I Was Approved for my SRA Status. Yay!

Back in September I applied for admission to the organization of Self-Representing Glass Artists and finally got notified of my approval today. I'm unexpectedly excited about it. It's not really such a big deal. You just need to submit proof of some of your body of work, your business, web presence, studio/workspace, etc. as evidence that you are indeed the actual artist. They aren't judging the quality of your actual work per se. None-the-less, I feel like I've gained entrance to this special society of artists. I am creatively driven, love to design and create but have never actually gone so far as to present myself as an artist. And yet, I have been accepted. I'm thrilled. I have a membership number that must be displayed anywhere I describe myself as an SRA and the logo to use as well. Here it is:

SRA # B-206

This is how the SRA for Glassworkers website describes it:

We are a group of glass artists who are dedicated to the art of lampworking, an ancient art form that flourished in Italy in the 1300s and then spread throughout Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world.

We work at home in our own studios, making beads, marbles or other glass objects one at a time. Patiently and carefully we strive for perfection in every object that we make. We are from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Israel, Germany... all over the world!

This is my studio, aka the back shed.

That's it. Now as I labor away in my little home studio late at night, listening to hours and hours of NPR and BBC and my own untethered thoughts, I feel part of something larger, a network of solo creatively-driven glass artists. And I feel proud to be one of them!