The stoodio8 Genesis - why is there a marketplace for the arts

Launching stoodio8 is very nerve-racking because, well, I'm nervous.  I have had the idea to have some sort of gallery for years, but for various reasons it was never something I thought I would actually do.  But sometimes in life things happen that can alter your outlook on life enough to cause change.  In my case it was the passing of my mother.  My parents were great parents.  Both of them came to Canada with very little and worked hard to provide for four kids.  They didn't earn a large income but enough to fulfill their outlook on life which seemed to be  that even though you work hard there always needs to be time for fun and vacation.

My father was the first to pass away and it's a very difficult time when you lose a parent.  But then when you lose your second parent, as when my mother passed away, there is an even greater sense of loss as you no longer have "the other parent" to hang on to.  It was sad to think that on my side of the family the 4 of us kids were now the oldest living generation in our family tree, as both my grandparents and now parents had passed on.  I started to feel that I could no longer procrastinate on doing some of the things I wanted to do.

When the estate was settled and I received my portion of the inheritance, I didn't even have to think about what I would do with it.  I can't explain it, but I had such a strong feeling that I had to do something with the money that would honour my parents for their hard work.  I saw this as family money, not my money.  I wanted to do something that would go beyond using it for myself.  I felt that it would be best if my entire family could somehow benefit from this over the long term.

So I put the money into a company account, hired a web design company and started to create an internet art gallery.  stoodio8 as it is now called, is nothing like what I initially envisioned, and has evolved into something I truly believe in.  But now, I admit I am a little nervous.  I believe in the value of this site, but will others? I know how this can truly help the entire arts community, but will others? I am now nervous about finding the best way to have people understand my vision for the website and take the leap of faith to come on board and be a part of something that may seem basic right now, but will evolve into some incredible stuff.  I am nervous because I am doing this with my parents money and in honour of them,  and I guess there's still that kid in me that doesn't want to disappoint my parents.

Maritta