed without the critical constraints. Let it go where it wants to go, and play around and explore. Only when it reaches a resting point is it safe to let the critical forces out. Then it is time to step back from your creation, and see it as a product, an output, now removed from you, and ask, "What could be better?" This is not about whether you are an artist who is "good enough". It is about how you, where you are right now, can become better. How your work can become stronger. You are always good enough. But, your work can always be stronger. We never are at a point where our work is "perfect".

So, either alone, or with others, we must critique. Looking to see what worked, and what did not. How to make a piece even stronger than what we have already wrought. Without this important stage, we will never reach our full potential. Once we go through that stage of critiquing, we then need to tell the critical voices that their services are no longer needed for now, and we will call them back when we need them. Then we can get back to work, either reworking, or working anew on this idea that inspired us.

When we try to critique as we create, it is too easy to get caught up in out inadequacies when what we need to be doing, is getting caught up in the creative process. The other problem we often have is making the output of our creativity to be too precious. Our self-esteem becomes deeply entwined into the output. We can't hear the critique in a productive way, if our identity is enmeshed in our work. Our work is our work. It is not us. Some it is will be crap, and some of it will blow us away. We need to accept both for what they are, and learn from both. No one, not even the most amazing artist, whose work you adore, turns out one masterpiece after another. We all have a range. The challenge is to raise the quality overall....the junk is better than it used to be, and the best work gets better.

One of the important lessons I learned from the book Art & Fear, was the value of crappy work. This is when we can have fun. Take that piece that bombed, and have some fun. If you want to lose that sense of preciousness of your work, this is a perfect place to begin. Use those pieces as a place to learn. A place to explore and experiment, and to go places you wouldn't dare under normal circumstances. If you hate it, you can't ruin it. But you can have fun and learn.

The bottom line....The process of creating is precious. Protect it from the critics. The product is just product. It is not precious. It is not us. Let the critics come out and have their say when you are ready to pause. Listen. Notice. See it as a way to learn and grow. And then thank your critics for their input, and tell them to go back in their closet. And get back to having fun creating, testing, playing, experimenting..... Own the process. It is sacred. And control the critics, their weapons can be valuable tools or deadly weapons.

Margaux Lange, Whimsy and brains

I am a big fan of Margaux Lange's work. She uses traditional metalsmithing techniques, with new materials to create fresh and vibrant jewelry with Barbie doll parts as the focal point. I found Margaux's work shortly after a neighbor's outrage over what her daughter and my daughter's had done to Barbie dolls. Let's just say, it started with haircuts. This was the perfect antidote to my neighbor's outrage at the plastic surgery that had taken place. What Margaus is doing with Barbie, is artistry. But, it also has the whimsy appropriate to the material.

Margaux has a blog that I visit from time to time, and I just caught up this morning. She has a terrific post on the New Wave artists at ACC. We had some discussion of these artists at the Synergy conference occurring upstairs, excited by the possibilities this represented for new media such as polymer clay. But I for one, was not aware of how much controversy and confusion the presense of these artists was generating on the floor, among both the new and the established artists.

I think it is instructive of the turmoil of transistion. And if you think that the craft business is not in transistion, think again. As I posted last night, things are in motion, and if you don't move along with it, you will be left behind.

Artists like Margaux are embracing, and making sites like Etsy work. She references an indie retail show that was a complete bust for her. In all of this she is not sure where she fits as a craft artist at times. But, frankly, I think many of us feel that way these days. How much of the new do we want to try out? And how much of the traditional ways of being in business work just fine?

I don't think there is any one answer. I do think we have to continual monitor, measure and experiment. Trying out the new, and checking in regularly to see of the old is still working as well as it used to. Promoters and galleries are in a similar position. If they keep doing what they did ten years ago, they will find themselves in a fight for survival.

And we need communication. Without it there is distrust and animosity. That is clear from Margaux's post. It will not be resolved quickly and easily, but a peace will be reached eventually, most likely from a cross-pollination of the old and new.

