Hops & Arts was the first show i have done this year and it won’t be the last. Preparation for this event, not only had to be done for products and other items that were needed but also spiritually and mentally. I have found, from experience, that if I am not in the right headspace, the while show and day can be ruined.

For those who have not been through the journey of this last year with me, my last big show was West Main Arts Fest 2021 and I was not entirely sure I was going to keep going after it. Later that month, i also had knee surgery which took til November to recover from. During that time i was also fighting burn out from my job as a teacher, so i closed up shop for 2 months. Until i relaunched everything in January. 

I honestly thought about quitting so many times, yet, here I am and I fully believe it is all because of God. I believe West Main wasn’t a huge success for me last year because I still had things I had to figure out as far as how to run the business, what sells and how to market my brand.

Part of my preparation and relaunch of everything was participating in Branding classes given by Create Arlington.  These classes helped me to narrow my marketing and branding avenues to where they were more manageable.  This is when I decided to continue this blog and launch a monthly newsletter. Both the blog and the newsletter will be available on the first Friday of every month.

My next step in preparation was my products. I had to make sure I had enough products in case something became popular and started selling out. Creating my products is where I have the most fun and can ignore everything else that is going on in my life. It is a time when I simply focus on my art. The pouring paints are what I have had the most fun with lately as I want to learn more about color theory and how colors work together .

This is the result. I honestly think this is my favorite Pour ever! I love the movement of the colors and how they all go well together.

I love the piece above and want to do more pieces like this. It is great when you are just playing around and it turns out to be amazing. These are the moments that I fully believe God is working and doing the art through me. So many times have I prayed for Him to steady my hand and make something look amazing and that’s exactly what happens.

I mentioned earlier for a show to go well, I have to be in the right mind set. In the weeks leading up to April 2nd, I prayed for God’s will to be done and for the show itself. The day of the event, after my husband and I packed the car and before we drove off, I prayed. I had to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy the day. I prayed that God’s will would be done, even if it meant I didn’t sell anything. I prayed that God would send me people to talk to about my art and what He has done for me.

And you know what?

That is exactly what happened!

The day of set up took about an hour and a half. My husband is 6 foot 4 in which is a full foot taller than me. His job, once the tent was up, was to put the grates up and the pieces that went with them.

While I may have not sold anything at this show, I have the chance to do some networking. I had about six people come into my tent and with each person i had the opportunity to tell them about my art work and what God has done for me through my art. That was the best part of my day by far. I love it when I can share not only my art but the God who created me to do this art work and ministry.

Do I wish I had sold something? Sure. Am I going to quit the commitments I already have because of one show? Absolutely not!

My prayer for each show is the same. That if the Lord wills it, I can sell product so I can continue to do this ministry, to meet people and tell them what God has done for me through my art and to be able tobwitness to someone about Christ. Most important thing is to tell others about Christ.

I am excited to see what else God is doing in my life this year as He has already done so much. I pray for this kind of excitement and experience for you. I pray that if you don’t know Him the way I do, that you ask questions to those that may know Him. As always, you are welcome to message me. Until next time, God bless.