Tara Evans ~ Weekend Takeover!

We asked Tara Evans of @taraleequiltery to share a little bit about her quilting journey and here is what she had to share with us. I think that a lot of creatives can identify with what Tara has to say especially when education, careers and every day lives took over our creative selves. The journey to rediscover the creative side can be tricky. Thank you Tara for sharing this with us!

Ok guys, let's get real here. I'm not one to write a blog post. English was my least favorite subject in school. I've always been a maker of physical things, not a writer of words. So... I put off writing this blogpost. But I realized that it was more than just the discomfort of writing something for people to read, it was a lot deeper than that. The face is, I feel like a fraud. And I think a lot of you readers are like me.

Let me explain. Up until about 2 years ago, no one knew me (on this scene, I mean), I was a stay-at-home homeschooling mom. I was in hiding, artistic-wise. I had been dealing with morning sickness and sleepless nights, baby smiles and sticky toddler fingers, teaching ABCs and long division. Then one day I designed my first quilt top. It was for my son and it was an exercise in HSTs. But it sparked something. My once strong artistic muscle that had been flexed all thru my years in university was starting to work again.

And so, in came Taralee Quiltery. I started designing more quilt tops and then started writing patterns. And now, here I am, in this fun but sometimes difficult world of self promotion. It's a delicate balance between creating and sharing. It's about meeting a great community of fellow makers and also trying to gain people that may be interested in purchasing your wares.

And as I ride this wave I can sometimes feel like a fraud. Don't get me wrong. I'm an artist. I've always felt like an artist. But am I a "successful" artist? What does that mean? The number of patterns I've sold? The classes I've taught? Being featured in a magazine? I easily get sucked into a cycle of belittling what I am and what I've done. So, for this guest blog post, I'm not going to talk about my "successes" because at this point there hasn't really been many of them. But what I will say is thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for the likes, the comments, the sharing of my content. It's because of you I am able to turn my art into some sort of income. 

As a creator, a woman, a mother who struggles with putting myself out there, thank you for being a welcoming environment where our talents and creations can shine. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

~ Tara