I hear people sometimes speak dismissively of Etsy as a place where there is too many artists with low price and poor workmanship. That is there. But there is also work that is beautifully crafted, and not the least bit inexpensive. It hasn't been an outlet that works for me, but I have found success with wholesalecrafts.com, a site that is has it's share of derision. Both sites require more time and money spent than just putting items up on a page to make them work to best advantage. But both offer ways to maximize the chance to succeed. Showcases and Treasuries on Etsy. Featured items and co-op ads with wholesalecrafts.com.

It is up to us to try and keep from feeling personally threatened by all the change that is going on around us. Change represents energy, and energy is what craft needs to stay alive and vital. When you feel yourself dismissing or criticizing some new faction in the world of craft, stop and ask yourself a few questions.

"Why is it bad?"

"How much do you really know about it?"

"Is there anyone involved whose work you respect?"

"What are they finding that you have not seen?"

The more conflict there is in the transistion, from either direction, the longer and more painful it will be. The more open exchange there is, the more chance there is for growth by all parties.

Things will always change. Are you open to change?

Asking

Can you ask for what you need or want? I don’t mean ask in the hypothetical sense, but really ask.
When I met my husband, it was love at first sight. We hit it off immediately. Within six weeks, he made a hypothetical proposal. Not the most romantic proposition, but he clearly wanted to know where he stood before he took the risk of asking for real. “Hypothetically” he asked, ”if I was to ask you to marry me, what do you think you would say?” Finding out what someone is likely to say before you ask the question makes it much easier to decide if you want to take the plunge for real. If the answer looks iffy, it is safer to avoid asking for real.
So what does this have to do with being an Artrepreneur? Well, let’s say you get people to your booth at a show. Or you get a gallery interested in your work. Can you close the sale? Can you ask for the order, or, do they walk away saying they have to think about it? And as they walk away, are you left saying, “What did I do wrong? Why didn’t they place the order?”
First, ask this. Did I ask for the sale?
Or, did I find out what the obstacles are to placing a sale? Did I ask, “What else do you need to know about my work to make a decision? Is there any questions I can clear up for you?”
At this moment, you are asking them to move from being on the fence, to making a choice. You are giving them a chance to voice their objections, if they have any. They may have a few issues that remain in their head. But, given the chance to verbalize these objections, they may, given a bit more space to talk, continue to talk themselves right out of their objections, and right into an order. If they had been able to leave the booth first, to think about it, the next thing they think about might be the work they are considering by another artist. You and your work are out of sight, out of mind.
The response might be, “I just want to be able to think about it a bit more. I think I have all the information I need”. At this point, you could thank them, and ask them to be sure to contact you if they have any questions.
Or, is it possible to create a sense of urgency? “This product line has been doing very well. I just introduced it, and already it is selling very well. As I receive more orders, my lead times will get longer. I know you are excited about this work, and I would hate to see you have to wait an excessive amount of time to get it for yourself.” Then wait. They may still move on. But, this new piece of information might just be the thing that helps them make a decision.
Asking for the sale is difficult. It is like asking for a date, or for another’s hand in marriage. We are risking rejection. So, we need to feel a degree of confidence to do that easily and comfortably. If we feel unsure about our work, our prices, our ability to satisfy the expectations of a potential customer, those words may not be able to comfortably fall out of our mouth. We rationalize our hesitancy by saying we don’t want to be pushy.
If you read through these scenarios, and say to yourself, “I couldn’t do that.” Maybe, you need to stop and ask why? Why not? Is there something about your work that feels uncertain? What is it? And, what can you do about it? How can you feel more confident about the work that you are putting out there so that you can comfortably have this dialogue with a potential customer? Answering this question may be what is needed to help eliminate the roadblock to asking for the order.
If you still feel like you can’t do it, ask yourself this, “Could I sell someone else’s work?” Think of another artist whose work you admire. Could you sell that work? Could you comfortably tell someone what is wonderful and unique about their work, and why they would want to own a piece for themselves, or place an order for their gallery? If you can, then your ability to sell is not where the problem lies. You need to fall in love with your own work. You need to believe that someone would want own your work, or carry it in a gallery. When you get to that point, these scenarios will naturally happen.
If you believe in your work. If you know your prices are fair and reasonable. If you know the customer loves the work. If all of these things are true, there is no reason in the world that you should not ask for the sale. You can deliver a value to the customer in return for the money they are spending. But, if you do not ask, do not assume that having good work is enough. Sometimes it is, but sometimes, people want you to ask!

