Please take a look at the new things here on the website! The Events tab has been updated with not only the next event, but the two new artists who I’ll be sharing space with. Testing a new “Store” tab, with a shopping cart. All of the classes have been loaded into the system, but still have some work to do on the payment part! Look for jewelry items to be added as well. Please contact me with your questions/comments. I’m interested! Maybe you have a way to make it better… There is now a category for “Free” information, tips and tricks. All previous posts of this nature have been moved to that category. Plans are to add more to it soon. Finally, got a pic of me right on the front page, along with an updated description of what-all is going on around here. What say you about that? As always, the team (of one, but soon to grow) is interested in your thoughts and opinions. Especially if they are nice! And lest I forget, here is a picture of a new piece I just finished. Enjoy!
Listening to NPR at the workbench the other day, I caught portions of a discussion regarding natural athletic talent versus talent gained by hard work, and the success rate of each. The premise is that anyone with the desire to work hard for a very long time can achieve great success at anything they put their minds to, even if their natural abilities do not seem to match up.
Forged Hairpiece by John Cogswell, Winter Workshop Instructor
To me, success is a ride. Select the destination and pay the ticket price. Travel on the train of doing what you love, be the “conductor†of it, and have that produce income along the way. I like the notion of being successful NOW. That’s why I went ahead and wrote “Successful Indy Artist Awarded Indiana Arts Commission Grant†as the title for this post. So, what the heck, I’ve decided to create my own success and the details of the journey are simply train-stops to be added to the itinerary. Next stop? Grant News! Many of you followed my previous newsletter and blog post, as I wondered if I would get the Indiana Arts Commission grant. The grant announcement had been delayed due to State budget reasons. The workshop I was to take got canceled. But in the end, I got the grant – Woohoo! Once the grant was officially awarded, I needed to find a replacement workshop that would be just the right thing: the right time, price, and content that would apply to my goal of learning more about small scale sculpture fabrication. I found it! A five-day Winter Workshop sponsored by the Florida Society of Goldsmiths that includes three days of hammering technique and two days of working with bi-metals (two metals laminated together). In January – perfect, because it will not hurt my selling season or teaching schedule. Location? Daytona Beach, Florida. Deserving to go to Daytona Beach, Florida, in January? Oh, now, that is definitely something I had to come to terms with. Worthiness. But that’s a whole other blog post… What is your definition of success? talent? Do you just “have it†or don’t you? I’d love to know what you think, so please post a comment and let me know.
I had enrolled in a class at the Touchstone Center in Pennsylvania that was to take place the first week in August. I had a replacement lined up to represent me during the IDADA’s First Friday Art Tour on Aug. 6 at my studio in the Circle City Industrial Complex. I even had my newsletter completely written, with me going to the workshop! AND – the granting organization’s funding has been delayed. Not unusual – many arts organizations are experiencing altered funding these days. AND – the original class into which I was enrolled has been canceled. So the email newsletter that I send out was rewritten with this updated info. Which led to this blog post… This entire series of events has helped me get really clear on what I want to create in my life, and to go for it with everything I have. Yeah, I could get a stomach ache and get crazy worried about the whole thing. Ok – I started to anyway. But then I decided (after some great coaching and a bit of soul-searching) that I could choose how to feel. That I could get really clear on what I really wanted to be true, to the point of visualizing me cashing the grant check, experiencing the classroom, creating the works and showing them. OOOh, even selling ALL of them! NOW I’m moving forward in trust and expecting to hear soon that the grant will be funded. I choose to believe that I will win that grant, find the perfect workshop, and hold a show next year with the resulting works. That is my intention! Stay tuned for the next post, when I know more about the grant and the potential workshop. What do you intend in your life? What do you want to have happen on purpose? Creative ideas or everyday, little things. Either way – post a comment. I’d love to know!
