What was missing

The first 7 months of 2024 I spent painting. I completed my collection UNMUTE – Journey of a recovering people-pleaser, and some other pieces I really love. By the beginning of summer though, I got restless. Something was missing.

I took a break, read some books, met with friends, napped with my cats. That was nice, but I still felt incomplete.

Two weeks ago I had a booth at the art fair Artist Meeting. It was busy, and full, and colorful, and exciting. And now I know what was missing.

I’m an introvert. I love spending time alone. I don’t get lonely. Spending time with strangers makes me nervous, anxious even. So I tend to avoid it.

The weeks before the fair I spent worrying I wasn’t going to know what to say, how to talk to people about my art, afraid I would retreat into my introvert little world.

But then there was Artist Meeting, with thousands of people looking at my work, which felt like they were looking straight into my heart. There were many of them that stood still, taking in the images, the colors, the vibe. And they got it. It was as if they saw ME. And we talked, and laughed and shared hardships, and the conversations flowed, because we were on the same wavelength. My my art did that!

My art created a bond between my heart and those strangers. There was nothing scary about it. Actually, the opposite was true: those connections were exactly what I had been missing for months.

Now I’m ready to go back to my studio, with plenty of new ideas and a full heart.