Dream a Little Dream for You...

At the Synergy conference in Baltimore I taught a class called "Should I, or Shouldn't I?" The premise of the class was to help people decide whether or not they should take the leap into making their craft into a business. Now, you might think since the name of this blog is Artrepreneur, I think everyone should make that leap. But that is not the case.

I started out that class with two questions:

"What would you be doing in your life if you knew you absolutely could not fail?"

and

"What do you need to think about differently to
have the life your desire?"

I found these questions in a post on Tammy Vitale's blog. I was in the middle of preparing for the class, and these two jumped out at me as being the perfect way to launch my class. What is you dream? And what is in the way? In order to really decide what is right for you, these are questions you need to answer. I can tell you what my answer is, but it has nothing to do with your dreams, and your life. These questions, by the way, come from a book by Ken D. Foster, called, Ask and You Will Succeed: 1001 Ordinary Questions to Create Extraordinary Results

I wasn't always so clear on this idea that everyone needs to choose the right path for them, and where they are in their life. I guess you could say I was a little bit evangelical in my desire to have others experience how wonderful it is to be able to be in business as an artist. I was projecting my own enthusiasm on others. For someone who needed a nudge in that direction, and wanted to know that it was possible and worth the risk, I might have been on target in my encouragement. But for people who did not have that dream, I was completely misguided. If I subjected you to this, I can only apologize.

What I have come to understand, particularly as I began to explore this question of Should I or Shouldn't I, is that if it is not something you passionately or deeply desire, you should probably not travel down this rocky path. It ain't easy. To quote one of the artists who responded to a survey I did to prepare for this class:

“…, be realistic about what you'll earn. It's probably never going to be as much as you'd like. You should have a passion for what you're doing and the feeling that you'd shrivel up and die if you COULDN'T do it!”

There is more wisdom there than I could possibly express in a million blog posts. It is a struggle. But if you have to do it, you should! And if you feel like you can't, then it is matter of figuring out your particular roadblocks, and whether or not you can work around them.

So why did I decide I should? When I was a little girl, I spent hours upon hours drawing, and making things. I would sit on the front step with a friend, and we would draw. I would take classes as often as my parents would sign me up for one. I went through magazines that my mother bought, looking for craft projects I could do. I had to make things. I had to draw. Nobody ever had to compell me to do it.

But, when I was a deciding on where to go to college, and what to study, I found myself putting all that away. It was put in the hobby box, and it was time to get serious and pursue a career that would provide me with a paycheck. I was good in math and science, so I studied chemistry. Was I passionate about math and science. No. By my junior year, I knew I was going down the wrong path, but I was so used to doing what was expected of me, that I continued on. When I graduated, I knew I was not a chemist. Not in my heart at least. So, I went into sales, selling industrial gases. I was not necessarily drawn to sales either, but I knew it was going to be a better fit than the lab.

I went on to get my MBA, which I actually really enjoyed. Marketing has lots of room for creativity, and I enjoyed the math of finance and accounting. I went on to various marketing jobs. Always believing that I was going to find the job that was the right fit for me. I had thought the idea of starting my own business was attractive....but doing what??

I never did find the job that was the perfect fit. I wanted to fit it. I tried to make myself fit in. But I didn't. Sunday night became a time of dread. Back to work on Monday. Pretty soon it was Sunday afternoon, or Sunday morning. I would start buying the occasional lottery ticket when the misery index climbed. It was my way out. My path to my dream. If I win the lottery, I can go to art school, and be an artist!

