Brave Enough

I’ll never win a million bucks in the lottery.

I’ll never win five bucks, or even a single dollar.  

Why?

I don’t buy lottery tickets.

Like Dolly Parton (RIP) once said, “You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”

I honestly don’t care about winning the lottery.

But I do care about my artwork.

Where am I going with this?

I’m ready to get my artwork “out there.” Meaning I’m ready to share it with the world—at least my immediate world in Michigan.

I learned valuable lessons from my friend, Alec Hall. Alec is a long-time, very-accomplished artist who is knowledgeable about building an art practice and sharing his art with the world.

Alec says it more eloquently, but I’ll paraphrase:

You gotta’ keep trying. And remember rejection from either a juror or a collector isn’t rejection. It’s simply one person’s opinion. And you can’t please everybody.

But you can, according to Dolly, “be brave enough to try.”

So, I’ll stand on the shoulders of two people I admire and give it a go . . .

I entered a juried show at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joe. I entered a non-juried show at the South Haven Center for the Arts—Soup & Share—an evening with soup, wine, and cookies, while sharing art and friendship with other artists. I entered a non-juried show at the Krasal Center for the Arts in St. Joe. My “Tinies” will be available for purchase at two holiday markets.

Unlike Leola Mae who barrels full speed ahead, these are baby steps—baby steps I’m taking at what some would consider an “advanced age.”

But Lucie says, “Mama, you’re not old. You’re aged, like fine wine.”

Thanks, Lucie. I’ll take it!

Old or, better yet, aged I promise myself to look for additional opportunities and “keep on trying.”

Thanks, Dolly, Alec, and Lucie.