As an artist you are Resourceful, I mean Resilient...
I am completely smitten with everything Margo Tantau touches…from her fabulous podcast to her super fun Windowsill workshops that happen each month. I just recently watched the one with Ana Bianchi on Illustrated Cookies and loved it!
Anyway, on her instagram she often posts things to get you thinking…and this time it was “as an artist you are resourceful”… and the idea is to respond to support how we are resourceful.
As a poor sleeper, I woke up in the middle of the night and started to think about this…BUT I thought the word was resilient.
So that’s where I’m going, because that’s what I’m thinking about and it’s like stopping a freight train once it’s moving.
One time, several years ago when I was just beginning my painting journey, a friend said to me “do you really think that someday you will sell your art to complete strangers?” It didn’t sound very nice…and I will never forget that moment.
I could have thought “well, maybe not, maybe I should just quit right now, not waste my time. How crazy am I to think I could make a go of this, especially as a second career?”
But in all honesty, even with a teeny bit of that thought in the back of my mind, I thought “yes, yes I do!”
Of all things, I know I am resilient. Over time I have gained confidence that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. I can take something challenging and know, with time, it will all get easier and be okay.
Like each thing I’ve needed to learn in this crazy process of becoming a full-time artist (I’m almost there.) Such as setting up my booth for an outdoor show, which isn’t for the weak of heart. It’s challenging and stressful and exhausting. But little by little, each time we do it it gets a little bit easier. And how about talking to stangers about my art? That can be super scary, but has gotten much easier.
How about creating an online course? Creating it was one thing, because I had great help, but the set up and marketing of it was oh, so daunting and scary to figure out…but I did it!
And how about creating a membership group? Going live and painting, or creating is fun, but the technology part of it is way out of my comfort zone, but that didn't stop me from diving right in with all of my heart.
Oh, and then there’s the never-ending journey of creating the art, always learning, experimenting and challenging myself. Well, that part is pure fun, but there are paintings that don't turn out the way I wanted them to…and it can be challenging to stay confident when that happens…
But the thing is…you need to find a way to stay resilient and scrappy. To find what you want with all of your heart and chip away at it, one day at a time and little by little, day by day, you will move mountains.
So in what ways are you resilient? I’d love to know!
If you’d like to follow Margo, here is where you can find her:
Listen to her podcast at https://www.tantaustudio.com/podcast
Find out more about her windowsill workshops at https://tantau-studio.mykajabi.com/windowsillworkshops
Follow her on Instagram @windowsillchats