Thank you for all the feedback yesterday! I really love/ loved reading your ideas and comments when I mentioned I’m not really sure what to do with my art or where it belongs.
One of the ways I get tripped up is, there are so many choices!!! In online choices alone, oh my! So many choices equals choice overload!
Over a year ago, I got really excited and wanted to set up an Etsy shop. I read several books, articles, and watched videos about how to do it and why to choose Etsy.
Then………..
I chickened out.
The ‘comparing’ and ‘what if fears’ stole the show. I chunked my dream of opening an online shop. In doing so, I think my art confidence tanked somewhat.
Fear of the unknown does that, you know?
Not knowing the outcome of something can definitely sway whether we even try something or not.
Take art itself, for instance. If we’re afraid of what we can or can’t create, we may never even try it.
Whoa! That would be sad!
And, I know exactly how that feels. In 6th grade, a teacher yelled at me in front of everyone, saying I was coloring the wrong way and ruining the class mural.
Ummmmm…. fear wall inserted. For yearsssssssssssssss!
Art? Me? No way! I was too scared to try because I didn’t want to ‘ruin’ something.
F i n a l l y, I pushed that crazy idea aside and started making jewelry art and sketching clothes on paper.
My thoughts went from: “what if I ruin it?” to: “what if I don’t?”
So, here’s my new theory:
Maybe the “what ifs” that talk us out of trying something could actually talk us into trying something, too?
For example, check out these possibilities:
- What if I really like making art?
- What if part of the fun is finding the supplies?
- What if I’m an excellent, ‘mess making, learn as I go’ beginner?
- What if I find my calling?
- What if I learn something?
- What if I have the opportunity to do art shows/ craft fairs?
- What if I love creating and I want to sell it online?
- What if I do really well?
- What if I taught classes?
- What if I started a club?
- What if I had my friends over and we all made art?
- What if I can make Christmas gifts?
- What if I can shop local?
- What if my shopping supply list helps keep another small company in business?
- What if I want to keep what I make to decorate my home?
Even the opposites aren’t an art-end-all:
- What if I make something I don’t like? Fair enough, we can try something else.
- What if my art doesn’t look like so and so’s? Perfectly fine, that’s what makes our art uniquely ours.
- What if I don’t have a single sale? That’s ok, it’s a chance to evaluate other avenues, if needed.
- What if I’m afraid to start? Maybe dig around in the why’s a bit. Doing so allowed me to remember what happened in 6th grade.
- What if I don’t know how to do art? We can learn. There are books, classes, videos, articles, and even simply trying it.
Thank you for supporting me in the possibilities of my next steps. For the past week I forgot about those.
This morning, I’ve already reread information about starting an Etsy shop, looked up the types of selling platforms on WP, and am considering renting a booth in town to see how my art does there.
Yesterday, I was not doing this. Today, I am. Yay for new perspectives and confidence boosts. Love when that happens, don’t you?
Thanks for being here!
Jessica
© COPYRIGHT 2022 Jeweled Again by Jessica
Jeweled Again By Jessica 
Etsy is cheap & easy so trying isn’t a huge $$ commitment. I’d like to try the WP shop idea too. Also Instagram has Shopify.
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Apparently your comment has been sitting in trash for a MONTH!! 😳😳😳 I’m sorry I’m just now replying! I didn’t know Etsy was cheap- I thought it was high. I also didn’t know instagram has Shopify.
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Etsy is $.20 per listing which is good for 4 mo’s. There is a transaction fee on sales. I think it’s inexpensive. Shopify I haven’t looked into. Our WP can have a shop too, but that means upgrading I think. ☺️
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The booth in town sounds like an awesome idea. You can talk to people and see what they may be interested in and also see what kinds of things sell. Those discussions can help you know what local needs would be. You can also do that with shows, but being somewhere permanent would make things so much easier for you. I’m glad you hit the reset button.
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Wow, that’s true. I didn’t think of all those things. Very smart, thank you. Also, I just thought of this, local sales keep the money in a local shop and by me renting a booth, that supports them, too. I’m going to try it. She said there’s no contract, so so can just see how it goes. Thank you for your insight!
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Hang out there as much as you can (at least at first) and get to know the other artists. That helps you cross-promote each other’s art.
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That’s very smart!! Thank you!
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What if just have fun-and what if you spark joy in someone else-what if you inspire someone else . . .oh! What sweet things to consider! love, love, Michele
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I love your what ifs!!!!
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Love that P and those jewels! What a great post–and self-assessment and shift in perspective. Teachers like yours can cause a lot of issues with kids and their self-confidence. The good news is we can rebuild it with self-affirmation and good (kind) feedback. Sometimes my art isn’t what I see in my head, but I do it anyway and it gets a little better the more I do. I started this journey when I first read an item that was titled “so you think you can’t draw?” Keep going, unless you really do not want to because you want to do something else. There is nothing wrong with picking another path. Personally, I think your jewelry art is what is so creative as a centered piece (not center-piece!). Thank you for sharing your response today.
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Haha on the center-piece, but it did get met thinking about what a piece would look like on a table with eaters all around. Thank you very much- I love what you said about a centered-piece. Earlier this year when I was studying how to paint scenes, one article mentioned that in paintings, to create one focal point. I liked that because instead of trying to over run a piece with tons of stuff, I can work on letting the jewelry do the talking, so to speak. Thank you, that P was in a lot of jewelry that I got from Etsy. I think it’s sweet, with the angel. The crystal pieces are from a Banana Republic statement necklace. They are gorgeous and made from glass.
Words from others can certainly influence whether people/kids believe in themselves or their abilities to create things. I like what you said about rebuilding it. Thank goodness we can.
I also like what you said about doing art even when it wasn’t what you see in your head, and it getting a little better. I do that, too. Keep trying seems to be the theme this week, for me anyway. And, that is true, about picking another path, sometimes it’s those other paths that lead us to exactly where we need to be. I love your thoughts on this. Thank you.
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Excellent reframing of “What if” statements, Jessica! 💖 I am sorry to read your mean teacher instilled fear in you but glad to read you did not let her silence your beautiful art. ✨👏🏻
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Thank you, I love your word choice “reframing.” It does help to look at things differently sometimes. It helps get unstuck and open up doors that only seem blocked. Thanks, that teacher didn’t get all of my art life, but some, for sure. Actually, when I read “The Artist’s Way” and did the exercises, that is when I remembered the teacher thing. I set that stuff free. From there, art started unfolding. Thank you for your sweet words. I look forward to your comments. Such wonderful insights!
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Reframing is a powerful tool. Good for you! 👏🏼 Some people should not teach! My third grade teacher told us we were all stupid and would never learn to read. She said more. Terrible teacher! Little minds remember. I read The Artist’s Way at the start of my writing journey (summer ’19). Great book! Love her! You are welcome, my pleasure. Thank you! 🌻
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My goodness, that’s an awful thing for someone to say AND assume! Mean!!!!! Proved her wrong! ❤️❤️ Little minds do remember. Cool that you read The Artist’s Way! She’s a great writer. I’ve read nearly all her books. Good stuff.
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Good stuff, indeed! Not the mean teachers, but their unkind comments are/were a reflection of them, not of their students.
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Yessssss!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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