45-Days Changed Everything

At the end of September, I decided to create some momentum that would push me and my creative abilities further faster. After some thought, I set a goal to create 100 new works of art in 45 days, beginning Oct 1st and ending Nov 15th. Admittedly this was a pretty lofty goal, but I knew I needed to push myself. I’m amazed at the outcome of this creative push and the changes within myself.

When I first set out to achieve this goal, there were some obvious challenges that I knew would make all this even more difficult. I already planned two out-of-town trips and was hosting a few friends and family members coming to stay with us in October. I was thrilled to visit with everyone, but this time out of the studio could potentially create as many as 15 unproductive days, without any unplanned surprises. I wasn’t sure my already lofty goal was going to be achievable, but I knew I’d need to make the most of the time I had to stay on track.

While I was out of town I brainstormed ideas around what I would create, gathered thoughts and ideas from friends and family, and made a punch list of designs that I wanted to build as soon as I got back into the studio after each trip. Ideas for beaches, koi ponds, butterflies, hot air balloons, and sunsets were percolating. New designs for garden art and holiday ornaments were on the list too. I quickly realized even though I wasn’t in the studio, it didn’t mean I was unproductive. Inspiration and ideas were coming from all directions constantly. I was taking photos of the natural world that inspired new designs and adding them to the list of future projects. While my family was visiting, I had an opportunity to show my cousin how to create fused glass art. He loved learning the process and created a personal keepsake too. My studio time became so productive that I was on pace to overshoot the 100-piece goal.

These last 45 days weren’t without a few unexpected setbacks. The first came about 10 days into my challenge when I learned that all three of the local holiday art shows I was hoping to get into were full already. I was placed on two waitlists, but there was no guarantee they would happen. Some part of me was disappointed, but in chatting with the organizers of these shows I was able to learn so much about their process. One organizer was so kind; she shared some tips, told me some of the themes that would do well with their customers, and advised me on a couple of other avenues to get my work seen. I’m so grateful to have had these conversations. I also went ahead and applied to each show knowing they were full already. Having the jury and organizers see my work, could eventually lead them to accept my application for future events.

My next challenge came about 15 days in when I got my first few online sales. The e-commerce software I’m using has some very glitchy behaviors causing items to seem as if they were out of stock when they weren’t. It was charging too much or too little for shipping and producing inaccurate order details showing purchases of items that weren’t paid for, which were all frustrating and difficult to sort out with my customers. With issues like these, there’s the potential to lose customers. It could jeopardize my reputation and cost me money when I should be making it. The IT team is still working on these issues with me, and I hope to have this resolved within the next few days. Just in time to publish a ton of new glass art for the holiday gift-buying season.

Last week as I was nearing the end of my 45-day challenge; I had the kiln full and was fusing a few new designs. The alarm sounded and the kiln showed an E4 error. Turns out that it was a kiln relay malfunction. One of the heating elements went haywire during the critical annealing phase and started to heat up rapidly when it was supposed to hold its temperature at 900 degrees to de-stress the glass before very slowly descending to a safe temperature. I quickly went into troubleshooting mode and questions flooded my mind. Who could I call? Where could I find more information? What could I do to save the glass pieces inside?

I immediately contacted my kiln repair guy and asked him for advice, then looked some things up in my fused glass guidebooks. I ultimately had to power down the kiln and control the temperature manually by turning the power breaker on and off frequently throughout the final hours of its program. I didn’t want to risk shattering the new garden mushroom designs I had inside. All in all, I managed to save all the pieces, and after I got the kiln back on Monday I made time to reanneal them before my 45-day challenge was over. Now I am confident they will not crack and break due to stress, and I’ll be able to release the garden mushrooms very soon!

All this has the potential to create the perfect storm for an artist who’s just starting out and could even cause many to give up on their dreams right out of the gate. For me, this just fueled me to focus on the solutions and things that I can control. Remain flexible and shift with the wind as it changes so there is less turbulence.

Over the last 45 days, many remarkable changes happened within me. I lost track of how many works of art I created and my focus shifted to the pure joy of making art that others will enjoy. I’m finding inspiration in everything around me and able to overcome setbacks and move on without diminishing my progress or allowing my mindset to decline. Part of this journey has been making important connections with art show organizers and gallery owners, and taken steps toward getting into my first art show. My online store is up and I’m working to find solutions to the glitches my customers are experiencing. My husband and I started working together on designing new frames and stands to illuminate my glass designs. Writing blogs like this to share my experiences as an artist is helping me build up my social media presence and get the word out to new followers. While my kiln was being repaired last week, I took the time without my kiln as an opportunity to pull some of my original works of art from 2007 and 2008 out of hiding and began preparing them for sale. I’m so proud of how far I’ve come and all that I’ve accomplished in such a short time, and I can’t wait to see what I can achieve in the next 45 days.

Most of these things were not on my mind when beginning this creative challenge back in September, but it’s all a blessing and I feel stronger than ever to continue on my creative journey. I would love to support other artists through their challenges too. If you’ve struggled, or even given up, but want to overcome the challenges in your own creative life, I’d love to offer my support! Click here to connect with me directly. It can’t hurt to have someone who understands what artist life is like in your corner when you need it most.

Here are a few photos from the last 45 days.