Eventually, I was taking a career planning class at one of my jobs,....a particularly miserable job....and the main question we had to ask was, what is your ideal job. My answer, Artist. As if,.... But I could identify what it was about being an artist that I wanted in my job. Creative. Independent. Self-directed. Maybe I could find those things in another job?

I went on to one more job earning a regular paycheck. This time with a small start-up company. I ran marketing department, and had several people reporting to me. It wasn't too long before I found this job did not fit either. I also found myself pregnant soon after I started this job. A job that had me on the road often, and frequently over the weekend as well as during the week. I envisioned myself traveling all the time, and having a nanny to take care of my soon to be baby. I then thought about how I was away on weekends. How I was often working ten or twelve hours per day. Was this kid even going to know me? How much of an influence would I even be in their life? That was when things shifted for me. That was when I finally gave myself permission to step off the path that I was on, which I never really wanted to be on.

After this, it took me nearly ten years, and lots of false starts to find out what I wanted to be doing the rest of my life. But I did find it. I don't have the big paycheck or title anymore. But I also have never been happier. I am living my dream. One day I realized it had been years since I had bought a lottery ticket. I didn't need the escape hatch anymore. I was where I wanted to be.

So, are you living your dream? If not, what is in the way? What can you do to make your dream a reality? Even if you decide to pursue the dream it may take many years to get to the point that you realize that you are finally doing exactly what you want to be doing with your life. But, it does not mean that you shouldn't take that first step.

Owning Up

Sometimes we screw up. Even under the very best of intentions, things go wrong. But just like we learned back in grade school, owning up, taking responsibility, really is the best way to move through the problem, and then be able to move forward.

I wrote last year about how I was going to be working with a catalog company. I was excited by the possibility, but also a bit anxious about what that might entail as far as production, and would I be able to live up to my end of the bargain.

Doing the work to make sure that I would be able to meet the demand, helped me to look at my production process differently. I started to see that if I could make a dozen cranes at one time, all with the same pattern, it would actually be easier than trying to make a dozen different cranes. Thus began the idea of exclusive designs for each year.

As I began to prepare myself to fill orders for the catalog company, I anxiously awaited the initial order from them. The contract I signed stated I would need to ship cranes to them by early January. But it was mid-December before I got the order. The first order was for 54 cranes, and I began making them right away. I wanted to be sure I fulfilled my responsibility. The ship date had been moved to a later date, so I felt comfortable that I would be able to easily manage it and the orders I had at the time.

Less than two weeks before I was supposed to ship this first order, on a Friday afternoon, after 4 p.m. I got a call from the catalog company. They wanted to cancel the purchase order. No reason was given. No sense of whether or not there would be a future order. Just a call saying the purchase order was cancelled. By this time I had made and boxed up nearly 40 cranes. All done in a design that was exclusive to them. I was so surprised by this I had little to no response, and there were no real answers to the few questions I stammered out.

Now what?

Fortunately, I have a resident contracts expert in my husband. He helped me draft a letter requesting payment for the cranes I had made for them. According to contracts law, I was due compensation for the cranes I made for them, against their purchase order. He even went so far as to tell me that I should ship them out on the date they were originally scheduled to ship. This is where I took my own counsel and decided a crane in the hand is better than no cranes, and no check.

Today I spoke with the catalog company. The woman I had been working with owned up. She told me they were going through a difficult financial period. They had readjusted the products they were carrying. They were struggling to pay their existing vendors. (My instinct about holding onto those cranes was the right one!) They were not prepared to compensate me for the cranes I had already made for them.

It was easy for me to be gracious, and ask for a compromise in return. She had been honest with me, and so I knew where I stood. I asked that we cancel the contract, and that I be released from having the design held exclusively for them. It was as close to a win-win as we were going to get in the situation. She was happy to accomodate me, and there were no angry words or accusations.

