In a quote attributed to Violet Fane, a 19th Century poet and socialite and the pseudonym of Lady Mary Montgomery Currie, states, "All good things come to those who wait." That may very well have been words to live by for 19th Century aristocracy with a literary circle of friends who exuded wealth and influence. Her words ring particularly hollow from a 21st century perspective for most people, certainly from my perspective as an artist. Waiting in the wings patiently for all good things to materialize doesn't seem to be happening despite my hard work. The year 2017 as a whole started uneventfully, but quickly turned into the Year From Hell with several unexpected health crises. Though in general I recovered quite well and rapidly, the scare still put me in a self-evaluation mode that left me intensely checking my bearings in all aspects of my life. I had learned to trust my instincts more than I ever have - when something doesn't seem right, it isn't. The sooner you can get to the root of it the better it will be for all concerned. So while asking the simple question, "What am I doing here?" The answer coming back loud and clear from the Universe was, "You are here to create art for children." So that seems pretty direct - not a huge revelation, it is what I have been doing for 30 years, right? Part of the reason I do it is because I tend to think a lot like a child, and that quality makes me a very good children's artist, but it also makes me a distracted person in general. I am off chasing a butterfly or poking a stick in a stream when I am supposed to be focused on something else, maybe. My friend, Herb Pearce, an artist and a world renowned expert on the Enneagram, tells me I am, "Such a nine!" Which means that chasing butterflies and the like is kind of in my nature anyway. When I described myself as being a "leaf on the wind" and wanting to be more self directed, choosing my heading, Herb confirmed that grabbing that tiller and steering the boat is always a challenge for people who share my Enneagram Personality Type. But striving against the tide and determined to adjust my course I have taken some solid steps toward making good things to happen, specifically in terms of my art career. I know I am terrible at marketing my art. So, I took an amazing workshop, the Art Business Institute Summit in April. Led by ABI's Carolyn Edlund, founder of Artsy Shark and Joyce Creiger, Art Consultant, and CEO and Founder of Art Specifier and The Creiger Group, this intense bootcamp led artists through navigating the new art marketplace, pricing for profit, working with designers and art consultants, utilizing the internet and social media to sell more work, and much more. The workshop was excellent, and I even received individual consultations with both workshop leaders - PRICELESS. They both confirmed one thing I already knew - my website was dated, out of sync with the art I was creating and not going to work for the NEW DAWN that is happening now. They both suggested moving it to a site like Squarespace, which I did. I am excited to launch my new site, geared specifically toward children's art, with a small dash of my watercolor and acrylic work. They both also confirmed what I had hoped, my art is good and super marketable. I am heeding all of their excellent advice and getting this site ready to launch. I will be offering work for sale via the e-commerce site built-in to my new Squarespace home. Everything is easy for me to edit and looks great on a phone or tablet, so I have no excuse if my site isn't up to date or looks tattered and old. A Wordpress course I took a few years ago left me feeling frustrated, I couldn't for the life of me manage the C-panel and in two years of owning a domain and paying for a Bluehost site I never managed to publish my page. There is probably still a sad page somewhere in cyberspace that says, "Coming Soon". Just so you know, it is not coming soon. So Lady Violet Fane, you sit on your stuffy 19th Century chair and wait for your good things to happen, but I am grabbing my good things by the ears. All Good Things shall come to those who get up and get that website published! Wish me luck! Cheers! Dawn Evans Scaltreto