Tuesday, June 16, 2015

I used to be a Glass Artist......

I used to agonise in my early 20's that I " needed to be something".....

Sure they ask at school what you want to do but I found it extremely hard to put it in a "Title" as such.... I just knew a lot of what I was good at & what I liked....my Art teacher.... She was lovely btw, said " being an artist is tough, you will never be well off" ......mind you that was a time before the Internet entirely became what it is now, before there was that potential worldwide audience....before "commercial art" really took hold as it is now..... It was wise advice..... But I knew my creative side would always be apart of what I do..... Money or no money......

( Funny I watch the same pressures on my own teenagers ( yes I have teenagers) & I assure them.... Not a lot end up doing exactly what they choose as a " Career " at school..... They may do it for abit but it may end up leading to other ideas.)

Anyway mid 20's I discovered glass art..... I had been making jewellery & I came across an American bead maker I had been buying off....she seen my paintings etc & strongly advised I give glassworks a fair go.....
And I did......

It became my first serious passion.... I could get so lost in glass some nights that suddenly I'd look up & see the sun rising.....I practiced basic skills & pushed myself, sketching ideas, pulling inspirations from around me..I lived glass.

Before I knew it i was published & offered a " dream job" as the head of a glassworks..... Despite the challenges, including a difficult boss, I loved it & gave it my all.....locally & internationally I forged a reputation & style.... Sometimes it was a hard slog, without much thanks......
I couldn't go to bead or craft shows without being recognised & much to my shock was asked to " sign stuff" ( that still weirds me out! Lol) ......on top of my published work, I was romanced by many galleries,brought out a best selling tutorial & flirted with book deals..... .at the end of the day I knew not to take it too seriously.....
I was * just a glass artist* ....not a heart surgeon.
 ( there are those who say *this* made me a bad business woman ...and in a now commercial arts sense I was).....I just wasn't an uber competitive person .... I was more a high 5 kinda girl,  than cutting my competitors throat kinda girl...... Apparently this is a very big no no in the glass art world.

To put it simply the people were quite the nightmare.
( man I could list some moments, people, disasters )
Total passion killer.

And I was easy pickings......

So after a hard fight & around 8yrs......." I bowed out "

I don't use glass as my creative medium very much anymore.
Sometimes it breaks my heart as I know how much I honestly loved it.

But I accept & I grow.


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