Sharika Roland

when someone is in the zone they lose all awareness of themselves and are totally absorbed in what they  are doing. And you are doing it better than you ever have and it seems to be flowing from somewhere else so it is totally effortless.
To get in the zone you have to do all the work of being not in the zone. That is the frustrating thing.
It doesn’t feel like you will ever be in the zone and not only that you feel like the most untalented person on earth. But you remember what it does feel like when you fall into the zone so you plug away. hoping that you will fall down that hole to bliss.
The only way to fall is to keep walking the minefield . Don’t stop moving. staying put you will never find it.
Movement is the main key. Don’t quit and run away scared/ Keep moving. slogging through the muck/.
Right now I am all mucked up but that is ok. I know it is just a matter of time and the pay off is such a euphoric joy that it is worth every last tear, penny, drop of blood, hour of pain that you have to go through. Nothing is even close to how great this feels.

I am opening a little store in my studio building.
The store is only about 10 feet by 12 feet so it really is a tiny store, but that is the kind I like.
When I leased it three months ago I had a vague idea to sell portraits out of it but now it is morphed into a french themed gallery of handmade and hand loved items. I like the fact that my friends are involved with the creation of iota. They are making this more like a joint venture than a solo show.
Its about them more than me and that suits me just fine.
This is my first retail store.
I am testing my theory that even if you don’t exactly know how to do something you can still go there.
Alice Waters who started Chez Pannisse in Berkeley quite a few years ago just was following a dream. I love the fact that she just hired college students to be chefs and they just made things up as they went.
Nobody went to school first.
Now Chez Panisse is one of the most famous restaurants in America.
I think the older you get the bigger the risks you should take. What is the worse that can happen. You die. And you will do that soon anyway. You might as well give everything a go and see what happens.
The best part of any dream is the inception. When all things might be possible.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE DEMANDING TO GET ATTENTION.
you can be quiet and assertive.
That is the key. You can’t be just quiet alone. Quiet alone is invisible.
Quiet with assertive is like a nudge.
A nudge is what moves the world along.
Wouldn’t you rather be nudged instead of pushed,
How do you nudge your market?
How do you nudge your children?.
How do you nudge your own life?
Quiet assertion. If you yell at the above they will rebel and go the other way==everytime.
If you just stand there and ignore them they will go the other way also.
But a quiet nudge will move mountains.
People always lean in to hear a whisper.
Always. they think the are missing something important.

My new store is named Iota. just a small space which I love and it is pink. It is going to be filled with things I love and that is all. I will not let anything in that is not what I love.
Every store should be like that. Every dream should be like that.
Every painting should be like that.
You should never never do something just because you think someone will buy it.
You should love it.
Or else you will hate your job eventually and let that stop you from being yourself. You will become a mad person that does not know why you are mad.
You will be sad and not know why.
You can make yourself love something if you put your mind to it so it is not impossible but that should be the goal.
love should be the goal.
Does that sound hippy dippy. well then so be it.
I love going into my store to be and just sitting there looking and dreaming and soaking up juices so I can be a fountain of love.
I will guarantee you that if you do that people will love your store too because you will be a magnet and attract them. That also sounds hippy but it also is true.
If I was going to die next month I would still open the store.
That is the thing. YOU have to love it that much.
It is the most fun thing in the world and it will be wildly successful because it can not be anything but. It is pure.

I came across an artist that did such beautiful paintings that I cannot stop thinking about them.
Sometimes when you see work that leaves you awestruck it is hard to go on.
I literally needed a break from thinking about my own work and had to just think about hers.
When I am in the presence of a master I know when to be quiet.
This work is so important that I will not bla bla about it and just let you look.
Shhhhh we are in the presence of a master painter!