Do you challenge yourself? I realize I challenge myself a lot.  I don’t know if I would ever be able to live without personal challenges. I always want to learn and grow.

In a little more than a month, I am hanging my solo show “As Nature Speaks” in a very large gallery space in Cary, NC. It literally has been 2 years of challenges to get here. The first challenge was finding the confidence to apply. One day, I just told myself “just go for it,” so I did.

The second challenge was deciding if I wanted to play it safe with a small exhibit or go big. With 2 years notice, I said, “go big!” There were many times along the way that I asked myself “what were you thinking?” But, I couldn’t give up, that just wasn’t an option.

There have been many other challenges on this journey, many dealing with self-motivation and time constraints. I had to learn how to stand my ground and say no to distractions.

I also had to challenge myself to show up and put in the time to create. I had the ongoing challenge of fighting with my perfectionist self who often wanted to play the game called “panic attack” (btw: the side with fear never won). I set the goals and met them.  Yes, this past 2 years have been one challenge after another.

But let me stop here … is a challenge a bad thing? I don’t think so. A challenge definitely isn’t easy. But, when you overcome the obstacle, its likely you’ll arrive on the other side feeling more powerful and having a sense of accomplishment. I like challenges, because when I’ve crossed the hurdle, I know I learned something new and have become stronger. There’s a new and improved me waiting on the other side of every challenge.

 

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“As Nature Speaks, a dialog with an art quilter”
Featuring the artwork of Nanette S. Zeller
Oct 11- Nov 24, 2018
Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Cary, NC
For more information click here: As Nature Speaks