Haha so I titled my vision board "Bun Life", a spoof off "Thug Life". lol Every time I look at my vision board I feel peaceful, lifted, happy. A sense of knowing, certainty. Life is absolute.
In October, I celebrate 5 yrs of my return to Atlanta from LA.
It's exciting to share, I've completely gone off the deep end in the BEST of ways!
Planting seeds, making moves, doing things that really scare me. Pioneering, exploring different business models, learning how to scale my art practice, discovering and implementing the Blue Ocean Strategy.
A lot of folks told me I was crazy to leave all 6 galleries that represented me. In fact, there was a lot of opposition, side-eyes, put-downs. But being represented by 6 galleries wasn't getting me where I wanted to be (gallerists heavily discounting my work and splitting an additional 50%, not getting paid, gallerists taking off with work, etc.). It's flattering to have 29 more galleries that want to show my work, but what's the point of working with galleries if they have control over how your work is sold as your sole avenue of distribution? Forget ROI. The risk assessment alone was too risky for me to try to earn a profit as an artist.
So I jumped ship into the deep end of the Blue Ocean and never looked back. Why did I do this? Because I didn't want to quit. God gave me a much bigger vision and destiny for myself than the little box galleries wanted me to fit into.
In doing so, I FREED myself. From the bullying haggling collectors that threatened to "destroy my career" if I didn't give them a bigger discount. From the gallerists and I arguing about discounting my work heavily to meet the affordability of their small collector base. In holding off on showing with galleries, I was able to discover other ways to distribute my work.
I FEEL SO FREE. To make and sell art on my terms to a global marketplace from Atlanta. It's brought me back to why I became an artist in the first place- to express and be happy, to share my revelations and inspirations with those that appreciate it.
Yee, Amen!
How does your vision board make you feel when you look at it BunBuns? Have you completed your vision board? I procrastinated for the longest time until I took a break to finish mine and it adds so much value and motivation!
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