Gratitude Segue: Thank You For Letting Me Be An Artist

This necklace just sold at the gallery today.  That makes me happy, of course.  But maybe not in the exact way one might think.

First of all, any and all sales are good.  Selling my work lets me continue doing my work, something I thoroughly enjoy (and it keeps me out of trouble).  But my first reaction when that piece sold was happiness that "someone understood what I'm saying". 

I'm not a great communicator.  You'd know this easily if you knew me in person.  I often stumble on words and spend time reaching for the elusive way to tell you how I feel.  then the next person comes along and speaks so eloquently and I'm like, "Yeah, what she said."

So when I make a piece of jewelry that really speaks to me, something that has a subject or a technique that is special for some reason, I feel like the buyer and I "communicated" in some way.

Kind of like they're saying, "I get you, Laura."  And that's a nice feeling.

My jewelry is not speaking in any literal sense of the word.  While there can occasionally be an actual "story" behind the inspiration for making a piece, that's not a given. The communication I am talking about having with the customer is a bit more ethereal.

One of the reasons I tend to make jewelry that I like is because it makes me happy.  I've had jobs where I have to do what others want.  But in my studio, I can mostly make what I want.  I say "mostly" because I do take on the occasional custom order and while I still like doing custom orders, it's more stressful than me just experimenting and creating without a finite plan.

But I digress.  This blog post is my round about way of saying that I appreciate all y'all who look at my jewelry and feel something, whether it's thumbs up for a job well done or a passionate "I have to have that" because I'm telling a story you want to hear.  I appreciate each and every one of you.

So thanks!  When you buy (or even comment on) my pieces that are maybe a bit off the beaten path, it makes me feel closer to being in communication with you. 

The Organizing Journey Day 20 -- You Can Sit On Your Butt and Still Be Organizing

Day  20 –You Can Sit On Your Butt and Still Be Organizing

You know what else counts as organizing?  Going through your email, putting appropriate ones into folders, deleting ones you don’t need, unsubscribing from newsletters you don’t read, etc.

That counts for other things on your computer/mobile device too.  Photos.  Organize them into folders so you can find what you need when you need.  Stick everything else into an “archive” folder.  I create an “archive” folder in just about every main category on my computer.  Any file I’m probably never going to open again goes in there.  No, I don’t just delete it.  I’m not THAT ready to let everything go.  But “archive” keeps them out of my hair and makes looking for important things much easier.

New habit: Every night before bed I open the “gallery” of photos on my phone and delete anything I know I don’t want.  It takes seconds because if I do it every day, I’m only looking at photos I took that day.  Easy peasy.  And doing that every night keeps me from having to spend hours one day deleting photos I don’t want because I ran out of room or just because I don’t want to see them. 

Some could argue that there’s no difference in seconds each day versus hours every couple of months/years.  Probably not.  But I feel better with a continually clutter-free environment.

Now, you know what I’ve been up to lately?  Not organizing, that’s for sure.  Ugh!  I need to make peace with the fact that I have a full-time job (and then some) and organizing will only take place in my free time (you should hear me laughing as I type THOSE words).

But I need to stop beating myself up over the fact that of late I’m getting NO organizing done.  Well, if cleanliness is close to organizing, I did mow and weedeat the entire orchard when I got back from my Tahoe show.  Then after that I scrubbed the ceiling of the bathroom upstairs, cleaned the tub, and did some caulking repairs.  I think that counts toward organizing… the orchard and the upstairs bathroom now make me happy and don’t get me stressed out.

Yeah, Tahoe.  The show was great.  I mean, it was probably my best show to date.  But it was also great because the company was fabulous, the customers were fabulous, my vendor neighbors were fabulous, and the organizers of the event were fabulous.  I think I have 4 or 5 more shows before the year is out.

I’m making this one short.  Just letting you know that even when you delete email, organizing photos, or even move a few files around… you are organizing, so keep it up.  You and me both. 

Thanks for all the wonderful comments and feedback.  It’s great hearing from you all and finding out that I’m not alone in this journey.  :-)  Share your tips, tricks, ideas and experiences too, in the comments section.

To see the beginning of this journey, click here.

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.  (Samuel Johnson)