I am so glad you are here and interested in learning more about my artwork! It has definitely been a journey, and I thought I would answer some of the questions I have received by sharing a little bit about that journey here. You can read the shorter version by visiting My Story on my website.
As many artists will tell you, I have had a deep longing to create for as long as I can remember. I always wanted to build, sew, paint, craft, or photograph something. I remember my first camera I got for Christmas when I was probably 8 years old. It was a pink Barbie film camera, and I still remember the sound of that flash popping up. As a kid I used my mom’s needle and thread and an old t-shirt for my first sewing project. I filled more coloring books than I could count and entered every school art contest. I started lettering my friends’ names on tie-dyed watercolor pieces. Looking back I see so many things, even that early, that pointed me right to where I am now.
I enjoyed art all through high school, but I wasn’t really challenged and didn’t get much art education. Every aptitude test I took throughout school pointed me to a creative career, but I wasn’t educated on my options. Coming from a very small town, it didn’t feel like the practical choice so I started college with no idea what I wanted to do. I remember walking into the student art gallery freshman year thinking how amazing it would be to have work hanging there, but it seemed so farfetched. I took my first drawing class, and I will never forget when a “real” art student complemented my work and said I should be an art major. I don’t know why it took someone else telling me that to make me think it was possible, but it encouraged me enough to take more art classes. Eventually, without making an intentional choice, I was on my way to an art major. I ended up completing my fine art degree from Lyon College in Batesville, AR after winning juried competitions and completing my senior exhibition where the entire student gallery was filled with my work. I learned a lot, largely through my own experimentation, but no one ever told me what to do after graduation. I was clueless about how to make use of my skills in the real world.
A year after college I got married and moved to Missouri from my hometown in Arkansas. I still had no idea what to do with my education when a job at a local bakery landed in my lap. I ended up decorating birthday and wedding cakes for work, and it was a wonderful, creative outlet. On the side I dabbled in a little bit of everything. I continued taking photos, made jewelry, opened an Etsy shop with hand lettered prints, and created brightly colored paintings in my basement just to name a few. I started a blog to share my projects, but I wasn’t consistent and nothing really stuck.
Once I had my first baby I took my blog in a different direction and threw myself into motherhood. Then I had another baby, and I really started wanting something for myself again. A friend had asked me to create a painting for her, and it reignited my fire to create. I set up a small studio space in our sun room, and my husband helped me make time to work. I spent most Saturday mornings painting brightly colored florals on 6x6” wood panels. I started adding line work to them, and I felt like I might be finding my way. I was excited for the first time in a long time, and I had a pretty successful release of my first ever full collection of pieces despite my complete ignorance when it came to marketing. I followed up with a series of prints focusing on children’s spaces, but I lacked the confidence in myself to truly do my research and find the best printer and pricing. I had no clue how to market myself, I was disappointed with the result, and I just sort of stopped.
A few years later I experienced a complete upheaval when my daddy passed away. Our family had never experienced anything like that loss, and we were shaken to the core. Six months (and a lot of prayer) later we were loading up and moving back to my hometown with plans to build a house on the property where I grew up. I went back to school and got my masters in teaching and taught middle school art for two years while we rented a house. My kids started school and daycare for the first time ever, we had much less space, and everyone was sick all the time. It was without a doubt the busiest time of my entire life. I didn’t have a designated space or time to create, but in my heart I dreamed of an art studio and kick starting my business once we got settled in our new home…
Click to read part two of my art journey!
XO,