Right around this time last year one of those big Oh! birthdays was barreling towards me. Sucker was coming fast. I had to either jump out of the way or get steamrolled by another decade.

Well hell, I didn’t have time to get old. There were still too many things I had to do. Like breathe. And discover my bliss, much less follow it.

Because I’d spent all my life doing. Not being. I’d put my dreams on hold and taken time out to marry and raise a family. And then took care of my elderly mother. These were all good things and I’ve no regrets, none at all. Well, maybe one…I wanted to live before I died. Live for me.

And then I heard about SmARTist, a seven day telesummit professional development conference for visual artists. Call it a whim, call it a hunch, call it a major leap of faith…I decided to invest in myself. To revive the art career I’d carefully put in boxes and packed away when Firstborn, AKA Baby Marine, went to war.

I scraped together the money, because it wasn’t cheap, took the time off from work, told Mama even though the car was parked in front of the house I WAS NOT HOME and then, for seven days, I sat in front of the computer and filled an ENTIRE notebook with incredible insights and information.

By the time the seminar wrapped up I had booked my first show in seven years. Seven years. I had no current body of work. My mother was living in my studio so I had no place to make art. And worse…no clear vision of what I wanted to do. But I booked the show for November, figuring that gave me time to work things out.

Mama died last spring.  Everything was put on hold as I took care of her through her final days. It wasn’t until June that I began making art again. And then there was no stopping me. I developed a strong body of work. Built a website, developed a blog. Been in two shows. Got a new studio under construction. I’ve been expanding my horizons through online classes and international networks of artists and writers.

I’m finding my creative tribe. And my creative vibe.

And it all started with SmARTist.

I’m spread a little thin these days. Got a lot going on, online and off. But when I saw the list of speakers and topics for SmARTist 2012, it was a no-brainer. And it starts today! YAY!!!

Other people my age may be looking forward to retiring but me? No way–I’m just beginning a new career.

And I’m loving EVERY minute of it!