Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Real estate

 

© The Barreness
A crowd gathered around my work on display

There is nothing to complain about...

Isn't amazing how the one bad thing can ruin the month of good things. It frustrates me, as it gets too much real estate in my mind and then I have to spend so much energy trying to not let it have so much space. It is exhausting.

My work has received so many kind, generous words. Unprompted from strangers and friends alike. 

Many of which as surprised by my capabilities, or creativity.

I spend three hours answering questions, and repeating information to visitors during the artists reception. I wore a mask and only got guff from one visitor, to which I responded that I wanted to remain healthy after the evening was over (it was a man, and a figure model at that...)

I was hoarse and overstimulated when the night was over, I spent the following day quiet and writing thank you notes to all who came out the night before.

A success in many ways. My art sold, I was the first sale of the show, and remain to the most sold artist in the exhibition so far. I am hoping that a review will be made my the local paper...I have learned how to make reels of my images on social media. I have been publishing new bits about the work online on a regular basis to keep people engaged and interested in the work...I am soaring with humble pride from months of focused work and it landing well. 

The night of the artists reception, I was chatting with a well known painter, and she looked at me in my shimmer and pride and said: " well, how are you going to top this?!" It landed like a javelin, I feared that question. I feared I would have to face my next step instead of enjoying where I had landed....I just smiled and said, I am brainstorming that now.

Two days later I submitted the work to a magazine for hopeful publication, a hope to continue to move the images forward...and this morning (weeks later) I was awoken to a little ping of an incoming email. It was a rejection notice. I stayed in bed longer than normal, feeling the weight of my failure.

I should be happy...and in many ways I am. I am still very proud of the work and hopeful it will grant me more opportunities but in many ways I can't sit and enjoy the moment; I need to think of new things to do, places to email, exhibitions to apply to...it is a frantic pace. I often feel as though, I am in the slow lane of the freeway trying to not get hit by passing cars.
It is exhausting.

So it came as no surprise, that I caught The Barrens cold on the return from his business trip. I nursed him for a week, thinking I was safer than safe...I wiped every surface, wouldn't let him in the kitchen, washed all the blankets...but still I got it. I managed to keep it at bay until after receiving my infusion...and then I crashed. My first cold in over three years! The Barren was stressed from his cold and travel, so I needed to fend for myself and I did my best to not be grumpy or ask for anything while I nursed myself back. Last night was the first real night back to a more normal sense of things...and I am back into the rapids, the fast lane on the freeway, the craziness that is normal for me.

So I am like a surfer, riding waves of joy and sadness. 
Thankful in many ways for it all



2 comments:

Mali said...

Congratulations on your exhibition and the sales of your work! That's fantastic. And that photo is wonderful. It speaks volumes. Many more volumes than the rejection from one magazine. Only one. And it was probably due to nothing to do with your work - perhaps they'd featured a similar artist recently (or plan to in the next month or so), or any myriad of reasons that are no statement on your work. Still, I know it must have stung.

And self-promotion IS exhausting. Like you (though in very different fields), I was excellent at my work. But I was awful at self-promotion - I hated doing it. It is so hard!

Glad you are feeling better now. And I love the surfing analogy. May you catch many joyous waves.

Infertile Phoenix said...

Congratulations on creating art!! Congratulations on getting to show it and selling some to people who will enjoy it!! That is so, so awesome. I identify as an artist but, aside from some art shows in college, I've never been in an exhibit.

And hey, just because everyone else is on the content-creating hamster wheel, that doesn't mean you have to be! I mean, maybe Andy Warhol was on to something when he just screen printed pop culture people and things over and over. At least that was a sustainable way to make lots of art, ha!

So to answer that woman's question about how you will top this, it's not a competition. Not with anyone else and not with yourself. You will bring your next creations into this world and they will be needed.