It could have been nasty, and vindictive. I read about such exchanges from time to time on the discussion forums. I could have stood up for "my rights". But all that would have happened is that I would have spewed a lot of frustration and anger. I asked them to compensate me, and meet their obligations. She was honest, and told me where they stood. I had a fall back position, and I was happy to go there. I could easily do business with them again.....not sure if I want to!......but should she end up somewhere else down the round, I have not burned a bridge, and I know she is someone I can trust. And she knows that I can behave professionally.

We sometimes focus all our energy on our reputation for the quality of work we produce. But the reputation we develop as a business person is also important. How are you to work with? Do you meet your obligations? If you can't, do you own up, or leave people hanging? It is never easy to let people down. But to do it in a responsible way is always better than to quietly slink away hoping the problem will go away. It won't. And your reputation will suffer.

It really is as simple as the lessons we learn in grade school. Be honest. Don't make promises you can't keep. And if you do, own up.

How Many Balls Can I Juggle?

The problem with juggling so many balls in the air right now, is that there is little down time to reflect on what is going on, and perhaps share a bit of that with you here. What I have been thinking about is what we can do if we just take a step forward. I had written previously about whether or not you live life waiting for a permission slip to follow your dreams or you big ideas. I guess I find myself having signed an awful lot of permission slips!

But, somewhere along the line I went from the person who seldom stepped outside of the prescribed lines, to a person who is willing to act on her dreams. I don't know why or how that happened exactly, other than perhaps the experience of doing it again and again shifts the axis of your world a little bit. The voice that says"Yeah, but you can't do that..." has been quieted. She still is there, but there is another voice. The one that says, "Well, why not?" Or, "I can at least try."

And it is about the trying. If we stay too focused on the end goal, and how big and overwhelming that goal may be, we will never begin. But if we say, let's just see what we can do. It gives us room to fail, without calling ourselves a failure. Why, because we tried. And with each small step that we take to move closer and closer to the goal or dream, it seems less impossible. We can do the small steps.

There is that critic that says, "Sure, you can do a little bit of it, but come on. It is too big, it will take too long, cost to much,....it is just TOO HARD. Give up now before you get disappointed."

Have you had that conversation with yourself? Does the critic always reign supreme and get in the last word? Or are you persistent, and passionate enough about your dream that in spite of all the logic that the critic is throwing your way, you still want to go ahead.

I am in over my head. If I listed all the things I am juggling right now, you would consider me certifiable. But you know what, I am making progress towards each goal I am working on. I am learning a lot about how much is possible. "No" is more impossible for me these days.

I am learning to say, "Why the hell not?"

Ask yourself that next time. Why not? Why shouldn't you go after your dream, or your BHAG. Look around you. Look at some of the amazing things that people have done and accomplished. Were they any more special than you or me? Most likely, not.

I had a conversation recently with a "high profile" artist. Someone with a "name". She was trying to tell me how her career, and where she was, was simply a fluke. Luck. But as she told me the story, what evolved was the story of someone who created her own luck. She had an idea....a "crazy, half-baked idea", if the critic had the final word. She began to figure out what she would need to do to make that idea into reality. And she started taking the steps to make it happen. And as more of her story comes out, it is clear this is a pattern in her life. She doesn't wait for someone to plan her career for her. She dreams her dreams, and then acts upon them.

We all have dreams. But not everyone is willing to go after their dreams. Preferring the safety of what they already have, and know. And not every dream is possible. But, more are possible than most of us are willing to believe, or act upon.

Frankly, sometimes in life we have to approach things like a bungee jumper. Be scared, trust the cord, and jump anyway.

A Day to Spread the Love

Valentine's Day has gotten a little more complicated around our house now that we have a tween and teen. My younger daughter doesn't want to have any thing to do with public displays of affection. My oldest loves the holiday, but feels unsure about handing out Valentine's to her friends....what if no one else is? Remember those days. I gave her advice that I am not sure I could have followed at that age.



