It’s Hard to Know When to Quit

Sometimes others don’t love what you have created as much as you do. Maybe they even hate it. But that’s part of the challenge and the fun of creating art objects. At present, we are trying to create a buzz on Etsy for my stuff. In working the process I realized that I had a piece I’d put about 50 hours into that wasn’t going anywhere. This is the piece:

I love it, others love it, but no one wants to buy it. So, I thought I’d remake it and see how that went. I discarded the butterfly and several of the flowers. I think maybe it was just too much. It’s hard to know when to quit, and that’s what separates the great artists from the mediocre. Here’s the beginning of the re-creation. What do you think? I’ll post it when it’s completed.

As you can see, it started out as a beaded collar. I intend to use the green pearls to make the necklace and incorporate the focal piece I’m now working on. And, of course,  I kept the beaded leaves. My method of creating is rather organic and sometimes I work myself into a corner. The best thing about creating that way is that I have to discover my own way to make everything work. I can safely say that creating wearable art is the adventure. It always keeps my mind active as I try to figure out how to turn my vision into something beautiful.

While looking for those pictures, I came across others I had created. I was doing craft fairs then and sold almost everything I made. Going through the pictures reminded me of those I loved the most. They tend to be ones created with found objects and textiles.

As you can see, it isn’t always jewelry that comes to mind. I love rocks and wood and this happened when a friend gave me the driftwood. It was another of those projects where I had to figure out how to bring the idea into fruition. She is a Storyteller made from the driftwood and flat river stones and textiles and beads. At some point I want to make a dragon from wood and tattered fabrics. I guess I’ll have to live a few more lifetimes to make everything I have in my head. But it is always an adventure.

I also want to give a shout out to a really nice guy. I made a comment on his blog and he had the good graces to send me some marketing tips. Check him out at:  https://affililatelife.blog/. (…and thanks for all the fish.)