The Struggle of An Artist

Something I recently posted to my tumblr, and wanted to share here as well:

I know I don’t post much about my personal life on here, but since it’s art related, I figured I might as well share. I hope it encourages someone else who may be struggling with the same things. :)
I’ve been in a rut lately with my art. Or rather, art as a career/job. I know it’s what I love to do and what I’m “made” to do, so to speak, but I had so many plans for summer and it’s going at such a snail pace. I’ve been extremely discouraged and honestly quite depressed about it. I’ve admittedly gotten put out/stopped working at times because of it, BUT! I think things are finally looking up.

I hear people say it all the time, “hard work will pay off”, “only you can make your dreams come true”, and so forth…and it was only until recently that I nearly stopped believing that. I thought, “I’m working so freaking hard-and I’m going nowhere!” I have been so frustrated, on top of dealing with various health issues..it just seemed like nothing was going right.

At the beginning of summer I had planned to start my etsy shop, and it’s now halfway through summer and I still haven’t opened it. It’s just difficult because I tend to get afraid when I know how to exactly do something. It’s hard to be business minded when the other part of you is completely opposite. I don’t know how to manage money as well as I’d like to yet, so I’ve just been going on what I know, but it kind of freaks me out because I’m afraid I’m going to miss something and end up making a big mistake.

Enough of that though,-let’s just skip to my point. Despite all of the obstacles,-I’ve continued to work. For a while I just had to stop worrying about money, say whatever, and just keep working on art,-keep doing what I love. I have started a few personal projects and it has been so freeing. And oddly enough, I should be opening up my etsy shop within the next few weeks. I think I have enough to get it kickstarted and I’m not worrying about every little detail.

I’ve got the basic knowledge, and the rest I will just have to learn from experience. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to make mistakes. That’s one of the main ways we learn!

So I want to encourage all of you, as cheesy as it can sound,-truly follow your dreams. Follow what you’re passionate about. While it is not always (I’d venture to say never) an easy journey, I really believe that if you keep working at whatever that is, you can make it happen! Again, I’m not gonna sugar coat it,-it’s hard work. You WILL have obstacles and times where it seems like your dream’s not going anywhere, but press on, my friends!

I’m only just beginning, but I’m excited as I work towards my goals and dreams.

And also, Etsy is only the beginning too, haha. I don’t want to just make a living off of that, although it’d be pretty frickin’ sweet if I could!

-Aubrey