I have found that developing into a professional scrapbook artist requires that one work regularly, being productive for the profession at minimum weekly, always creating for growth, always learning about the field, always being focused. It is more than something fun to do once in a while if you want to be a professional rather than a hobbyist. It is not a title that men or women should be easily attaching to themselves just because they attend a weekly local crop, have a CK subscription or experience bouts of periodic creativity a couple times a month resulting in a couple new pages of the baby or a mini-album for mom. It is a way of being everyday for me and for so many others who call themselves 'professional artist.' So I find that personally I am evolving beyond the idea of craft shows and online craft auctions with a focus on a serious professional path in my sights.
One of my creative business partners had commented last month that after the summer, due to economy, she wouldn't be a part of Reflections any longer. I feel this decision on her part has helped drive my motivation to be more than what perhaps I had been or we had been and so I am actually grateful for her desire to go back to having a hobby instead of company. I have also come to notice that while camaraderie exists amongst scrapbookers, cropping together is almost mainstay for many and the interdependence we have on each other for inspiration and education is inescapable the fact is this is kind of a solo gig. I mean I don't ever see "Marla Kress AND" or "Jessica Sprague AND" listed anywhere.
It is for this reason that I have developed a Facebook artist page spun off from my Reflections business and set up the personal works gallery at my domain-site for myself. As I pursue opportunities of joining teams and becoming published or featured I have learned that a personal blog is an almost MUST HAVE to showcase oneself and his or her works. So I have joined the masses to leave my just set this up to feature my work and promote my affiliates.
It is true that we can only get out what we put in to something and I feel like lately I have been getting the least out what I am putting in. So I changed my perspective and I have become focused on being that person who will benefit the most from my time, my work, my money, my creative energies etc. And in making this decision I turned back to designing for myself only to find that people are interested in seeing those designs I am creating just for myself. Of course I will still provide scrapbook layout consults and custom designs, and of course people can still special order items from me, and I am sure the time will come when I create something just for the sake of creating and put it up on the sale block but right now I am just focused on the personal development I can achieve and have been achieving. You know I wonder why there is not a college degree majoring in scrapbook layouts, techniques and embellishments? I am sure I would have preferred that over psychology!
Well, enough of this, I have papers and photos strewn before me begging for trimming, stickling and distressing so I really should close. I do hope you will take the time to know me, explore my other pages that feature photos of my work, allow me to inspire you and hopefully you to also inspire me, and be a part of my journey down the path towards TRUE professional scrapbook/paper artist. At the very least I am sure we both have a tip or two to share with the each other...
No comments:
Post a Comment