I told her to,"Listen to your heart. You are all about expressing your love and friendship. This holiday is made for you. And the world needs more love and kindness. Give out the Valentine's to friends. Don't make the world a little sadder just so you can be like everyone else."



I can sense her pull to follow this instinct. But the same pull in the other direction to fit in. To be like everyone else. There is comfort in that instinct. But there also may be a certain flatness. A little less joy.

In the financial world there is a term called beta. Beta is a reflection of risk. A stock that has a high beta value, is one that has a high degree of volatility. There is a great chance for big returns, .....or big losses. Sometimes in life, and in our art, or our businesses, we face that choice. Do we play it safe, or do we take a chance on the big return? Just like in our finances, it is best to have a balance. Maintaining some degree of safety, but also taking some risks. Knowing what your risks are, and being prepared to accept them if things don't turn out the way you want.

My daughter went off to school today with about a dozen valentines. She plans to hand them out to friends at lunch time. She worries about friends who may not get one, but see that someone else did. She worries about whether or not she should give on to that "special friend". But, she is going to give them out in spite of her worries. Taking the chance of looking silly to some. But also being able to tell her friends that they are special to her.

Readers, this is my Valentine to you. I hope that someone expresses to you today, how special you are to them. With flowers, chocolates, a card, or words. And I hope you can step outside your comfort zone and tell someone that they are a good friend, or that they make your life a little more special.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.

-Helen Keller

Happy Valentine's Day!!

The Mystery Revealed....

I alluded to a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) in my last post. The thing about BHAG's is that they are a bit scary. Big + Hairy = Scary. And Audacious. As in, "What are you thinking?" Or, "Who do you think you are?" So is it any wonder that I was not quite ready to reveal the exact nature of my BHAG?

Well, I have begun to let a few people peak under the covers. I have made a few tentative steps to let a little air around the idea. And in the process I have learned something. As Big, Hairy, (Scary), and Audacious (Bold) as this idea may be, or any BHAG for that matter, without letting it out into the air, it will probably never happen. Trying to protect ourselves by keeping the idea close only makes it less likely that the idea will move forward. Sending those first few e-mails emboldened me. It made me realize that the only way that this idea would happen is if I let the BHAG out of the bag, and let the universe give it some momentum.

If you know anything about me, and my work, you may have suspected that it has something to do with cranes. And you would be right. When this BHAG first started to form in my head, it was the idea that I would love to see 1000 cranes made from polymer clay, all together in an installation. It immediately went into the "Nice idea, as if that would ever happen" file. But every now and then, I would bring it out and reflect on the idea. Yep. It would be cool. Back in the file.

But recently the idea has taken a bit of a turn, and given it some new propulsion. It feels like something I have to do.

My BHAG is this; I want to create a crane for each soldier who has lost their life in Iraq. Each crane will be made from translucent clay, and on each wing their will be a name, the date the soldier died, where in Iraq they died, and how (hostile/non-hostile, IED, mortar, illness, ....). I want to have all these cranes, at least 4000 of them, all together in one space. Ideally a white room. Arranged by date. As you pass through the exhibit, you pass by the lives that have been lost. Each one ennumerated in a crane.

The crane is a powerful symbol for this idea in my mind. As a symbol of peace, and a symbol of long life, it will honor each of these men and woman. Regardless of our feelings about the war, or the soldier's feelings about being there, they are lives that need to be recognized and honored. A decision was made that led to this massive loss of life, which pales in comparison to the loss of Iraqi lives. The war has faded into the background. It goes on in spite of a general sense from many that the continuation of the war makes no sense. I want a visual image of these lives. I want to recognize them, and recognize the price of this political decision.

Some will hate this idea. That is okay. This is just something that I know I need to do. It comes from my heart.

I plan to start a new blog. One that will track this project. The ups and downs and ins and outs. The count of lives. The count of cranes. I will eventually start a way to raise funds to support this project. More will come about that later.

