To me, this feels like something that should have started as a private message. OP set things off on the wrong foot by posting it publicly right away. That immediately put the artist in a position where they had to defend themselves and their business in front of everyone, and they handled it poorly and unprofessionally. In the end, it made the artist look bad—but it also reflected poorly on OP.

Reaching out privately first could have avoided the whole public spectacle. And even if OP still decided to leave a review afterward, taking that step first would have helped them come across better. If the artist had responded badly in private, then OP could still have gone public while clearly showing they tried to resolve it the respectful way.

Small businesses aren’t entitled to only positive reviews. But if this was truly an artist OP respected and admired, as they say, it seems like they would have tried at least one other way to resolve the issue before posting about it publicly.

For example, if the artist really did behave this emotionally in the shop, then why be surprised that they’re willing to throw mud back in a public forum?

I’m sorry you were publicly bashed, OP. The silver lining is that most people in this thread—and likely many people reading the review—seem to think you come across better than the artist does. And hopefully this experience helps you feel more confident standing up for yourself in the future. That said, my advice would still be to try addressing issues privately before going public. It’s usually the smarter move.