it's that time of year...kids heading back to college .... the first glimmer of the coming change of season, as my ligularia blooms stalky yellow flowers that scent the air with chocolate...yes! chocolate... The hydrangea bush, which flowered in such brilliant profusion all summer, begins to take on a faded softness, equally as beautiful... the giant leafed hosta has given up it's seeds, but stands proud, still sheltering the bunnies and chipmunks. I love fall. the crisp air...the dusky scents...leaves become brilliant light shows, then crunch under my feet as diva and i walk the woods. not to rush the season - there's still plenty of heat left to the day, but the nights are cooler now, and a light blanket is a welcome snuggle. some exciting news: I may be partnering with the Renegade Seamstress herself, Helen Carter of Secret Lentil to do some adornment on her lovely models and outrageous clothing! it is up to every artist to own at least one item from her. you just feel more authentic. oh - did i purchase just one thing yesterday? shame on me. I started reading Jennifer Lee's Right Brain Business Plan. only on page 7, but can tell this is what was missing 10 years ago when i started/stopped/started thinking about becoming a fulltime artist as a career. the timing is right, now. and i remember having a conversation with a realtor 10 years ago that stayed with me like a burr in my shoe. she asked what i did for a living (ie: how would i pay a mortgage), and i easily replied that i was going to be a fulltime artist. she then asked me what plans i had for my business. crickets. umm. plans? well, i was going to make art, i suppose, and sell it. oh, that's nice. sell it where? stores? art galleries? home parties? flea markets? curbside? where? where? and how? and when? well, she didn't get that spanish inquisition about it, but i knew i had to have a plan for my business (hmm, a business plan? oh no!) so although that conversation stuck in my head, i never really did make a plan. that isn't how real artists do it, is it? i mean, you just make soulful, wonderful art and people buy it...getting all corporate takes the soul out of it, right? so 10 years ago, my plans were hijacked by love, and now here i am older & wiser. i have the ability to make art. i have the time. i have a great studio crammed with supplies. i have friends who are artists, and friends who aren't. and i have a business plan. well,, no plan, actually. so it started gnawing at me, and a lengthy conversation i had with the incredible & generous Swirlylast March made things gel a bit. i mean, she was using words like "distribution" "hiring reps" "reorder" all those Big Girl words that a serious business person should use, and also should know. i hung up feeling woefully underprepared. again. so i began to search out business books to help. i could do this - i had a 4.0 GPA in college and can make a decent turkey for a holiday, surely i could follow some step-by-step business plan book. i guess the turkey wasn't the only thing i was kidding myself about. and the need for the plan was growing. so i clicked on a link from the Squam Art Workshops site that led me to Jennifer Lee. and i thought "another person selling hope in a paperback." But there was something that drew me in and choked me up...that left over instinct from caveperson times that made me want more info. so i ordered the book. and it speaks my language...no Harvard biz-speak, no quantum physics or square root of the triangulation of the whatever. it is a fun book and it gets the job done (at least it seems like it based on the worksheets and up to page 7). no, i don't get commission, and no, i don't know Jennifer. I will try not to be a dork when i meet her, but have a feeling that this book will be a very important book to me. i will be able to take those next important steps without needing to look down, because i'll know where i'm going, and when i get there. and in this knowledge, there is no room for the paralyzing fear of the unknown. there may be stressful times of the unplanned for, but a flat tire will not end this journey. come walk with me.