Check one off the bucket list -- that is my bright, formerly-in-a-pile art hanging on the wall in a real gallery.
I know!
For years, I've been a huge chicken, always finding a reason to NOT go visit my favorite coffee shop with a portfolio in hand, letting my Inner Critic sway my positive thoughts into the deep Fear of Rejection. I think that's natural, especially when you put so much of your heart on the line in an artistic pursuit (though I've been able to share my poetry, in the past, with less trepidation; not so much these days!). We all reach milestones and are praised by friends and family, but fear, outside the collective bubble of loving support, that things may not be as good as we thought.
With how much I've been teaching lately, I've begun to learn the value of live, real-time positive feedback and get out of that bubble a little more. There is definitely a difference between comments and likes online and the way a person's whole being seems to light up when they accomplish something they never thought possible or see a piece of art that resonates with them.
The gallery deal happened so fast, so last-minute, I didn't have time to say no or pull out. It started with me agreeing to drop off some prints to sell and ended with Heather, the manager, stopping by my apartment while I was out filming Kristen Robinson and chatting with the ladies at Ice Resin. So I really couldn't back out!
Walking in and seeing them up on a wall, along with work by other artists, and being asked to leave them for the entire month was....wow. A rush? That full-body tingle that runs up your spine when a dream comes true? A jolt to my system that opened up so many more things -- if this were possible, what else was I wrong about? What other seemingly-impossible dreams are waiting in the wings?
I sold some prints ten minutes after I arrived, and hung around for a little bit, just to see how people reacted. I could see their eyes sparkle, and then Heather would say, "We have the artist with us this evening," and they would turn to me and I would give a little wave, and oh my God, when did this become my life? I went from using watercolors wrong eight years ago to sitting in a little gallery in downtown Phoenix selling art. My morning had been taken up by directing videos that would, well, a bigger audience to say the least. I talked shop, finished up a few things, rested, and went out. Hit a friend's for games and a late dinner after. Spent the weekend polishing an article for a major magazine.
I am social and constantly creative and can someone come pinch me so I can make sure this is real?
You can come visit my artwork at Soul Invictus gallery at 1022 NW Grand, Phoenix, AZ on Third Thursday and whenever a concert is going on. Both the original paintings and prints are available.