CREATIVITY + INNOVATION Page 32 of 38

Putting the sparkle back into my life: Gina Morrison shares her story

Posted on 2011-05-09 at 9:00 am.

Today’s shared story comes from California-based designer Gina Morrison who took the leap and set up her own business selling hair jewellery and bridal accessories.

I always thought a paycheck would be enough. Then I realised I wanted a bigger paycheck. That is what I thought I needed. The big paycheck would make any boring job worth it because I would have a lot of money, right?

Wrong. No matter how big the paycheck, I found that if I still had to drag myself to the hated job, then the money wasn’t enough.

This is where I was at a year ago. I had a great paycheck and a low stress, steady job. I knew a lot of people looking for work who would have jumped at the chance to have my job and this made me feel selfish.

I felt bad for complaining about the job and I felt bad for wanting something more. For the first time in my life, I realised that “something more” which I wanted wasn’t about money.

Sure, I would love a lot of money because money gives you options. And options are a nice thing to have. However, somewhere in between a college degree and a few mindless jobs I figured out that I needed a purpose.

A purpose won’t buy me a new laptop or allow me to fly first-class, but it does more. A purpose won’t allow me to sleep. It creates an excitement that makes every day a day I want to live.

About a year ago I decided that to leave behind the string of mind numbing jobs that promised no more than money. Due to my day job boredom, I dreamt up a little company – Acute Designs – and started it as a hobby.

After a week of my new hobby, I realised this needed to be my career.

I worked nights and weekends – creating, saving, and scheming for the right time to break free from my day job. Somewhere along the line I realised that there would never be a perfect time. I would never be making full time money working part time on my company.

I just had to take the plunge.

So, I set my last day of work for four days before my 30^th birthday. I felt like it was as close to perfect as any time would ever be. It was a new decade in my life and a new chapter in my career.

Every single day since I left my job has been fun or exciting or stressful. I will confess that I do miss the money and sometimes I find myself stressing over it, but I don’t miss the sinking feeling I would get as Sunday night closed in and Monday morning loomed. I know that the money will come and I have learned to live with less {which is an amazing lesson to learn at any age!}.

For once in my life I never have a day I dread. I am not working for the weekend and I don’t have a case of the “Mondays.” I used to live for the weekends and now I live for each day. No big paycheck could have ever given me that.

[All images: ae martin photography]

To find out more about Gina visit her website Acute Designs, her blog or her Etsy shop, or connect via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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Would you like to share your story on Do What You Love? Please read this and contact me for details.

Are you doing what you love? Join us for the Summer session of the Do What You Love e-course, for tools and inspiration to do what you love, for life. Class begins June 6, and the course runs for six weeks. Registration is open now – find out more here.

Kindness

Posted on 2011-05-03 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

The kindness of people in this online world never ceases to amaze me. This week the postman arrived with a surprise parcel all the way from Spain – it was a beautiful handmade apron from Judit Laboria, embroidered with my name on (by her mum!), and decorated with a gorgeous flower made from a zip.

Judit chose the colours to match the palette of this website, and sent it as a thank you gift having participated in the first Do What You Love e-course. Wow. I have to say I had a little tear in my eye when I opened it. That someone so far away would take the time to make and send something so precious just for me, as a result of the e-course – amazing. I will treasure it.

I have been blown away by the feedback and energy of the class on the Spring session of the e-course, which recently finished. It was an incredible journey for all of us – one participant said “Everything is changing because of this“, another described it as “by far the best e-course I have ever taken“, and it seems to have had a real impact on many more, helping them become much clearer about the road to doing what they love.

I am excited to be running the Summer session from June 6 for six weeks – registration has opened here. I hope you will join us for an adventure of your own – using the tools, diving into the community and soaking up all the inspiration to help you do what you love, for life.

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Here is what participants from the Spring session of the Do What You Love e-course have been saying about it…

“Wow, wow and wow again.”

“Can’t believe it was just a 6-week E-course. I feel like a different person.”

