- Being a creative without an audience. I'm still asking myself how to cope with this very real sensation of having invested all these hours, poured my soul into my craft, maybe even threw in a kidney and donated a gallon of tears to the cause, only to then be sitting at the edge of my seat with my left eye twitching watching paint dry. Now what?

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Learning to become accustomed with the fact that everything has a humble beginning. That even though I'm gaining some traction, I am far from earning a solid income from art. I can honestly tell you that I've invested more money in my art this year than I have earned back. Last year however, I was able to make enough to cover my entire life's expenses of art supplies including this year and probably next year. This is to say, that there are lean years and fat years and boy was this an eat top ramen and crumbs from underneath the toaster kind of year for my art.

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Now if I were to base this year on things I've learned, connections made, business acumen and marketing skills developed or level of dedication to the practice. Well by those standards I am bloody successful! Financially...ehhhh, well not so much.

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But I show up regardless wether anyone else does. Because I've had enough tastes of the possibilities to keep my interest and I want to see my talents grow. It has me waking up early, drooling all day, and then staying up late until my contacts fall out.

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I must admit, social media has been a contributing factor in helping me stay accountable and on track. Having this audience has both encouraged and challenged my overall beliefs around creativity and community and I hope you all know I appreciate all the positivity and support. A year ago I had 4,000 followers and now I've hit 30k. There are enough seats at the table for all of us to sit down and we can all have our own personal spot. It's there, waiting for you to decide to grab a chair, pick an empty space and declare ownership of that seat. Why don't you join me alongside the other artists, painters, photographers, videographers, woodworkers, writers, designers, speakers, entrepreneurs and any creative kindred spirit who wants to make ideas happen. -