You Don't Know Until You Try

"I don't like that," my friend's son says when I offer him a soda water mixed with cranberry juice."Have you tried it?""No. But I know I don't like it."We all chuckle when kids do this, but don't we sometimes do the same thing?I was sure I would hate standing up and talking to people about my work all day. I was so sure about this that I avoided any events where that was necessary, only showing my paintings in situations not requiring my presence.It turns out, I was wrong.Last weekend, we held the first ever Art Trail in Skipton. I helped organize it and I showed my work in a local church, sharing the venue with 5 other artists. What a great time we had!The other artists were lovely and the visitors were even better. All were engaged, friendly, and interested. Far from how I had expected to feel (shy, uncomfortable, awkward) I found myself easily opening conversations with people and really enjoying hearing their interpretations of my work. I sold a few pieces and had serious interest from a few additional collectors.Far from being a drag, the time flew by and - although I was exhausted - I came away committed to doing more of these events.A close friend of mine is a play writer and he recently went out on a limb to put on a play at the Manchester Fringe Festival. The event was a risk as he had to invest time and money with no guarantee of return. But in the end, the show sold out and on top of that, he won a coveted award for Best New Writing.As I get older (and hopefully wiser) I realize just how often we limit ourselves, saying 'no' when we should be saying 'yes,' and missing out on opportunities because it's easier not to try.Those days are over for me. When it comes to my art, I am committed to doing the things that scare me because those are the things that offer the most potential reward. (When it comes to insects though, I reserve the right to avoid the scary things!)