“By far the best e-course I have ever taken”

“I was and continue to be floored by this course–it was so valuable. It has a killer curriculum covering all the bases. I’m so absolutely pleased I chose this as a way to start turning my life around. I feel like the course will continue working it’s magic for ages.”

Book making heaven

Posted on 2011-04-28 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

View from the studio window

Recipe for a blissful weekend:

Take seven ladies, much chocolate, several boxes of supplies (paper, glue, ribbons, washi tape, paints and who knows what else) and put into a studio in the Chief Keeper’s Office of a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island. Add wine and homemade cake and leave for several days to rise gently. Delicious results every time.

Here’s what I made…

A5 hardbacked book

and this little one, which is just three inches high…

and this other little one with pearl and chain stitching on the spine…

I was lucky to share the workshop with wonderful teacher Rachel Hazell, and five very lovely talented ladies (Sarah, Jeanette, Kit, Ama and Emma). Here is what they made…

Easter books (Emma)

Paper cutting (Kit)

Magazine-collage book cover showing Shetland (Jeanette)

Adorable tiny tapestry made on a makeshift loom on an old canvas frame, using ‘shoddy’ from old machines in the lighthouse workshop as thread (Sarah).

Detail from a painting by local contemporary artist Ruth Brownlee, who used to use the lighthouse as a studio. Several of her gorgeous paintings were stored in the workshop and provided wonderful inspiration.

Ahhhh such a lovely few days…

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Dreams do come true! Mandy Saile and Helen Agarwal share their stories

Posted on 2011-04-18 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This week we share the stories of Canadian artist Mandy Saile of Bijou’s Whimsy and ‘jack-of-all-creative-trades’ Helen Agarwal in the UK.

Mandy Saile

I am…

– A creative & inspired maker of whimsical things

– A gal who’s usually most comfortable around animals, or in rooms full of books

– A a self-confessed rabbit addict, animal lover and animal advocate

– Intensely sensitive, especially about animals

– Plagued by severe chronic and acute migraines which heavily affect my day to day life and creative business. But, I try to see them as positive in their own pain-riddled way, because the headaches and migraines really do force me to slow down and really take notice of the small simple beauties in life

– Slightly obsessive when it comes to my work – I am a workaholic when my head allows

– Hugely passionate, joyful and find some form of bliss in almost every single day because I am always acutely and nervously aware of how short life is

– Full of wanderlust and dream of great travel adventures but at the same time I’ve had a long-standing dream of opening a rabbit sanctuary for rescued test-lab rabbits…so I’ll have to find a way to do both

– Still finding my footing as an entrepreneur but have huge hopes, plans and dreams which I will stubbornly never give up on.

I am Mandy Saile of Bijou’s Whimsy, and this is my story…

I graduated from one of the best art schools around, the Ontario College of Art & Design with associate and honours standing in 1999. I minored in communication and design and majored in illustration. I’ve been an artist and have made the making of art a priority in my life since I was a kid. Lately however, I am realising that it’s not been that long since I’ve really been putting my artistic dreams out there to be answered or believing in the beauty of my own dreams.

In 2003, with the incredible support of my honey, I was ready to take the leap, pursue my own work, and I resigned from my beloved job as a gallery coordinator. A couple years of light-hearted attempts followed, when I thought I believed in myself, but looking back realise I didn’t. I was making tons of pictures, doing lots of work and building up my portfolio and style most definitely BUT I still lacked the courage and belief that I was truly good enough to make a living as an artist. I don’t think it was until I immersed myself in the online world, that I started to see all of the incredible opportunities available that could be mine.

Up until this point, my own dreams were not firmly set in my own heart as truly being possible. And, it’s really just in the last few days that I am starting to ease up on myself. For I am realising that I’ve not been giving it my all for THAT long, it just feels like I’ve been pursuing this art thing for a long time. Because though my dreams have long been big and lofty, I until recently didn’t realise the importance of courage, belief in oneself and the ability to accept abundance as being key factors in the road to success. I would say that it was in 2008 when I became more proactive; I started a blog, opened online shops and just started spreading my art around more and more and now I am really trying, NOW I feel like I am REALLY pursuing this art thing full time.

