Autumn 2000 The Way We Were by LYNDA MCDANIEL This is the final article in NICHE magazine's "Millennium Memories" series about artists and craft gallery owners. Artists and gallery owners remember the different "chapters" in their lives and look forward to the future.   A Leap of Faith It's easy to think that the risky side of the craft world was "back then", in the early days when cow pastures did double duty as weekend craft fair sites, when a van held not only inventory but also sleeping quarters and when everyone on "the circuit" pretty much knew everyone else. But being true to your own act is never easy, even in today's flourishing market. New artists are not exempt from having to conjure up every last bit of faith in themselves and putting their lives on the line in order to pursue their craft. In 1996, Jo Pierce and Marty White Elk Holmes, a glassblower, did just that. "Both of us wanted to stay home with our son, Elijah Nokoi, during his first three years", Pierce explains. "So we made the decision to leap empty-handed into the void of the unknown. We both quit our secure positions, mortgaged our home to the hilt, sold our truck, went deeply into debt and put our fates, and faith, into ourselves, each other, and the hands of the universe." They build a 1,250 square foot glass blowing studio adjacent to their home in Glen haven, Colorado and worked long days. With $12 in their checking account, they headed to their first major show - The Buyers Market of American Craft in Philadelphia. "Something very interesting and life changing happened along the way", Pierce recalls. "We began to realize that it didn't really matter. We knew that as long as we had each other, our health, and the clothes on our backs, we were a success." Nevertheless, their leap of faith was rewarded. Work from White elk's Visions in Glass is sold in more than 150 galleries throughout the country today.   <Back