Wednesday, June 3, 2024 [3:06 PM]

I am so happy to have shared side-b publicly this past month. And to end the month sending, what was very exciting for me, the first side-b newsletter. In case you missed it, you can view it here: https://view.flodesk.com/emails/6657c7e4746f7137ccf9316a

I’ve thought a lot about side-b in many different capacities over the past several months. And I know in my mind and body it’s the next phase as an artist and a business. It’s this type of internal/external dialogue that has kept me in process.

What has felt less sure is what to do with my artwork? While I have fully embraced process, sometimes I question whether I have embraced it too much? What becomes of the work I do create? Does it no longer have a place?

I have felt different things in the last, oh I don’t know, 6 years of truly operating an online shop. Not only does it require monumental effort to create listings, it takes monumental effort to fulfill an order. And I don’t write this to be mistaken as ungrateful. The past version of myself who thought I’d only be so lucky to have a new order email stills has butterflies when she sees them. But labor is still labor.

When I started to form the seedling idea for side-b, I began to lean towards not having an online shop altogether. This would be the way I’d support myself—this would be how my less tangible projects and ideas get backed.

Then, I came across something today that sort of felt like an answer. Or, at the very least, felt like it filled an awkward hole I didn’t know how to address.

From Love Lucy by Lucy Lumen: https://open.substack.com/pub/lucylumen/p/photography-project-confessions?r=1657xx&utm_medium=ios

There is something to curating an online shop that feels like I’m doing something with the work I create. Especially for projects that I don’t submit for galleries, exhibitions, features, or shows. It enables me, to some extent, to publish the work and share it with others.

I’m not sure what this really means, but it sure does feel like permission to keep an online shop in some way. I’ll keep mulling over it, and hopefully decide what will serve me best.