On Art, Life and Business…

I feel like today is a turning point in my life….those of you who have followed my journey since I first began as a paper crafter and as a blogger, know about my struggles with creativity – my lack of confidence, and my own perceptions of my lack of creativity.  After all, when I first launched this blog as the “Sunny Stampin’ Blog”, my tag line was “Simple Stamping for the Creatively Challenged”.  Every time someone would compliment my work, I struggled with accepting those compliments – “they’re just being nice”…”they can’t possibly mean that”.  It took a long time for me to feel comfortable in who I was as a paper crafter, and to see what others were seeing.  And even then, when I did finally reach that point, I compartmentalized it - that new-found confidence didn’t carry through to other areas of my life.

When I launched my first online paper crafting business creating step-by-step photo tutorials and selling them in a digital format, and my class planning service – a business which involved developing creative tools to help other paper crafting business owners grow their respective businesses, I was frankly surprised by their overwhelming success. I had started out thinking that if I could earn an extra $1000 a month then I would be over-the-moon happy.  When that developed into a business that earned more than ten times that within a matter of months, I was shocked.  To be honest, I kept waiting for the roof to fall in. 

As the daughter of a successful entrepreneur, and someone who takes seminar after seminar and reads book after book – I should have had more confidence in my knowledge, in my work ethic, in my ability, and in the systems I had in place.  It wasn’t until I launched my second online paper crafting business – the Paper Crafter’s Library (www.papercrafterslibrary.com) and saw the same success duplicated, that I started to believe in myself as an entrepreneur – and started to see myself as someone who really did know what they were doing.

Then came the step that brings me to this point where I am today, where I am right now – ready to face another fear – introducing the artist in me to you and to the world at large.  My interest in and work with mixed media started about 3 years ago when I stumbled across the Art Journaling magazine put out by Somerset Studios.  I was immediately captivated, and felt such a deep yearning to….what?…..become an artist?  The thought was ludicrous to me.  I had just barely begun to develop my confidence as a paper crafter, never mind dive into something that seem leagues beyond that. 

It took me an entire year of buying just about every publication that Somerset Studio put out, and buying a truckload of mixed media products (acrylic mediums, paints, pastels, watercolor, alcohol markers, pan pastels, gelatos, PITT pens…..before I got up the courage to enroll in a class.  I still remember it so clearly too.  Donna Downey was teaching a series of workshops over a weekend at Stamping Bella in Markham, ON. I signed up for every one!

I LOVED Donna Downey (still do – in fact I’m travelling to her studio to take her Soulful Artist Workshop along with another fave of mine, Christy Tomlinson). BUT, I was very intimidated.  I copied everything she did EXACTLY.  I was afraid to let my own creativity loose, because I didn’t wan’t anybody to be present, in case I failed, and discovered that I was absolutely atrocious at mixed media artwork. It didn’t matter that I was a successful paper crafter, it didn’t matter that I was a successful entrepreneur, I was afraid. But I kept pushing myself.  To try, and to keep trying, and to keep taking classes, despite what I, my own worst enemy, thought of myself and my work. And here I am today. Not just yearning to be an artist, but finally believing myself, and knowing myself to be an artist.

That is why my theme for this year, and for this new direction in my life, is ”Face Your Fears, Reach for Your Dreams”.  And that’s what this blog is going to be about.  I’m going to share with you my journey as an artist, my journey as an entrepreneur, and my journey towards my dreams. I’ll be open, I’ll be honest, I’ll share my hopes, my fears, my successes and my failures.

And it is my hope that as you join me on my journey, you will be inspired to begin your own journey, to face your own fears, and to reach for your dreams.