What Are You Afraid of?? - My First Love - Arts and Crafts

As far as I can remember, I've always been attracted to colors and color combinations. I loved coloring when I was little. I just loved it. No particular reason why - I just did. I remember in the 7th grade at McMain, I used to make these barrettes with my name on them. They were painted in all sorts of colors, decorated with ribbons and dots...and I loooved doing them. I would do them into the wee hours of the night (on the weekends.) I remember staying up past 2 a.m. painting barrettes. My entire family was sleep and I was somewhere in heaven with my paints, wooden letters, hot glue gun and ribbons. It was also my first real brush with entrepreneurship. I would take orders on slips of loose leaf paper. All one had to do was write their name, the colors they wanted their barrette and wrap up 3-5 bucks in a piece of paper and voila! you'd have your very own customized Myesha Francis barrette in 3-5 days. During Vacation Bible School (which we went to Err summer) I could not wait for the arts and crafts portion of the day. Although I did not outwardly show my extremely high level of enthusiasm, it was the part of the day I looked forward to the most. Then in high school, I decided I wanted my nails to look just like my Auntie Le Le's nails. They were always full of colors and I loved it. I must have painted my nails every color "under the sun." And I loooved every second of it. Some kind of way, I got my parents to agree to let me go to Fashion Design School as opposed to a 4 year university. In high school I researched and researched Savannah College of Art and Design, but for some reason, it didn't happen. I wind up going to a little fashion design school in Dallas. I didn't like it so much as the rigidness of sewing just did not sit well with me. Plus, I just didn't like it. But that experience got me to creating small cute pillows and I even designed an entire bedroom with curtains, pillows, etc. It was fun, but still not my "thing." So finally, the story goes on and I'm sitting in church wondering what oh what shall I do??? I remember listening to Dr. Tony Evans talking about your purpose in life. I'd never EVER heard such a thing. That I was actually created/ designed to do something. I remember him saying that whatever you love doing, whatever you would do for free, whatever makes your heart beat a little faster is directly linked to your passion. It was shortly after that, that I heard a still small voice whisper "You're painting on six inch nails and I have six foot canvases for you." It was so real that in that quick few seconds, it was like I was the only person in the room. I knew I was not talking to myself because "paint on canvas" is not something I would have said to myself. I had no concept really of what painting on canvas meant, as I didn't even know what canvas was. But as is my nature, I soon began to research and learn more about painting on canvas. That very next semester I enrolled in art school. And now here it is, some years later and I've done just that, even opened a gallery to help sell my works and others and now I'm feeling this yearning, this pressing to just do crafts again. I just want to glue together some popsicle sticks and paint on them. I just told my husband that I am tired of throwing away wine bottles - surely I could make them into beautiful pieces of art. And after I purchased a piece by Lashaun Beal painted on a wine bottle, I am all the more inspired. But then, who's talking now is fear. Is that fine art? Who will want that? You will make it all and only be able to give it away? Are you crazy? Your family is really going to think you're nuts now! Seriously Myesha - popsicle sticks! Sick of these voices. My spirit says go, my heart says why not? My mind says silly girl. I'm just curious, is it just me or do all of us have these deep passions that seem to be way off, considering where we currently are in life?