Q&A from you...

It's 4 pm. I just woke up from a necessary nap, and still haven't gotten any dyeing done. But I did get an email from artist and author Nita Leland who wants to use my quilts in her revised edition of The Creative Artist!!! I own all her books and she is a such a big deal to me, so I am THRILLED.
To Gerrie: My prize money was $1500 and yes I bought Laura and Frieda's dinner (shrimp for Frieda and Salmon for Laura, + wine.) We were in Paducah for such a short time that I never got to eat barbecue or my all-time fave, pulled pork. My diet is saved.

Debra says: You don't have to choose between making a piece for competition and making a piece for "art's sake"...Just change the kind of competition that you aim for.
Maybe look for more art competitions than quilt shows?
Accept you are FIRST an artist and secondly a quilter.

Ah, such an idyllic world view! Would that I could make a living that way...
In order to justify (pay for ) my artistic bent, I have to be seen by and attract the average quilter. This is a much larger audience than the art quilting world, and one that will take my workshops, buy my patterns, etc. I feel that entering competitions where my quilts will be seen is one way of finding work, but then I have to do something to rise above the crowd or risk being just one of many. It's that part that is tricky. And being the competitor that I am, I have to win or I get frustrated. Not a pretty sight.
I do teach at several art quilt venues, but really there are only a handful and soooo many more venues for all the other quilters out there. If I were able to make and sell only art quilts and not teach I wouldn't be happy either.
In trying to explain my feelings, I have confused myself even further.

O nevermind.