Weekend Grand Opening Event

This weekend was the Grand Opening Sale for the studio.  We moved from outside the city into Newmarket last fall.  Since then I have been getting organized, growing babies and then having said Baby.  Therefore this summer was the the big launch of the studio here in town.  

We had an Open House as well as an artisan sale with a couple of my friends who are also making leap into embracing their art.  I had done a bunch of advertising as well walking (with the whole entourage of kids and Uncles) the flyers around the neighbourhood.  While not many people came the newspaper did come and did and interview and took pictures.  This will be in next months edition and I am hoping that this will bring lots of interest into the studio.  However, the overall day didn't feel successful.  We didn't make many sales and come of my friends made none.  

We try and come with all the things that make us feel better like it was the hottest weekend of the summer so far and so maybe people went away, it was too hot to come out and the Garlic Festival was the same weekend.  Then we talk about not advertising enough and all the things that we could have done differently.  Who knows if any of this would have made a difference.  

After a day like that we of course start to question if what we are doing is the right thing and whether we should just pack it up and go get jobs at the local Starbucks (I've always wanted to work in a cafe, I love coffee culture). After packing everything up and taking the much needed swim in the pool I come to check my e-mail.  There are two e-mails that remind me that I am doing exactly what I am meant to do.   One is from the downtown Yarn Shop Unwind (where I wholesale my yarn bowls) and she has asked me to be a part of the fall festival and wants me to bring my wheel and do pottery in the middle of main street!!  Isn't this every artists dream to stop traffic and do their craft in the middle of the street.  This opportunity would be amazing, the buzz that the studio would create would be amazing.  I am on the path to becoming "That Potter".  Then I receive and e-mail from my Dad who came for the weekend to help with the show and drop a much needed freezer off.  He said how amazed he was at what I am doing, that he knew I was a potter but that he never really saw what I was doing and creating.  That he was proud of the artist and mother that I was becoming.  This e-mail meant the world to me (things haven't always been that great between my Dad and I).

I think as artists there is always this moment every once and a while in which we think is this worth it?  Would it just be easier to pack it up and say we tried and go and get a regular pay check.  The big question we then have to ask afterwards is would we be happy?  Would our families be happy?  And how are we living true to ourselves?  I can always find reasons to pack it up but I can never answer the questions afterwards.