I consider May 12th the anniversary of several things. First is I made art my focus, second I moved my needs to the front of the line and not my job or other people's, and third was selling my art.
I have pretty much always created art. I even won coloring contests when I was a kid. While I knew I wanted to do something involving art, I did not have a career picked out. It was not until over 30 years of trying things and them not fitting right did I chose to focus on creating art.
With the change in career focus I also stopped putting the needs of other people before my own. I used to do everything I could for other people or my employer before I did anything for myself. If I did end up doing something for myself first I would agonize over how it was effecting other people, completely ruining any benefits that my activity would have had.
Anyone who knew me knew I was miserable.
Now I do what I need to do to ensure that I am not miserable and have a chance to experience new things and grow as a person and artist. I color my hair fun colors, paint my nails, go for long walks, and (the most recent) make sure I make time to hang out with friends.
I am still figuring out how to balance everything, but I am so much happier now than I was 2 years ago.
Since my focus is now creating art I have to get rid of said art. I only have so much space. I have never been overly attached to things, even things I create. It does make me happy to know that people like my art enough to buy it and display it in their spaces. It thrills me to no end when someone buys an original.
Happy Anniversary AbC! You are now 2 years old, and
You make me so happy! <3
I will be holding a contest on my Instagram(s!) Make sure you visit @bycarissac and @happygothart to see the particulars.
Here are some of my favorite creations over the past two years.