Rant & A Thank You

Today, my friend Kris and I went down to Nashville to do a little shopping and walk around. It was a lovely day. We stopped by Wishful Thinking, which is the store I do some teaching and design team work for to pick up some stuff for a project I'm doing for Marlene (my boss) and then wandered over to another paper/stamping/scrapbooking store in town. Now, let me say up-front that while theses stores both sell art supplies, the gestalt of them is very different. It's like apples and oranges. They are so different, in fact, that they've both managed to stay in business in a very small town. Well the owner of the store kicked my friend and I out because she recognized me as someone who teaches for Wishful Thinking.
I am not kidding.
What confuses me is what did she really think I was going to do?
I'll tell you what I was planning on doing--buying something. (Oh! The Horror!)
I could not believe it.
And what struck me the most about it is how very contrary it is to the philosophy of so many mixed-media artists out there. It got me thinking about how very generous so many of the folks are with their techniques, their time and their posts. Just off the top of my head I can think of 10 artists that regularly post how-to's on their website, who are never to busy to answer questions or emails, and who generously share what they know. I'm not just talking about people who do this for fun, I'm talking about some biggies, like Tim Holtz, Marry-Jo McGraw, and Michelle Ward.
So, I wanted to officially say thank you to all you wonderful folks, big and small, who so generously share your art and yourself with us.
And for the store owner, I have to say, I feel sorry for you. I really do. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in a world where there is only room for you.
OK, here ends my rant.
Tomorrow I will be back with art.