Will it sell?

But will it sell? Artists, me included, have to make a living. We have bills to pay and need to eat; we are ordinary people in that sense. Years ago I did catalog design and layout for the likes of LL Bean, it was wonderful, it paid the bills. But, it wasn't my work, my authentic work, work from the small place inside that guides me. It was my artwork and that small sacred voice that pushed me out of my first marriage, kicking and screaming and scared shitless with no money, a little college, a 3 year old daughter and the small sacred place inside me that threatened to leave and never return. One morning I awoke and opened my eyes to see a large woven wall hanging. It was like a cold-water awakening. The art was beautiful and I had made it. This might sound silly to most people but it was as though I had been in a trance and a spell had been broken. THAT piece was MY ART. And the place that made it was dying. All of this may sound hyperbolic but, I assure you, it is not. I was terrified. I left my marriage with my daughter in tow. 

There is an African coming of age story, a right of passage. The tribe sends their young men into the wilderness with one edict, do not return until you have looked into the mouth of a tiger. They either die or return. I was looking into the mouth of a tiger- flee or die. 

What does this have to do with an artist statement? It has to do with being true to oneself, following ones own path being authentic, hoping that someone will be moved to want to have work that will grace their life. "Do what you love, the money will follow." That's it. I just keep making things then send them into the world.
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So what I make is made with heart, my skill, years of studying and my vision. Enjoy the work.

​Tina Goodrich, Artist