Maybe not so alone after all.

Being an artist can be a solitary business.  Some folks do well creating in public. Weirdly I have no problem doing my collage work with an audience but am really uncomfortable with folks looking over my shoulder when I paint.  But I love sharing my process.  Maybe I should say being an artist can be a little mentally fractured...

I must confess I love, love, love the work I have been doing lately. Please don't take that as bragging. Sometimes creating is a struggle and sometimes it is pure joy and this series has been that.  So it's really exciting to get words of encouragement from friends, family and fellow artists. Makes me feel like I am connecting both with myself and others.  That's a good thing.  It also help assuage the feelings of isolation I have with my present nomadic life.

In my last post I wrote about going it alone.  I must say it's been a great couple of days for my ego when I see reactions to a post like this-

Feeling the love!

Thanks friends!
Get all the details for my show "Sea Change"  here.

When it rains, it pours

The Answer by TW Stifel

Creativity shows it's head in a lot of ways running a consignment shop/art gallery/vintage shop.  Just getting through the day is a constant juggling feat, ESPECIALLY during the holidays!  I am frequently non-plussed when I will by a category of things and then they don't sell and I ask myself "Why, oh why, did I buy 27 decanters (or butterfly pins, or china St Bernards)? and then miraculously and weirdly they all sell and then folks come in ASKING for china St Bernards or a crystal decanter and I am out of stock.   

Imagine by TW Stifel

I also tend to sell art in clumps.  I won't sell a piece for weeks and then BOOM! I was thrilled in the last week of December when all 4 of these pieces PLUS 3 prints left Stifel & Capra and are now proudly hanging in someone else's home. 

Judy by TW Stifel

People often ask how an artist can part with something she has made.  For me, at least it's simple.  I make art because I love to create to problem solve, to capture an emotion or idea.  I enjoy sharing with the person that is viewing my work, EVEN if they don't experience the same emotion that I did when I made  the piece.  And if it moves them to actually invest money in it so that they can enjoy it themselves that helps me buy more paint, do more treasure hunting and seek out new artistic problems to solve. 

Brooklyn Bound by TW Stifel

And it is CERTAINLY cheaper than therapy.
Thank you to my patrons throughout the years. You inspire me to keep creating.