Create a Website...Check!

This is a milestone of EPIC proportions as I have had "create a website" on my Studio To Do List for several years and in my dreams for even longer!  I have known that I needed to have a landing space where people could go to see and interact with my art and with me as an artist.  But just as my art has matured, so has the understanding that what I do requires skill and expertise that results in a finished product that has value beyond my personal attachment. I am a professional, I am an artist!

In 2014 I chose to start with an Etsy store instead of a website because it seemed less risky to someone who hadn't had their toes in the paint water for very long!   In fact, several artists that I follow and admire have found Etsy to be a very successful solution for them.  Although I have had some success on Etsy, it seems impersonal and I really desired a place that was conducive to sharing and interaction. 

So now is the time to make the leap...and it is for one very important reason.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard recently about the importance of having my own website.  I've read it in books, heard seminar speaker's discuss it and had it come up in random discussions with friends. 

Here's the deal...social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are great ways to reach people, Etsy stores are too, but each of these comes with limited control over your "stuff".  Corporate decisions could ultimately make or break the small business person dependent on one or more of these platforms.  Just recently Facebook announced that they were changing the algorithm for what people saw in there newsfeed and guess what, it was not in favor of the "page" owner.  

So welcome to Sharon Sudduth Studio's new website, store and blog!  Look around, ask questions, go shopping!  But most of all enjoy yourself here in my little corner of virtual reality!