Commissions and Compromises

Bamboo Mural pieces in progress

The holiday season is nearly upon us which means that many artists, full time or part time are busy busy busy! Last year had me scurrying around like a madwoman to prepare for 3 holiday craft shows plus making all of the various gifts I wanted to be making. Yep - amazing I survived.

So this year I had no qualms about scaling back. The extended family had decided to focus on personal handmade gifts and I knew I wanted to give myself more time for personal winter projects. But of course, it never fails - as soon as you make space in your life something new will rush in to fill it. I have been very blessed and excited to work on 5 separate commissions for this holiday season.

The above photo was the first - a bamboo panel piece commissioned by Andy for his newly finished studio. Working on it sporadically on weekends meant that it took me forever to finish (and some subtle hints towards the end made sure I knew about it! =)) But once those panels were complete it was like the floodgates opened up and I now have 4 on my plate ranging from a simple custom music paper print up to a full scale oil painting.

So far I'm really enjoying this type of work - to be creative and work in my studio but know for sure that what I'm working on is already spoken for. Gives me a stronger sense of purpose I suppose. Sure, I've had to re-adjust my studio time a bit and make some compromises about my own projects but so far I think it's worth it. Because the one thing that all these commissions does for me more than just fund the art supply stash is that it fuels the flame of the "someday" dream.

Keep on working till Someday...