Creative heART Challenge: A Fundraiser for Allegory Gallery...

We recently received an incredible offer to purchase merchandise for the store at an awesome discount.  The question then became... how do we finance this acquisition?  While the shop is doing well, this opportunity was rather unexpected and the expense was larger than we could absorb into our regular inventory budget.  Curious about how we could make it happen, we reached out to our network of friends.  We got a lot of positive feedback – some encouraging us to take out small business loans or do crowdsource funding or host events.  So many great ideas... but were they the right ones for us?  Each of the options had positives and negatives.  I sat down and really thought about it and searched my heart.

As an artist, whenever there has been an obstacle, I've always taken the approach of looking at it creatively.  Sometimes the answer to a problem can be right in front of you... you just have to change your perspective.  With this opportunity, it was no different.  After thinking about it for awhile, I decided that I wanted to use it as a creative challenge.  Recently, I've felt as though I've been in a bit of a slump and have found it hard to feel satisfied with my work.  The answer came in the form of a whisper in my heart and a longing in my spirit, "Embrace this as a creative challenge!  Use it as a catalyst to make this goal manifest!  Follow your muse!  Believe in your creative heart!"

And the idea was born.

Starting on Monday, February 8th, I'll be embarking on a 30-day creative journey and I hope you'll join me.  Each day, I'll post new things that I made.  I'll be making components, finished jewelry, and paintings among other things.  Maybe I'll make one thing a day or maybe many!  I'm not going to set too many restrictions on myself.  I'll use whatever materials strike my fancy and listen to my muses.  I hope that people will enjoy the trip with me and if they are moved by my work, will adopt my creations in the Creative heART Challenge.  We'll use these funds to make our goal a reality and with your support, we will make it happen!