….”And I thought it was just me”…

On Saturday, I sat down at my demo table and spread out my penny rug lap throw, and shortly thereafter, chairs were pulled up beside me and there it was, a clutch of women talking and sharing stories of their crafts.  There was a common thread among us…passion for creating and hopping from one medium to the next to do it, along with different stories of our life’s journeys, many taking us far from the homes and mothers that we hold dear.  Dreams and griefs exposed with much laughter for we all seemed to connect for a moment in this refreshing pause.

The hostess of this sales event, Zaidee was no less than a perfect hostess and seeing the spirit of the event unfold she put her tea pot on, and there it was the joy of a tea-party “communion”.  My “little house image of tea, crafts and conversation uniting like-minded women” was spontaneously happening. I also had images of The Red Tent where a woman-to-woman-meeting-of-the-minds is truly a gathering of mother-sister spirits, and is a special event of extraordinary bonding.

Reference was made to what I thought was just my motto: “Why buy it when I can just make it”!?  Apparently I was not the only one to embrace this philosophy and we all broke into uproarious laughter.

Then a special secret was divulged as to how to hide sewing messes “behind a sofa” but came with the warning of the problem of downsizing to a smaller couch!  This too brought laughter and the issue that many of us struggle with, living amongst our craft messes.

I admitted that I often struggle with selling myself and my work, which I sometimes feel is better displayed and sold by someone else.  Another artist responded with reflection and thought, and I realize what she said hits home. We are sometimes too close to our work to really see it. Time and distance helps us to fully value our talent. As artists, we need to appreciate the unique gift of our own self in our process and work, and while this seems like a simple concept, it will remain a process and a goal to work towards.

Those who create, have so much in common with each other…and in this case, our brief coming together was no accident.  It was just what I needed to dispel the notion of thinking that “it is just me”.  We do indeed have common minds and hearts and how sweet it is to connect and receive affirmation from one another.