What the ART? An interview with myself.

It’s a lovely, cool summer Friday in Nashville. It’s been a while since we’ve had a day that feels this nice out, so I thought it was a great time to sit down with myself and get real.

I’ll start with the question my son asked me an hour ago:

“What are you doing, Mom?”

“I’m working on a blog.”

He gave me that look. My kids always think they know better than me, and sometimes they do.

“I know why you’re giving me that look,” I said.

“Do you want my advice?” he asked.

“Maybe, but not if your advice is that I should get a job.”

He said, “No, that’s not my advice.”

“OK, fine — then what is it?”

“Sell art, Mom.”

To clarify, I have sold plenty of art since I started in 2021. But what my son was pointing out is that sometimes I spend a lot of time on Art Beat trying to get everything perfect. instead of putting more energy into simply getting the art out there and in front of people.

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My son and I above at his graduation by Nashville artist, Ashleigh Suarez.

So I sat there for a bit, asking myself what I have many times before.

What gets in your way?

Like most of us, I am my biggest obstacle. It can it challenging for me to fully step into the role of salesperson because while I whole heartedly believe in the work I am sharing, I do not always believe enough in myself. 

Being ADD also gets in my way.  The hyper focus mode of ADD can be a superpower, which makes it easy to focus on what I love doing (creating) and harder to focus on what does not come as natural for me.

So is this interview a way out of self-doubt?

Authenticity seems to be a buzz word these days, and so this is an exercise in being that. I decided today the only way out is to go rogue.

And by that you mean?

To be myself… with intentional abandon (which is different from reckless abandon).

And how is that different from reckless abandon?

In reckless abandon, you choose to let go of the guardrails. Intentional abandon is slowly walking a tightrope wearing a safety harness. Your eyes focus only on the next step; you tune out the peanut gallery in your head — the one ready with tomatoes and mean things you throw your way.

And you think you can do it?

At this point, the interviewer is getting a little snarky. She knows I just admitted my insecurities, and I can’t really argue. But…

But what?

Well, it’s not so much that I think I can do it, but I am ready to do it. It’s like going to get my labs drawn for my yearly check-up this week. I’m terrified of doctors, but I’m ready to take care of myself. Sometimes the feeling and the desire don’t go hand in hand, and that’s where the tightrope is helpful.

So what the ART, Jessie?

Oh yes, the art… I check the safety harness and look straight ahead. I try to tune out the conversation I had earlier with a friend who said that people would not buy fine art online. I don’t do my usual which is to head for the exit because I am scared she might be right.

Why are you staring blankly into space?

Because I am wondering if she is right, and I need to think about how to end this by convincing you that I might be onto something with an online local art marketplace.

Really? It seems like you just told me you knew how.

I forgot on a tight rope that it’s important to pause. I want to tell the interviewer to settle down, but instead I grip tighter with my left hand while I type with my right, and look up a statistic on CHAT GPT for extra impact.

Online is the revolving door of retail. Local artists need more visibility, and an online marketplace can provide that. Digital now makes up 18–23% of the art market and is steadily increasing. And Etsy, a publicly traded company, has proved the concept can work very successfully. It’s time for art in Nashville to be backed by our community, and an online art marketplace is a 24/7 way we can do that.

So stayed tuned as I continue walking this tightrope. I am making it happen and if necessary, I will eat circus peanuts to prove it….because I actually like them. I do! :)

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