On being Anti-Social.... and fighting with myself not to be!

Yup, that's me most days.... Anti-Social. It's difficult to get myself out of the house, let alone out of my head, and be friendly. Once I'm out though, I can usually deal with it for a short period of time. Then my anxiety takes over... and I start to panic. I've learned to hid it pretty well over the years, but inside my body I can feel everything just twisting and jittering to the point that I nearly want to throw up. Any day I can overcome this is a great success!

I did that this weekend! Thanks to a dear friend! She told me about Mad Pride on the Rock. They hold handmade markets every few months and the most recent one was held at Eastern Edge Gallery on Harbour Drive here in St. John's. Thanks to my friend being gracious enough to accompany me, managed to bring myself to actually set up a table to sell my work at the market.

I set myself up with a "corner table" so that I could feel more secure while I was there. It was perfect! I had a wall on my left, a wall behind me, and a fabulous, beautiful friend on my right. I think the only way I would have felt more secure would have been if I had worn pj's (not real professional lookin!), taken a blankie (it wasn't THAT cold in the gallery!), and my "Hobbs"... a stuffed tiger-ish toy that I've had for years and still sleep with (I ain't afraid to admit it!... he actually helps me sleep more comfortably supporting my arm when I'm lying on my side! LOL) And yes, Hobbs is so named because he looks a lot like Hobbs the tiger from "the Calvin and Hobbs" cartoon.

Anyway... back to the Market with Mad Pride on the Rock... to quote from their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Madontherock/): "Mad Pride is a global celebration with events in Toronto, Ghana, Paris, etc. Its focus is culture, arts and rights of those labelled mentally ill." I think this is a fantastic group! Between this group and my friend, I managed to get out, meet people,and have people admire my work to the point of purchase! woo hoo!!!

OK... so I only sold two pieces... BUT... I got my name out there.... I got to see people's reactions to my work... just about all of it was positive! There were some really good constructive encouragements! Some people were kind enough to share their own talent tips! So much inspiration from so many great people!

I met people, I was friendly, I was social, and I was able to stay mostly comfortable during the event! Now I just need to figure out a way to do a craft fair/market without all the pain and flare up from my Fibromyalgia afterwords! This market was only a five hour affair but it's taking me that many days to get over it! I'm glad it wasn't for the whole day... let alone if it were a weekend fair! There has to be a way! I want to get out there more now that I realize that it isn't too bad to be out with people.

So I guess on that note... I should go make more things to actually bring to a market to sell. ;)

Hope you're all having a happy and pain-free day!