The biggest obstacle, .....aside from making all those cranes!!....is finding a place to install a project like this. This is the universe part. I am making this public so that as this project unfolds, a place may emerge. Perhaps several.

I will still post here.

I know.

"How does she find the time?"

I don't know. I just don't worry about that. The time will take care of itself. I will fold the cranes, as I continue on with my other work and the rest of my life. Stay tuned.....






Pretty Big and Audacious, huh? I think the hairiness diminished a bit by letting it out of the bag. I am more sure I need to do this, and that eventually it will happen.

The Idea that Won't Go Away

Have you ever had an idea for something, something so big, so impossible, that you want to be able to just walk away from it? I have had just such an idea for about two years now. And every time it comes up, I think, "Well that's silly. How in the world would you make that happen?" And I move on. At least for a while.

What seems to happen, is that the idea keeps resurfacing. And each time it takes on a little more substance. In the last few days, it has gotten bones. A structure. It doesn't look quite so impossible. Or so outlandish.

Now this is one of those "BIG" ideas. What some people call a BHAG. A Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. It means stepping into completely unfamiliar territory to make it happen. It means it has been hard for me to wrap my head around how I could possibly make it happen.

But then, at the same time, I know that others have done things that are comparable. Knowing this doesn't mean it is easy, or that it will ultimately be doable by me. But it does mean that it is possible. And if it is possible, and it keeps coming back to me, perhaps I need to take it seriously.....and in the process, take myself seriously too.

Isn't that what we are doing when we have an Impossible Dream. We may want to believe it is impossible. It means it just can't be done. Because then we can comfortably walk away. But each time this dream comes up for me, I know, somewhere in the back of my mind, that others have done comparable things. It is possible, and it is not going away. But, I have just not been ready. And that is where the truth lies. Having these dreams means stretching outside what is familiar and known. Holding on to them means we want to see if we can make them happen someday. We recognize our current limitations, but we are not silly to dream these dreams. Even if we dare not admit the details of our dreams to anyone!

As this idea is taking a more concrete form in my head over the last few days, I am seeing various pieces of things that have been out there floating around as vague ideas, starting to coalesce. It still feels pretty impossible. But I also feel like I want to start to push the idea from an idea into becoming something more tangible.

I am researching things like installations, venues, fundraising, grants. The actual art work is completely within my capabilities, although it will be time consuming, and I may need to enlist some help because of the simple scale of this idea. How to take this idea, this thought, and make it into a reality is the challenge. It may never happen. But I am going to begin to take some steps to try to make it work.

My first step is to write this here. To admit to myself and the world, that I am ready and willing to begin to explore this new territory. The details of the dream are less important than this shift that has happened in me. That is where our greatest barriers often lie. Inside. I will admit to being scared, and overwhelmed. But, I have to say there is also a certain amount of glee and sheer excitement about simply saying "yes". Yes, this is worth exploring. This is worth investing some time and energy to see where you can take it. Wish me luck! And if you know of any grant money around.....

Facing the Absolute Truth

Fact. We will all die eventually. A woman who has crossed my path in recent days has me thinking about how we come to terms with that fact, may just affect how we live the time we have.

Kimberly is my hero right now. Kimberly will be turning forty in February. In spite of doctor's predictions. I first met Kimberly, in passing, at a retreat last year. This was a day long retreat focused on personal growth and healing. At the time, she was not expected to live another year. Yet, she was spending a day, reflecting, examining, and opening her heart to the possible. Now you might expect given the circumstances that she might have spent that time in agonizing about how unfair it was, and why was this happening to her, and she had so many things she still wanted to do.

Kimberly was there to live her life, long or short, in the fullest way possible. This year when I went to the retreat again, there was Kimberly. I can't tell you how it made my heart lift to see her. Her hair was thin, and her face puffy from the ravages of the medications she has been taking. But her spirit was clearly alive. Her smile lit up her face, and her voice was one of hope and optimism.

