Hibernation

I have been radio silent for a few months on the blog.  I have not even posted on my Facebook or Instagram in weeks.  I needed to hibernate a little, take a breath and refill my well of creativity.  There is something to be said about pulling away for a bit.  I think we often blindly step into the highway of social media and not realize that our energies can get caught up and swept away in the seemingly simple act of content creation and consumption.  It sometimes feels like a full time job keeping the ball in the air and not lose the momentum of the audience and algorithm.  I find it builds to a point that it takes its toll on my creative flow.  When that happens - poof - I make myself scarce.

With the relief that vanishing brings, the ideas, designs and the renewed interest in continuing  on the artist’s path washes over me.  This past month I have taken the opportunity to simply dream.  I resisted the urge to jump into the studio and act upon any first thoughts.  By nature, I am a person who adores the physical process.  It was a challenge to not put my hands to work right away.  As a maker I often get trapped in the "time is money"  mentality -that if I am not physically producing, I am wasting valuable time.  Instead of rushing, I rested my mind and body and set the goal to reset.  It was pure joy letting the shapes and concepts marinate for a while.   I turned off the tech and brought out the old sketchbook to collect the words and images that danced in my mind which are typically beaten back by the urgency of "keeping up".  Time moved slowly as I would close my eyes and look inward and simply listen.  From these quiet moments, a whole new collection was born.  I will introduce it in the near future.  I want to wait until I have a full body of work produced before I formally announce it.  The final product is not the focus of today's blog post.   Today is about highlighting the importance of the pause. 

My month of dreaming was also spent looking at how I will continue the business moving forward.  2020 flipped all of my goals and aspirations for the business on it’s head and left me scrambling with a perpetual “make it work” moment.  This year is looking to be just as unpredictable when it comes to the art shows.  That kind of uncharted future harbors a great amount of stress, leading to creative drain.  I can’t do another year with the anxiety and mental weight of constant questions like “will the art shows happen, will they not?  If they do happen, how - as one person- can I possibly handle keeping people socially distanced in a tent , and even if I succeed, will enough people even get to see me and would I be able to make enough sales to cover the cost of the event? Etc, etc etc.  There are a million logistical questions and problems to solve that ate away at my time and energy last year.  

My answer for 2021?  Exhale and let it go.  I am planning on operating 100% through the website this year and put all of my efforts into making the online shopping experience the best and fullest it can be.  Just typing this proclamation feels like a boulder has lifted off my shoulders!   I know this is a huge bummer to many - and who knows, I can’t see into the future, maybe an opportunity or two could happen at some point, but I’m not going to plan on it.  I need to move forward in the one direction I have some control over and that is the online store.    

My past month was well spent learning the importance of turning off my auto-pilot, landing the plane, taking the much needed time to ground myself in the important parts of life and only after that was complete could I create a new flight plan in hopes of soaring to new heights through this next chapter of life.

With renewed energy, I am very excited to be back at it.  Thank you for being part of my journey ❤️

Sending hugs

XOXO

Erica