Tuesday, April 13, 2010

What I've been up to...

 In two words....................... not much.

That is to say... not much fiber related anyway.
And, that is to say... not much online either.

I have found that motherhood is truly a full-time job in itself - a happy, loving job, but definitely a full-time one.

I have also found that my priorities really shifted when my baby girl was born.  Although I am still looking into the possibility of a public space for teaching in-person classes and conducting my feltmaking, I am contemplating putting my Etsy shops in vacation mode indefinitely and perhaps just keeping my ArtFire shop open for now.  There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is time, and how truly precious it has become to me right now.

Until recently, I had not fully realized how all-consuming keeping up with online shops as well as online marketing can be.  I also hadn't realized how much precious time it was taking away from much more important things in my life such as my beautiful family and actually creating new things, as well as some (non-fiber) career goals.  As much as I've enjoyed the past five years being online and pursuing my fiber art endeavors here, it seems to be wearing me thin at this wonderful new stage of my life.  That doesn't mean that I will be disappearing entirely, but perhaps just cutting back drastically and focusing my precious time and energies in more well-deserved areas of my life.

This has been a hard decision for me to face and realize the need to act upon because I do enjoy my online interactions with the fiber community so much, but I know that other areas of my life need my attention now.  I'm also looking forward to being able to just enjoy creating things again without a strong focus on selling or marketing.  For me, the pressure to get my brand name out there and grow my business has taken away some of that initial joy that I had when I first began to explore feltmaking several years ago.  That really makes me sad when I think about it.  I'm happy to get back to my roots as well as be able to create things at my leisure again and have that mindset again.  I do not plan to stop selling online entirely, but I do plan to learn to enjoy it again and not take it so seriously anymore because there are just too many other things in my life that are at the top of my "important things" list.

Well, I guess that I've been up to more than just "not much" after I think about it and look at that picture of my baby girl.  I have been doing some serious pondering over my life and those things which I cherish.  That is really quite a lot.

8 comments:

  1. Shalana--It sounds like you've spent a lot of time working out what is best for you and your family right now. I applaud your
    courage. Even though the days seem endless with a little one, the years really do fly-and you wouldn't want to miss a minute!
    Enjoy your little sweetie. My last two are about to fly the nest and I
    realize that soon, I'll have all the time in the world to 'create', but no more 'babies'!! Best of luck and enjoy these special days!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You will never regret spending more time with your daughter. Enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done for making this decision. It is hard and time is so precious when they are little. Getting the balance is so improtant, but sometimes cant be done.

    Enjoy your time with little one x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a beautiful picture, Shalana! I can't believe how much your daughter has grown. The things you've been thinking about are very relevant to this time in your life. In my adult life I've made many important changes at different stages and the one thing I know for sure is you have to listen to that voice inside that is speaking to you. I've come to think of these different times in our lives as "seasons of life". This season you're in right now with a young child is so precious, and really the one time you will count on to get you through some of the later seasons! There are things I do now that I could have never done or wanted to do when my kids were small. At the same time there are things I look forward to doing in future seasons when my kids are fully grown and leave the nest.

    It can be very difficult to leave things behind, especially things you've nurtured and worked so hard for. After taking the initial leap, I've never regretted any of the big changes I've made in my adult life, most of which were centered around the needs of my family. You're right to be listening to that voice you're hearing, and making decisions accordingly.

    I know we don't know each other very well, but your words touched me this morning, and I just really wanted to send along some encouragement. What a beautiful family you have. I hope you will enjoy them to the fullest!

    Best wishes,
    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks to everyone for your encouraging words! I have read them all a few times for comfort and sincerely appreciate your comments. I feel excellent about my decision to cut back online and in other such areas of my life to focus on more important things including my baby girl :) Time goes by so fast with her, and I want to cherish every moment.

    ReplyDelete
  6. shalana... your art will always be there for you. you are a true artist and cannot help imbuing all you do with creativity. enjoy the journey, dear one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You will not regret your decission

    They grow up way to fast.

    Enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  8. You will never "give up" creating completely no matter what turns life has in store for you and your family. I have also found that not many people give credit to the fact that having a child/ren and raising a family is creating in its own way. I have observed and experienced that women's creativeness often diminishes/changes while we go through these stages of our life. Each stage is part of our process and everyone's process is different. It IS a tough decision and society/family/friends/outside factors put a lot of pressure on us. Well done and embrace this decision and the time you have being "a Mom".

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...