We got to talking over lunch, and at one point we began talking about the cranes. I shared a few of the stories I have heard over the years from people about their connections with the cranes. This was when Kimberly exclaimed that I may have just solved her problem. She was planning a birthday party, for herself, in Key West, Florida next month. She and a dozen of her friends would be meeting up to celebrate her life, and the fact that she was still here to celebrate this birthday. She wanted to give a gift to each of her friends. Something that they would have, long after she was gone, that could help them remember her, and what her life was about. The cranes were the answer.

I will be making a dozen cranes for Kimberly in the coming days. They will have her birthdate under the wings. They will be small enough so someone can hold it in their hands, and remember Kimberly....and just how cute, and wonderful, and spiritual she is,... or was.

I have been blessed to have people like Kimberly come into my life. The cranes have brought these stories to me again and again. And each time I am connected to something way bigger than me.

I can only hope that I can face life with the courage, spirit, and joie de vivre that Kimberly does each and every day. I think of her, and I smile. Life is challenging and full of bumps and bruises. But, are we embracing the potential that it has to offer, everyday? Do we embrace life enough to want to work on our personal growth even as we stare down death?

Have you ever wondered what kind of art would you make if you were told you only had six months to live? Have you ever thought, maybe you should not wait until then to begin to make that art? Maybe, you won't get the six months warning.

Send your prayers and thoughts of healing Kimberly's way. The world could use someone like her a while longer. And go make some art like your life depended upon it. The world will be a richer place because of it.

Possibilities

How often do you start a sentence about an idea with "I can't", or "I am not ready to..."? You are in a conversation about your work or your business, or whatever. A thought pops up, and suddenly you find yourself uttering those words.

The problem with these words is that they often leak out before we had time to consider them. Could we do it? I can't begin to tell you how many times perfectly wonderful opportunities landed in my lap, and my first reaction was to push it right off. Oh, no. Not here. Not now. I can't. I don't want to do that. No. It isn't right for me.

But, fortunately, I have reconsidered my initial response in some of those cases, and found myself thinking maybe I spoke too quickly. Maybe, I could. Maybe, I should. Maybe I would be a fool not to. When you do that enough times, you start to slow down that knee jerk response of immediate dismissal. You start to realize that often times what is happening is that you are protecting the status quo, rather than listening to your heart. You are making a decision based on emotion and fear rather than any good rationale. Nowadays, I am more likely to say, "I'll have to think about that," if I am faced with an idea that seems out of the question.

If you find yourself in this "I can't" mode, stop for a minute and play with the idea of "What if....." What if you said yes? What possibilities might open up to you? Maybe no was the right answer. But make sure what you are turning down or rejecting is really not a good idea. Or allow yourself to at least begin the journey, with the knowledge that you can return to more familiar ground at any time. Just because you put your foot in the water, it doesn't mean you are committing to a mile swim.

Susan Lumoto is doing some wonderful exploration with polymer clay right now and sharing it in her blog. Exploring textures and forms. Not sure exactly where it is going, but knowing that she needs to just say yes to the exploration, and she doesn't need to know where or why just yet. Her daughter made a suggestion about making the forms into jewelry, and rather than rejecting the suggestion, and saying, "No, I hadn't planned for this to be jewelry," she went ahead and listened. She played around with the suggestion, and a gorgeous bracelet emerged. I hope she continues to play with the the vessels...they are very cool! But clearly, Susan is onto a wonderful new path, full of new discoveries.

She is just one example of someone who has opened themselves to the possibilities. There are many, many more. Try to pay attention when you find yourself presented with an opportunity that "doesn't make sense for you." Give yourself permission to rethink your initial response. Maybe the next time some wonderful opportunity lands in your lap you will embrace it rather than shoo it away! Or at least give yourself time to think about it more fully. It is scary sometimes to realize how often the very things we want and need are presented to us, and we push it away. Fortunately, those chances have a way of coming around again, and again, in new forms. Eventually, if we are lucky, we begin to open ourselves up to the possibilities.

Maybe 2008 can be the Year of Possibilities.