Again.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about being comfortably busy. Then life happened, and suddenly weeks passed without another blog post.
Work has been busy in all the right ways, and for that I am incredibly grateful.
But I've noticed something about myself: the projects that matter most to me as an artist are always the first to be postponed.
Client work has deadlines. Emails need responses. Galleries need to be delivered. Personal projects, on the other hand, quietly wait their turn. And somehow, that turn always seems to come last.
One thing that does feel like a win is that, for the first time, I planned my Fall and Holiday Mini Sessions months in advance. It may seem like a small accomplishment, but carving out that time early means I can give my clients plenty of notice, allowing them to plan ahead without feeling rushed. As someone who is usually planning just a few weeks out, this feels like real progress.
Lately, The Sunshine Collective keeps finding its way back into my thoughts. Every time I think about it, I immediately follow that excitement with a list of reasons why it feels impossible.
Real estate. Funding. Logistics. Building a community. The whole thing feels overwhelming before I've even begun.
But if there's one thing I'm slowly learning, it's that every project starts out looking far bigger than the person dreaming it.
That's why I've been looking into the Women's Business Development Council here in Connecticut. The more I read, the more I realize that maybe I don't need to have all the answers—I just need guidance. A mentor. A community. Someone who's walked this path before and can remind me that big ideas are built one small step at a time.
It reminds me of graduate school, where I had both a faculty advisor and an artist mentor.
They challenged my ideas, encouraged me to think bigger, and, perhaps most importantly, believed in my work even when I questioned it myself.
Looking back, I realize how valuable that kind of support was. Not someone to do the work for me, but someone to remind me that the work was worth doing.
Maybe that's the lesson I'm taking into this fall.
The weekend probably isn't getting any longer. There will never be a magical stretch of free time waiting for me to finally start the projects I've been dreaming about. If I want to build them, I have to protect time for them the same way I protect time for my clients.
One hour. One blog post. One meeting. One small step at a time.
If you've made it this far, thank you. Truly. It means more than you know that you choose to spend a few minutes here with me.
As a little thank-you, I'm opening early access to my Fall and Holiday Mini Sessions for my blog readers today. I'd love to see some familiar faces and create a little touch of magic this season.
Here's to making time for the work that pays the bills and the work that feeds the soul.