Planing stages and finished product (this one is sold)Some people write, some people play piano or sing. I paint, and I make handmade voodoo art dolls. I started to paint years ago because I had the time and I liked to do it. I started to make the dolls because painting was out of the question with a small child. Handmade dolls were smaller, and could be done with a smaller amount of mess. I make voodoo and Day of the Dead art dolls because the part of the country I was from-well that's what I saw. I used to go to a lot of folk art galleries- so I think that really had influlanced my art.
I wrote here a few weeks ago that a web site had purchased 2 of my dolls. They were going to put them on their site for sale- you know, to see how it went and if there was any response. Well, yesterday I got an email from them. The dolls sold in less than one hour-both of them. They want more. They think they might be a big hit with their client base. So now I have a quandry. I do enjoy making these little creepy things. But I don't know about making them just for re sale. It's not that I am all that attached to about 90% of them. I take their pics, post them on flicker and my other blog, and then box them up. So, I probably wouldn't miss them at all. But I have always thought of my brother as the artist in the family- he is- he has no other job- and I don't consider what I do to really be ART. I don't know how to explain it better than that.
So what does this have to do with my birthday? I don't know. I have never been a big fan of my birthday. At 25 I sat in a closet in Vegas for a while getting my head straight- so this isn't anything new. Since the accident and my son came along, I tend to think more about what I might have missed if things didn't go the way they did for me that year, and less about what I did or didn't do in the past. But what I am coming up with this year is that I don't really have a plan for the next chapter of my life. In about 1 1/2 years my son is going to go to school. Then what will I do? Maybe school for me? Art? Back to business? I just don't know- so that's what I have been thinking about today, yesterday- probably tomorrow. My birthday is technically 22 minutes away right now. I will be 42.
I wrote here a few weeks ago that a web site had purchased 2 of my dolls. They were going to put them on their site for sale- you know, to see how it went and if there was any response. Well, yesterday I got an email from them. The dolls sold in less than one hour-both of them. They want more. They think they might be a big hit with their client base. So now I have a quandry. I do enjoy making these little creepy things. But I don't know about making them just for re sale. It's not that I am all that attached to about 90% of them. I take their pics, post them on flicker and my other blog, and then box them up. So, I probably wouldn't miss them at all. But I have always thought of my brother as the artist in the family- he is- he has no other job- and I don't consider what I do to really be ART. I don't know how to explain it better than that.
So what does this have to do with my birthday? I don't know. I have never been a big fan of my birthday. At 25 I sat in a closet in Vegas for a while getting my head straight- so this isn't anything new. Since the accident and my son came along, I tend to think more about what I might have missed if things didn't go the way they did for me that year, and less about what I did or didn't do in the past. But what I am coming up with this year is that I don't really have a plan for the next chapter of my life. In about 1 1/2 years my son is going to go to school. Then what will I do? Maybe school for me? Art? Back to business? I just don't know- so that's what I have been thinking about today, yesterday- probably tomorrow. My birthday is technically 22 minutes away right now. I will be 42.
5 comments:
Happy Birthday!!!!
The websit wanting more of your dolls may start an exciting new phase in your life -- good luck with making your decision.
-- Just because your brother is an artist doesn't mean you can't be one too. It's not like a coupon that says "only one per family"... :)
Um, that would be "website" not "websit"... trying to type with one hand while eating my snack with the other is not always successful.
I just think that my brother is so very good at what he does, I just don't think I want to be judged in that vein-
The coupon line- priceless!
Happy Birthday!
You love to make the dolls because they allow you to exercise your creativity. Others want to buy your dolls because they speak to them in ways that likely no one else can understand. Face it- you are an artist already; you became one the first time you painted a picture. You are just lucky that your particular art form has an audience that this website has tapped.
Go forth- sell your dolls, share your art; I know your brother will be proud!
Happy birthday!
Go with the opportunity offered to you unless there's something else you want badly enough to fight for it. It's a path to somewhere, which makes it interesting and exciting.
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