It was interesting to spend a week away from a home I'd only lived in two weeks before I left, and away from a rural life I'd only been living for about 5 weeks in total.
I don't think I could have coped with most of my trip if I'd been still living in the city. My journey to and from WOMAD was a zig-zagging sales trip around the North Island. I showed my work at over a dozen galleries and came home with a big list of orders to fill. Last year selling my work felt like torture- I mostly avoided any attempt because of how hard it felt to cold call on retailers. This time my experience was entirely positive- I even enjoyed meeting the buyers who, for whatever reason, aren't going to be stocking my work right away.
I also enjoyed being in the big crowds at WOMAD- something I've increasingly avoided in recent years.
Looking at the changes in my life: creative solitude, working full-time on my art, living far away from cars and concrete and crowds, spending lots of time with trees... these things feed my soul and build up my resiliance. I think I'm finally able to enjoy bursts of intense social contact and I'm able to take myself and my work out into the world with confidence because I spend so much time alone with the green.
Wonderful! And congratulations on all the new orders. I can relate to the soothing/healing energy of living in the country. That's why I love living at Seacliff - the sea air, beaches, wildness and animals - it definately restores you to yourself so you can face the next day.
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