Confessions of a Stubborn Artist

Why are we as women, so hard on ourselves?  Over the last year I have created something I am really proud of, something I want to continue growing and sharing with people.  I have so many ideas of things to do and add to what I offer, but I have had to realise I cannot do them all at once.

With my busy day job as a fashion buyer, I have been running around all day having meetings, placing orders, running reports and reading spreadsheets.  Then rushing home to run my own little business.  It may seem from the outside that this art biz is all about painting and being creative, which of course a large part of it is.  But what I wasn’t prepared for was that you need to spend equally as much time actually running and growing a business if you want it to succeed.

That consists of daily updates to social media, and with me being on a mission to get my message out there that involves 4 types of social media!  It involves replying to customer emails in a timely fashion, processing orders, packaging up and sending orders.  I like to recycle as much packaging as I can in order to help our beautiful planet, so I save all cardboard I receive my art supplies in, then re-constuct them to send out your orders. This is something I am pleased to do but re-constructing a box actually takes longer than you think! 

But this is not where it stops…almost daily I try to educate myself on topics on how to grow your business, whether it be podcasts in the car on the way to work or online workshops after work.

By the way - two of my favourite podcasts right now are Smart Art Business by Rachel Wilkins, and The Bossbabe Podcast by Natalie Ellis and Danielle Canty 👌

I have enjoyed every second of doing the marketing side of the business, but what I hadn’t realised was that I was forgetting to stop and rest.   When my body was feeling exhausted and telling me to slow down, I was letting my mind tell me to ignore it and just carry on.  ‘You don’t have time to stop you must get this done!’   Until one day my body basically just said ‘No Gemma.  No more, we need to rest.’

Quite irrationally, resting would feel like I was failing in some way.  Having to re-schedule a few meetings, to stop painting for a few days, close my laptop and put my phone down.  When I laid on the sofa and binge watched Netflix, I realised that I couldn’t remember the last time I had relaxed like that.  

I am truly loving every moment of my artist journey, every new opportunity it brings me fills me with joy.  Every order that comes through gives me butterflies of excitement that someone likes something I have created!  But I have realised that I need to find some balance, allow myself some rest sometimes.  That is easier said than done as I am a very determined and stubborn woman, it is going to be very hard to force myself to fit resting in.  But it is as important as painting, as important as admin and marketing.  If we don’t nourish our bodies, our minds and creativity will not flow.   And the one thing I have learnt this last year is that we need to allow our creative energy to flow, everyone has it on some level and it is so important to our wellbeing.  So I am now listening, I am closing my laptop and going to have a restful Sunday with my husband and puppy.   I hope you also find some restful moments in the days ahead.

Best Wishes from the Stubborn Artist

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