I can’t really think of a time when making art and being inspired by art was not a major part of my life. It was not however always a nurtured aspect of my life. Many people around me tried to persuade me that ‘art is not a steady or wise path’ , and even nowadays there are more naysayers than positive people around. I do often wonder where I would be now – whether I’d be much farther along the road of success – if my artistic nature and aspirations had been fully nurtured by others. But I’ve always been an artist and I always will be, regardless of where life takes me or how much money I make from it. Making images and being creativity is really just as necessary to me as air, food and shelter. Besides, my love and the rabbits, creativity and art makes up the rhythm of my heart beat.

With my art I want to create images that refresh the soul and fill the viewer with joy; I want to use a vibrant and rich colour palette to quench colour hungry eyes and hearts; I simply aspire to inspire and shed a bit of positivity into a world that is often negative; I want to show and speak of the strength, beauty and fragility of the human spirit, especially that of the female side; and I must create work that prompts reflection and brings attention to the beauty of animals and the need for their conservation & protection.

My perfect day doing what I love is one where I wake up refreshed with no head pain and the sun is streaming into the house basking everything in a golden light. Jazz is tinkling away in the background, and healthy happy rabbits are playing around my feet and napping all stretched out in the sunlight. It’s a day that feels full of promise and feels deeply positive in future plans, dreams and hopes. It’s a day where this soft blanket of peace falls over me because I know I am exactly what and where I should be in that day. It’s this incredibly intense knowledge that I am happy in my life because I could do this life, just as it is for the rest of time. It’s where the day feels long with oodles of time to snuggle rabbits, cook delicious meat-free meals, have plenty of time to read and to hang out with my spectacular honey. A day where I let assumptions, fears, doubts, pressures and expectation fall by the way side because instead I am welcoming in whimsy, abundance, light, luck and love. This is a perfect day for me.

[All images courtesy of Mandy Saile]

Find out more about Mandy on her website Bijou’s Whimsy, on her blog, or in her Etsy shop.

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Helen Agarwal

If you’d told the small girl who liked ‘making things’ that one day she’d have a studio – a whole building of her own – and that in it she would craft lovely things and show other people how to do the same…. she would have thought it too good to be true.

And my path to doing what I love has been as much about blasting apart the ‘too good to be true’ myth as it has about actually creating the dream. I’ve had to learn that we can have what we want….our wildest dreams, our deepest desires. They’re not pie in the sky; they’re put inside us for a very good reason. Because that’s who we’re meant to be.

It hasn’t been a straightforward journey. Nor a quick one. It’s encompassed ten years of illness and a move to another continent that I fought against tooth and nail. There were years of trying to figure out the road ahead before I took so much as a single step; years of going it alone; and years more of playing small. Ultimately, it took three years of solitude in order to get in touch with what I really wanted, establish new mindsets and put the basics of life in order.

I could write reams about the lessons learned along the way; and about the things – and the people – that have helped me get this far. But the biggest boost of all – the life-changing turning point – came when I went to Squam Art Workshops in the summer of 2009. I finally found my tribe…. and discovered the existence of the online creative community (how had I missed that one?!). That virtual – yet very real – world of connections has catapulted me forward to places I never dreamed of venturing. There’s so much inspiration, so much support out there. We are living in extraordinary times and I’m thrilled to be a part of them.

These days I don’t go it alone. I share the journey with friends; share my art with the world. I write and talk and teach and offer retreats so that others will be inspired to live their creative dreams, too.

And I keep showing up. Bottom line is, I’ve learned that you get to do what you love by doing what you love. So these days, there’s no more hanging back. No more dithering. I just do stuff. I let my inclination and gut feeling lead me. I say yes to whatever opportunity presents itself. And the consequence is that the road rises up to meet me. One bizarre circumstance leads to another. And I suddenly find myself places I never expected to be. But loving the journey!

So what exactly do I do?

Well, I write a blog. Take an inordinate number of photographs. I’m currently working on one book and have been asked to contribute to another. I’ll soon be running my first retreat here in the Pennines and I’m also going into business with a local holiday company. I’m designing a wedding, selling skirts, teaching regular piano classes and occasional craft workshops. Oh, and I travel a lot!

