Why am I here?

I wrote this on the back of an envelope at my last show:

I’m sitting in my new white tent, four hours from my peaceful country studio. 

It’s raining. Again. 

And this time I’m too far away from my studio to spend yet another rainy afternoon there. 

Which brings me to the age old question: Why am I here? 

And, more importantly, What does it take to keep getting here? 

So here’s my four part answer to the question about what it takes, which I believe also answers why am I here. 

Show up

Maybe once or twice in my 30 plus years of doing art shows I have experienced the perfect show. Perfect weather both days. Perfect location, lots of customers who bought exactly what I made for them without questioning whether I had it in orange  (I don’t) or if I am from here (I’m not) or if I teach classes (nope). Other than those two perfect shows (which I actually may have fabricated in my memory) all other events have been a blend of imperfections, challenges, fatigue, uncooperative weather conditions, and customers who needed me to tweek, alter and otherwise customize their already one of a kind piece. 

     Persistent? Yep. I just keep showing up. There's really no rhyme or reason to success, other than being persistent.

     Case in point: This art jewelry piece, named Primitive Pink. I made it in a blur of inspiration in my studio, using several long thick slivers of dried acrylic paint and some white agate along with handmade clay beads. Once I finished it and got over the shock of the weirdness of it, I realized it's really a show piece and so had it professionally photographed.

Later that same year I took it to a show, put it out there on display, and then a very unexpected thing happened. I got my handbag stolen. Not good. I had just left my booth for a ten minute potty break, and hadn’t thought to take my handbag with me. Called the show promoter. Called the police. Called my husband. Went off and had a good cry. When I came back to the booth the show promoter came in and wordlessly, with compassion, hugged and held me. The police officer then came in and had to ask me some questions. Did you see anyone suspicious? What did your purse look like? What was in your purse? I’m doing my best to keep it together and answer the questions and all at the same time there are customers in my booth. One of them is a very eclectic, fashion forward woman who has been trying on pieces the whole time, seemingly oblivious to the fact that my life is hanging by a thread here,  and is now asking me to see the piece in the showcase. Well I have to say, even in the midst of the internal turmoil of having my handbag stolen and the barrage of questions from the officer, I KNEW I had made that piece for that woman and she needed it in her life. She tried it on. it was a perfect fit, and handed me her credit card without asking the price. (It was one of my show pieces) 

Inspiration

People come looking for it. Sometimes I think I should hang a banner that says  “Find Inspiration here” And here’s the thing: I’m not inspired because I’m an artist. I’m inspired because I am a child of God, with the spirit of God in side of me. And yes, I get inspired and it reflects in my work. The original idea came from a moment of inspiration, but it doesn’t stop there. I make it a habit to daily go to the fountain of living waters and get immersed in inspiration from God. God’s Word. The Bible. Yep, that’s the fountain that never runs dry.  

Then I go to my studio and work and let that inspiration flow. 

So when people come to my booth they are seeing inspiration in evidence and that’s why there is a wonderful connection. 

The Story

     “I made this for you before I met you”. That’s how one of my favorite stories begins. How I made the piece while squirreling away in my studio, and then brought it to a show so I could find whoever I made it for. This morning a woman was very interested in one of my show pieces. I could tell immediately that she was the one I made it for. She left my booth to see the rest of the show, and then returned two hours later. By then, I was ready to tell my story.
 “I made this piece for you before we met, and so I am offering you my 20% client savings.” 

She was so happy she gave me a big hug. She purchased the neck piece, as well as a pair of earrings and a bracelet (which I also had made for her!) 

       The story is what can connect the art to the customer. It can bridge the gap between “I don’t need this, I can’t afford this, I don’t even wear jewelry” to “I need this in my life.”

The story is that important. It is a big part of what I am doing here. 

       I figure I have about ten seconds to capture a person’s interest enough to tell my story. For that reason, when a person steps in front of my booth, I have a few pieces of dried acrylic paint to hand them. I ask “Do you know what this is?” or just say “This is the material I use to make the jewelry”. Sometimes they guess right away what it is,  and other times they need to be  told. Either way, there’s this priceless moment- this epiphany, where they realize that something useless, lifeless and sometimes downright ugly has been re-used, upcycled and transformed into wearable art. And that’s the moment where the rest of the story can unfold, and that, many times will result in a sale. 

The people you meet

   One of the worst, if not the worst, shows I ever did was “Save the Ferry” in Mayport Florida. It was miserably hot and dusty one day, and torrentially rainy the second. Because it was an event to raise money for the Mayport Ferry, people did not come to buy art. 

   On the bright side, however, this was the show where I met Spice lady. Spice Lady was set up right next to me, with her line of herbal concoctions and sauces from the Caribbean Islands, which she traveled extensively to market and sell. Because we had so few customers, she and I had time to talk. Because I was new to the game of outdoor art fairs, I was all ears to any advice she cared to give. My husband actually got the best earful when he came at the end of the day. She told him “If you’d let your wife travel on weekends to shows, she could pull down a grand in a weekend. Totally worth the price of a babysitter, don’t you think?”  At the time our kids were pre-school age and I was a devoted stay at home mom. Still, in my heart I was an artistic entrepreneur, and her comments persuaded my husband and I to sprout my wings and travel. 

Looking back, that lousy show was actually a game changer. If I hadn’t done that show I wouldn’t have met Spice Lady, and may not have been confronted with the possibilities of growing the business. After I met her, I did start traveling to weekend shows and, although I didn’t always pull down a grand, made more money than if I had stayed home. 

     So that’s why I’m here, and what keeps me getting here. Keep showing up. Get inspired. Tell the story. Meet the people.