Do the Hustle….

I want to thank my new friend Trelawney, an artist, for the brief yet powerful bits of wisdom she bestowed to me while standing in line at the Post Office earlier this week…

Paraphrasing of course (the post guy wasn’t too happy we were chatting it up while at the counter I suspect), she basically stated that working on commission was not necessarily the same thing as doing your craft and that there was no reason to feel guilty or ashamed about doing it.

As I prepare to end my time at Pen Bay and go back out on my own - I find myself having to make decisions about my stuff (glass mostly), that before this bit of Post Office gab, made me feel a bit akward.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a hustler at heart - and I’m not shy…but for some reason, I never felt I could SAY something like: “yeah, my friend is hosting a girl’s night and wants me to bring my glass to sell” without feeling a twinge of guilt. Or agree to a request like: “my family lives in <fill in state> and loves the <fill in sports team>. Can you make me 20 necklaces in <fill in the sports team colors>?”

Like somehow this didn’t make me a legit artisan or who knows…really it’s a bunch of self entitled shite now that I think about it.

Thanks to Trelawney, I’m going to let that guilt go. In the end, I will feel proud of my hustling abilities if I can make a complete living from what I make alone (design and glass) - because THAT is what allows me to do what I really want to do.