One of my goals this year was to participate in juried art shows. The past weekend, that goal was accomplished. BZ FurFur participated in the King’s Drive Art Walk in Charlotte, NC. It was a long road of self-discovery to get there.
Year 1
Over the years, I have been trying to grow as an artist. When I started this journey as a small business owner, I didn’t really have long-term goal in mind. The closest thing I had to a goal was to make things that made me happy and sell them. As time went on I found success, but it required making many of the same thing. That was when I realized I didn’t like the concept of mass production. Making the same thing over and over again stifled my creativity and made me unhappy. The goal was now to find a way to make unique things, that made others happy, and made me happy.
In year one we did a lot of markets: farmers markets, breweries, and anything else we heard of. This gained us a lot of exposure but it burned us out. Brian still works his full-time job Monday through Friday, and would then spend his weekends working markets with me. I was working long days trying to make product which, more often than not, wasn’t selling.
Year 2
In 2022, I wanted to be more selective with the markets we did, selecting fewer, more prestigious events. The goal of this year was to find the right target demographic for us, our people, if you will. Leveraging what we learned from the previous year, we started to get an understanding of the areas, the people, and the venues that would best lend themselves to our business.
Year 3
In 2023, I realized that what I really wanted was to be recognized as an artist, not simply a crafter. Not that I don’t love crafting, I do, but what I wanted to be was an artist. To fulfill that goal, however, I needed to shift my focus to making things that fit the aesthetic. So, I pivoted, and I started honing my skills to create richer, more detailed pieces. I started incorporating different techniques and mediums to make my art stand out. Working with other artists, I began creating collaborative pieces that felt truly unique and one of a kind. My next step was to find ways to get these pieces in front of the right people
Year 4
2024 was hard. Really hard. Business, especially in the first half of the year, was extremely slow. Truth be told, the thought crossed my mind many times to throw in the towel. It is demotivating as an artist and as a business owner, to be going to markets and not even recouping the cost of the market. That doesn’t even include the cost of materials, gas, etc. But, as demotivated as I was getting, I knew I couldn’t simply quit. We sacrificed so much for this business: time, effort, blood, sweat, tears, working through the flu, personal losses, and giving up time with family.
This year was also the year I joined the Guild of Charlotte Artists. Brian and I started attending meetings, networking events, and coffee times. We made friends, and I made efforts to be social. Towards the end of the year, I could see it starting to pay off
Year 5
This year, 2025, started off with a BANG! A complete 180 from last year. I feel blessed for what this year has been so far, and it’s only May! I had heard of the opportunity to showcase some of my work in a local taproom, I was supposed to be there just for February, but I got invited back for March as well. Somehow, I got 5 large pieces ready in 2 weeks. One of those pieces was even selected to be in my first-ever juried show.
In April, after 150-plus grueling hours, my most intricate piece of work, HER Sovereignty, is in the Mint Museum. I still can’t believe it! Six weeks of long nights, missed events, eating, sleeping, dreaming, burning in my sleep but she is my best work so far. We also had our first-ever juried art walk: King’s Drive Art Walk. It was amazing, even if the first day did end in a downpour. It was a long weekend, but it certainly was a learning experience.
Next week I’ll discuss some of what I learned from being in my first juried show. Do you have any stories about working your way towards succeeding as an artist. Tell us your story. Tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.
