As an Artist, Graphic Artist, Photographer and Writer, I receive a lot of opportunities. How do I know if an opportunity is for me? I don’t jump at every opportunity because I carefully consider how an opportunity would fit into my schedule. I am very protective of my time. Being considerate of how a certain opportunity would impact my life is the best thing I can do for myself and for the person offering me an opportunity. Not every opportunity that comes my way is for me, that I know from over 40 years of experience as an Artist, Graphic Artist, Photographer and Writer.
How I consider if an opportunity that comes along is for me, I ask questions first. I ask a lot of questions to the people or person involved or to myself. Is it a good opportunity for me? If I don’t feel it is a good opportunity for me, I pass on it. If I do feel it is a good opportunity for me, then I ask more questions. Finding out exactly what the new opportunity for me is all about is most important before I commit to it.
I receive a lot of people contacting me for free Art classes for their organization. My feeling is that I will not give anyone I do not know a free Art class, no matter how deserving the organization. I do give to charities and organizations I know. When running my business, I must be very careful how I spend my time. I cannot always give free Art classes because I wouldn’t be in business very long if I gave a lot of Art classes for free.
Taking the time to really look at an opportunity that comes my way is vital. I cannot fill my life up with opportunities no matter how great they may seem. So many opportunities do not even happen after I have invested effort, money and time into them. That is just business but for an Artist, it is very frustrating. I value my time. There are so many ways I love to spend my time, and it’s not always spent creating art.
I always discuss new opportunities with my husband Billy because he may see an advantage to an opportunity that I don’t see. In the end it’s my decision on how I spend my time. I am not a person who likes my life to be crazy busy. I like to have somewhat of a schedule but not written in stone because things always come up that may need my attention.
To the Artists who take my classes and invest in my products, I give them my full attention. I am always available for any Artists who need advice with anything art related. I invest in myself by purchasing new art supplies regularly so I can offer Artists who purchase my classes and products options when creating.
My focus as an Artist is to promote my art, classes and products. I truly believe that my products I create in my Art Studio are very special because they are created by me with love, not mass produced. The opportunity for me to create my own line of paper tiles for Art and Zentangle style Art was born out of the need I had for something different to draw on. I love colour! I am not one to look for opportunities, I make my own! That is the way I live my life as an Artist and a woman, I create opportunities for myself when I can’t find what I would like out in the world.