Day 34: Being an Artist

Image from Smart Creative Women.

Today I watched a lovely interview with Mary Engelbreit. Most of me sat there thinking, "Oh my goodness! I was on the same show as Mary Engelbeit! I was interviewed by the same person as Mary Engelbreit! (I'm a bit of a fan, if you can't tell; I think she's one smart business woman.)

But part of me was also actually listening to what she had to say. I've seen/read/listened to as many interviews as I could with Ms. Engelbreit and one of the things that always resonates is how much her love of making art comes through. And that she is thankful for the opportunity to make a living making art.

I need a little reminder of that now and again. That I get to make a living making art. So much of my job I really, really love. I love to visit archives, to scan, to design. I love the challenge that running your own business brings. I love to research copyrights and track down really old images. So while tomorrow I'm back to calling and calling, tonight I spent scanning in some awesome new (to me) surface designs from the 1960s. They're straight out of the Mad-Men era. It took me months to negotiate the rights to them and research the copyright and they're finally all cleared for use. Hundreds and hundreds of crazy daisies and purple poodles. I love it.