Saying Good-bye

Today was the last day of a journey I've been on for almost 5 years now. In the fall of 2003 I opened the Bubble Gum Ice Cream Art Studio. I had been teaching after school art for 3 years and decided that broadening my audience would be a great experience and was needed in our little community. I did tons of Birthday parties, taught after school everyday, started a Ladies Night out program, and taught some adult painting. After a year on Washington Street I moved the studio to a community called Summergrove. Quickly I found that a pricier rent was not a smart move. I'd become friends with one of my students Mommy's, Valerie, over the past year and knew that she had always wanted to own a fun French inspired store front. I called her up one day in October of 2004, and the next week The Vintage-Flea was born! It was not even a year later that we packed it all up again and moved to downtown Newnan to the Greenville Street location. The picture above was the original space I rented for the art studio.
This is Mailey and me at Halloween outside the Flea.

So today I packed the art studio up for the third time in five years. It's all in the back of my pick-up truck right now waiting to be transferred to the storage unit. I am a bit sad today, of course this feeling is only natural. I don't think of my leaving the studio behind as a sign of failure because the path I've taken has led me to the most amazing doors that keep opening up! I am so excited about this new journey as full-time artist. I've known now for awhile that being an artist and art teacher was my true calling. I am so happy that I've gotten to be a part of a successful business, especially with Valerie. We've had the most amazing life experiences. And I'll admit, being a studio and store owner is super fun. But now the time has come for me to follow my dream. I found a new quote that I'll end this post with. It is my new inspiration:

"First it begins inside your heart. Something moves, then opens. Then frees itself. And now you feel a rhythm breaking its long silence. This is going to be good. It is here where you must begin to tell you story."