Huge Goal Attained.....Now what????

Five years ago, when I began to get serious about being an artist, I thought about what I wanted to do with it. I knew I didn't want it to be something that I started and gave up on. I knew I wanted to learn stuff I didn't know, and I knew it had to stay exciting. I also knew that if I didn't set some goals, I would not continue to push myself. These were my goals 5 years ago:

1) Sell some artwork

2) Show my art in a gallery

3) Get published in my favorite magazine.

So now it's 5 years later, and I have achieved these goals. And let me tell you; the first was just as exciting as the second and the third. What a huge ,blessing!!

In life, as in art, I need to set goals for myself to continue to grow and change. With this in mind, someone got the bright idea that I should get my General Contractors License. Hmmmm.

My husband is a commercial GC, and I have worked for him for the last 15 years. I love the business, and I love my job. During the last year, through a series of events, we came to the conclusion that I should also get my license. There are a whole lot of opportunities for a woman with a GC license, believe it or not. There are huge companies that we do work for, that have to spend a certain amount of money per year, with companies that are either minority owned businesses or women owned businesses.

This is where it gets hard. In December I started school, and thus began the hours, days and weeks of studying. Now I don't like to study. I didn't study in high school, and I did ok. I marginally studied in college, and did great. This was different. This was hard.

In order to pass the State Exam, you have to study the law side and the trade side. Now I have no problem with the law side, like I said, I have been doing this for 15 years. The law is the business practices, the employee financial requirements, and the legal issues of contracting. NO problem.

The trade side, being that it is for a General Contractor, meant I had to learn basics of the 8 major trades: Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, framing, drywall, insulation, roofing, and concrete. Let me tell you what I know about these trades: I know how to call my subcontractors to answer any question I might have!! Needless to say, about halfway through this process, I figured I had bit off more than I could chew. But I'm stubborn like that. I would continue to work hard, and when the test date came, I would be prepared the best I could.

Well, I passed. I am the State of California's newest Licensed General Contractor! Whew!! Boy am I glas that's over. But the question is: Now what?

This piece is titled "STRONG".........11"x14" mixed media on canvas. Because I am!