I'm in the right garden; I'm just trying to pick the right vegetable!

​Artists wear many hats and also travel many paths to discover the true calling.  For those of you that may not know, I am an art educator of 11+ years, a makeup artist of 10+ years, a certified esthetician, along with being the owner of Time For Art, LLC.   Yes, I am an artist.  A few weeks ago I ran into a fellow creative friend and she was tickled to see me promoting Time For Art, for she only knew me as Sharon Davis of S. Davis Makeup Artistry.  She had no idea that I was an elementary art teacher first, and makeup artistry came later.  As we caught up and shared stories and what we wanted to see happen in the New Year, she says to me, “Girl, you are just like me; you don’t know what you want to do.”  We both laughed as it was truly kind hearted.  However, if that statement was made years ago I would have been in a frenzy, at a level of frustration and self-doubt. 
 
What I have learned being a free spirit and artistic, is that we are on a path to discovery and learning new things.  This learning can be daily; it may come in months and for most, years.  I often look at my journey in seasons.  I spent a long time feeling like I was supposed to specialize in one thing and one thing only.  I used to tell myself, “I’m in the right garden, but I’m trying to pick the right vegetable.”  My garden is the world of art, the vegetable I was so unsure of, represented education, makeup, esthetics, pursuit of a master’s degree, and fashion design.  Oh, I was so confused!  I was taught that you find a niche and you do that until you retire.  My parents are retired educators, so for me, I was supposed to be a teacher in the education system.  Although I was great at teaching, I was not satisfied with that vegetable; I just knew it was something else.  I spent a while trying to find that one perfect vegetable.  Then I thought of my daddy and his garden.  My daddy actually had three gardens.  One was filled with string beans, collards, squash, and tomatoes.  The other gardens were filled with corn, cabbages, watermelon, melons, and there was a grape vine out there as well.   My dad tended to each of them equally and the approach was quite different.  However, he was always so satisfied to watch his vegetables grow.  He was patient and celebrated the successful stock and went back to the drawing board to assess why some of the other produce didn’t grow.  So I began to ask myself, “Why I am I just looking for the one right vegetable?”  I can enjoy the variety of all the other vegetables within this garden.  So I stopped my panic and began to embrace the journey and the opportunities that this wonderful world of art allots me.  
 
In my garden, I have been “teacher of the year” and now I’m providing education to youth and adults in a space I absolutely love.  Is it hard work?  YES, just like watching my daddy with his garden.  In my garden I have nurtured this Beauty Veggie.  I steadily built a clientele of beautiful brides and models.  Nurturing this experience has brought me opportunities to sell and educate on some of the most famous beauty brands in the world, as well as meet these beauty innovators.  It doesn’t end there, as my Beauty Vegetable has allowed me to work with beautiful musical legends, such as Nnenna Freelon, Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Rabun, and I had a chance to work with reality personality, Trina Braxton.  I am still sowing into My Garden of Art, am still producing and I look forward to the experience whether a success or a challenge.  I say all this to you to encourage my creative spirits to stay the course.  It is okay to try different things in this world we call art.  It is a journey, nurture your produce, be patient, enjoy and yield the benefits of your labor.  People may not understand, but they will love what you produce to share.  So don’t just look for that one vegetable in your garden, pick several and enjoy the beauty of each!

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