Friends comment on how opportunities fall effortlessly into my lap these days. They want to know how it happens. I say:
* Believe the creative life you yearn for is possible. Your dreams aren’t too big. They’re probably way too small.
* Just keep showing up. If you don’t know where to start, do SOMETHING. You don’t have to know where it’s going. But action creates momentum.
* Say yes to any opportunity that comes your way that sounds appealing. Even if it’s scary. Even if you don’t feel qualified.
* You don’t have to opt for just one passion. Or one expression of art. (Believing this one kept me in a place of stagnation for YEARS!)
* Don’t worry about finding your voice. Just do what comes naturally. Do the obvious thing. (Your obvious is totally different from the next person’s.)
* This journey has everything to do with mindset and attitude. Pay attention to those.
* Let go of perfectionism. It’ll kill the joy and halt the momentum. Practise imperfection!
* It’s more than okay – it’s actually necessary – to enjoy yourself! That’s usually when you’re most truly you and can be of most service to others.
* Dare to call yourself an artist. Claim the title. Others will treat you like one and you’ll step into those shoes.
* Connect with others. There’s a world of support and inspiration out there. Tap into it.
* Everyone’s journey will look different; will be unique. So don’t worry there isn’t room for you. Or that it’s been done before. Your journey – if authentic – will be beautiful and wholly your own.
* Let the future unfold. You don’t have to have it all figured out before you start Just accept what comes and see where it takes you. It’ll be far more exciting than anything you could have planned, anyway!

[All images courtesy of Helen Agarwall]

Helen is a writer, photographer, musician, textile artist and jack-of-all-creative-trades whose life and work are rooted in the landscape of the Pennine hills in Yorkshire. For more information visit her website, Instagram (dixonhillgirl) or connect on Twitter @dixonhillgirl.

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Would you like to share your story on Do What You Love? Please read this and contact me for more details.

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Registration for the Do What You Love retreat closes at 5pm UK time on Wednesday 27 April, so if you want to make a last minute booking please do so now!

Don’t miss this opportunity to get creatively inspired, relax in a stunning environment, meet a new community of lovely like-minded people and start or grow your creative business.

This is the ONLY Do What You Love retreat this year. Yorkshire Dales, England (May 11-15 2011) Register now!

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Finding the courage to do what you love: two inspirational ladies share their stories

Posted on 2011-04-11 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This week we share the stories of artists Brenda Mangalore of Sashe Studio in Australia, and Luisa of Happy Serendipity in Germany.

Brenda Mangalore

My story isn’t the usual tale of realising how much I hated my job and finding the courage to quit in pursuit of doing what I loved.

I left a ‘dream job’ as a graphic designer to pursue my hidden real desire of being a professional fine artist. I realised that you can be so close to your real dream (I was being creative after all!) and yet, by not being honest about what you really love, you’ll be just as unhappy as someone who really hated their job.

Battling my fear of failure in pursuit of something so ‘fanciful’ (fanciful = unrealistic & likely to fail) as being a fine artist, I discovered the world of design in high school and thought my dreams had come true! Here was a vocation that was employable PLUS it was creative. It was a lot of hard work but I persevered and pushed through the difficulties. I had to learn how to handle the doubts from well-meaning relatives and friends which only added to the fears. Thank goodness for the stubbornness of youth! I kept the momentum despite the scary by just moving forward, one step at a time.

I did get into university, even more amazingly I landed my dream job! Working in a fun creative studio designing greeting cards and paper products. I had achieved my goal, proved to myself and my very worried family that I could get a J-O-B doing something creative. This grew my faith in the inevitable success that comes when you pursue your goal with all you have, pushing through the fear.

Four years passed by and my yearning to be a visual fine artist continued to pester me. I knew, that deep down I wasn’t really happy. Something was missing. I battled with my inner fear & love-of-security monsters yelling at me, “It’s your dream job! You have travel opportunities like you wanted! You get to make pretty things and be creative all day! There are people who are stuck in boring jobs they hate! You don’t HATE your job! How can you DARE ask for more!”

