The Beginning
Monday, March 16th 2020 was the last day I refilled a stranger’s Diet Coke for a living.
The world had shut down. I was an unemployed waitress with a baby on the way. As a millennial, and before the age of 30, I have witnessed the 9/11 attacks on TV, the 2008 Great Recession, and a global pandemic. Some may call us the Unluckiest Generation.
Some days, I would agree. In the early days of 2020, I definitely agreed.
I was thrown into a spiral of depression, anxiety and worry. I had no idea what my next step would be. But, like Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade, I had found myself staring out over a vast abyss with nothing but an invisible bridge.
Today, I walk this invisible bridge daily as a professional artist and stay at home mom. I have no idea what the next step is most days.
The path is not clear in front of me, but a series of invisible leaps of faith I encounter along the way.
In March 2020, my first step was to build this website. I spent about a week doing so on Squarespace. I then started an instagram account for my art. I had been enjoying Hand-cut collage as a hobby for about 12 years at this point and figured with the new found free time unemployment had given me, I shut myself into my art studio and created.
I started to sell prints quickly. I was surprised to say the least and a year later, in 2021 when the virus was easing a bit, I jumped into the pop up market scene of Nashville. My first event I made $300. I was stunned.
I went on to do 60+ shows that year. I networked my way from one event to the next, saying yes to everything and started finding my confidence in my art.
In 2022, I took on my first solo exhibition Tree Lily Butcher: Music City of the Spheres. I felt so supported in the art community of Nashville. 2022 started to shape up to be a bigger year than the one prior.
I had a coffee chat with another local artist, Jason Brueck, owner of Raven and Whale Gallery, who encouraged me to dream bigger and travel outside of Nashville to do national art festivals. He saw in me the talent and drive that would be needed to take on such an endeavor. This idea intrigued me, but was unnerving at the same time. So, I started researching what it would take to do so: I would have to invest in a professional artist canopy and set up, apply to these markets, travel, etc.
In my research I stumbled upon a Wisconsin based photographer, Drake Fleege, and his blog. He had just listed his entire booth setup for sale and I eagerly reached out to purchase.
And that, my friends, is my latest step on the invisible bridge of my art career. I am now, inspired by both Jason and Drake’s experiences, going to set off on the new art adventure of traveling to sell my art around the country.
In this vein, I wanted to start a blog documenting my art career so I may pass along my own experiences to anyone who can learn from them. I have been so freely given to, I want to help anyone else who needs it.
Come with me now on this journey through time and space.
