It is well known that many artists and crafts people often struggle with self- esteem and find it difficult to acknowledge their own talent. It can be daunting to put your work out in the public domain. When there is so much time and passion invested in carefully crafted pieces, it can feel as if you are baring your soul for scrutiny.
If, like me, you have no formal artistic training and are completely self taught, feeling your way, experimenting and exploring techniques as you go, it is easy to feel a bit like a fraud amongst other talented makers and artists.
It takes time to build confidence and just one positive comment can make you feel ten feet tall.
So it was in a bit of a mad moment that I applied to be a featured artist with World of Wool. I didn’t really give myself time to talk myself out of it, I just filled out my details and sent off the form!
The site regularly features a variety of makers and their gallery is full of seriously talented textile artists, including the fabulous Moy Mackay.
Imagine my surprise when I received an email two days later telling me they would like to feature me in their latest monthly blog and newsletter!
I was beyond excited and thrilled to think that an organization was interested in my work and prepared to feature it and share it with thousands of their subscribers.
This morning when I opened my email, there it was! A copy of the article and my face staring back at me from the World of Wool newsletter. It feels amazing to have my work acknowledged and it has given me such a confidence boost, just when I needed it.
I started to get feedback on my social media pages almost instantly, lots of congratulations and support from followers and fellow artisans. There was one comment, however, that really made my day, from a lady I hadn’t heard from before and this is what she wrote:
‘And that’s how I came across you. You’re work is beautiful and inspiring. I had lost my mojo a bit with felting even though had just recieved a big order from world of wool. You’ve made me want to get felting again ❤️’
What a wonderful, uplifting comment, how fantastic that someone would take time out of their day to say that in response to my post. She had read the article from her inbox first thing and by the time I had shared the article on social media, she had already looked me up and was engaging with my thread. It was incredible to think that my work had helped to reignite another artist’s passion.
So thank you World of Wool for accepting my application, thank you Andrew Novotny for such a great write up and thank you to each and every one of you who read the article and left some feedback on my social media pages, it really means a great deal.
Please continue to support small business where you can, it’s hard work to find recognition but I am delighted to tell you that I did a little happy dance all the way to my studio this morning!
If you woud like to read the article , please visit:
https://www.worldofwool.co.uk/apps/base/blog/featured-artist-louise-hancox
