Well, I finally did it; I took the website down. Which was hard since I was damn proud of it, having gotten a book on HTML so I could write the code myself, then taking an extensive SEO course to get it to come up at the top of the SERPs. But jobs here have been nearly non existent for so long that I've been effectively retired for almost 4 years anyway. Kath has gotten a job at Mammoth Cave which she loves and I've started collecting my SS. I'm teaching guitar and banjo 2 days a week which keeps me as busy as I care to be, and we're taking some distributions from our IRA.
But we've been at this since 1981. Much of that time was very rewarding both esthetically and financially. Being able to leave a customer literally speechless when she gets her first look at the installed project is a real high; one that we enjoyed many times. But much of it was also filled with anxiety: wondering if we were going to be accepted back into a show that we counted on; worrying about making pieces that were inexpensive enough to sell but were still artsy; worrying about bidding too high or - worse - too low, and wondering why when the phone doesn't ring. And nearly always that insecure feeling of not being good enough.
But now I've taken up painting again. When I was a kid, all I ever wanted to be - after Cowboy, Fireman and Policeman that is - was an artist. And I like to think that some of the glass work I did WAS art and I always tried to approach my glass in a "painterly" fashion, even learning to paint on glass to an extent. So I'm doing something I really love and I don't have to worry about whether someone else will like it or not.
I'm also more involved in the day-to-day of the house and the garden, cleaning and planning meals and keeping things trimmed up.
So I'm happy with my decision. Now I have to sell a ton of glass, glass supplies and tools. Anyone interested?
j
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