It's Official

Well, it's official. I'm taking the leap!

With a little trepidation and nervousness, I put in my formal resignation yesterday, so at the end of my contract, I will no longer be a teacher for Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. I'll be a full time artist.

Up until this point, I have only declared my intention of stepping away from teaching, but now I have begun the actual stepping away process. Although I have six weeks left in the school year, my contract is officially up in mid August, which means that I'll have a couple of months over the summer to get adjusted to the idea of being a full time artist. It hasn't really sunk in yet. It's such a monumental decision for me, but I don't think it will really hit me until the fall when the new school year begins, and I won't be going back.

I just have to figure out a way to make a living at it.

Dave and I already have a number of things lined up for the summer and the fall, including teaching workshops at Art Unraveled in Phoenix at the beginning of August and Art and Soul in Virginia Beach at the end of September. We'll also be keynote speakers at a couple of different state art education conferences.

I've also got ideas for some local workshops and events, and I have some notions for more online workshops. I would love to travel and teach at other venues, so I definitely need some help in finding studios and art stores where I can teach workshops, so if you know of a place, let me know.

I guess there's no turning back now, and I would't want to even if I could. Here's to taking the leap and taking flight.