Giving It All Away

....a lot of it, anyway.

Following the sale at my no-longer-open Etsy shop -- and thank you to any readers who purchased quilts there -- I proceeded to gift friends with numerous quilts.  And I've also donated art quilts and hand knit scarves to three animal welfare organizations in Humboldt County, to be auctioned at their upcoming events in 2012.

This was all part of the plan I developed a couple months ago ~ to let go of most of my early work.  I much prefer people enjoying my work, whether they purchased it or not, than having it sit or hang in storage.

And, I still have a fine collection.  Plus room for whatever I make in future.

For years I've been selling my work, or trying to, and it's been exhausting.  In my art sales career, I have created by hand or designed, and sold ~
  • handmade ready made and custom clothing
  • handknit sweaters and scarves
  • cotton jersey balloon pants and tops and jumpsuits that I designed and had produced in Bali
  • collage notecards and hand painted postcards
  • fimo jewelry
  • beaded jewelry
  • handpainted scarves
  • handwoven scarves
  • art quilts
  • textile postcards
The thing with selling my art, though, is that I was nearly always behind the curve instead of in front of it.  I guess I'm not much of an innovator.  My work has always been my own, but it's not what I would call "cutting edge."  Or maybe the work was "hot" for a moment, but I couldn't follow that up with a new line or a dozen new designs or whatever.  It's just been me, here, after all.  One person trying to do it all, every aspect of it from imagining to making to selling and everything in between.

The bottom line is that I am a maker of things, always have been and always will be.  And I love being generous with what I create.  The lesson in letting go of stuff whether it sells or not, is that since I can't take it with me when I die, I may as well put it out into the universe and let others enjoy it or be supported by it.

All that said, I am not against selling my work -- I just don't want to have to market it in any meaningful way any longer.  That takes the joy and pleasure out of making.  And I'm in it for the joy and pleasure, for the most part these days.

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