I envied the stories I found online of artists leaving their jobs and starting their art-life. I realised I had a dream job, but it wasn’t MY dream job. I loved what I did but I wasn’t doing what I truly loved. I was so close to being what I dreamed to be and yet it felt so far away.

Fortunately, my dear husband patiently listened to my laments about wanting more. My sad realisation that on sick days I was glad I was ill and didn’t have to face work. My guilt at realising I fought so hard for this designer life and I didn’t want it anymore. He encouraged me with his full support to grasp at my dream and make it a reality. So mid-2010 I decided I would.

(Brenda next to her painting at her first group art show – “living her dream”)

I wish I could say “I’m living my happily ever after”. In a way I am, but I’m also at the beginning of a new story. Now when I read those blogs about artists and their life, I feel like I’m reading my own future diary but I still have to LIVE in the present. I’m being a full-time artist now! That isn’t to say all is sunshine and rainbows. The fear monsters still screams occasionally, my days are filled with learning to listen to both my monsters and faith. To be a beginner again means learning to be humble, being willing to fail. I realise I’ve had to change my lifestyle too, budget-wise as well as learning the difference in managing myself as a business owner vs being an employee. Learning to be kind to myself when I fail; learning to pick myself up and keep moving forward. Accepting baby steps instead of jumping to the happy ending; learning to celebrate those small steps too. Learning about all the knowledge I didn’t know I didn’t know to live an artist’s life and business, but it all began with making that choice to actively DO what I love. That has made all the difference.

In hindsight, I am grateful for the detours of my life. I think I needed to build up that faith in myself to pursue my journey now. I’ve also realised, I’m happy to make financial and time sacrifices, because I no longer needed shopping sprees or mindless hours of TV to anaesthetize myself from my unhappiness. I’m finding peaceful joy in the simpler things, because now I’m moving in the right direction towards a more meaningful, bigger picture.

I believe that we all have a life dream, an inner flame. We were created to pursue this dream, to do what we love. I also believe there will be a lot of hard work, tears and fears along the way — there is no rainbow without the rain! You just have to keep moving forward towards that life, even when you can’t SEE the light at the end of the tunnel. Have faith in the divine to partner with you to achieve what you were created to do! There will most likely never be a perfect time, or some heavenly sign to tell you when to start doing what you love. You just have to choose to begin. That will make all the difference!

[All images courtesy of Brenda Mangalore.]

Brenda Mangalore is an Artist, Designer, Dreamer, Doodler, Durian lover and Jelly’s mum. Sashé Studio is her online home where she shares her journey of creating this artist-life and business. You can join her in the Sashé Studio Society for exclusive news and goodies or find her on Facebook or Twitter.]

Luisa

Hello everyone. I’m Luisa and I blog on Happy Serendipity. I’m honored to be invited to tell my story here on Do What You Love. I’m currently taking the Do What You Love E-course which I so enjoy, and since I’m talking about what I love doing today here it is actually good exercise for me to find out – while writing this post – if I’m already there where I want to be.

I think I’m already doing a lot of things that I really love. Loving from the deep down bottom of my heart. For me doing what I love doesn’t only consists of actually “making” or “doing” things. On the one hand I DO have a great life which allows me to be creative and spontaneous. On the other hand I have a consistent job that feeds me well and that allows me to live in a dream apartment together with my partner. I am so grateful for being able to do all of those things that make me happy everyday.

(Found inspiration via Pinterest)

When it comes to really doing what I love I can say that I would love to turn my passion into a full-time occupation. I have a very dearly relationship with a sewing machine. Since some years I sew almost every day. It’s like an addiction to me. I sit by the machine and turn nothing into something, fully concentrated, dedicating all my heart and thoughts and love into every single piece. When I’m into a project that takes all my time and creativity there is nothing else that I can think of in that time. And then I saw this quote “Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about” and it hit me. I opened an Etsy shop end of last year and that was big step towards my dream. ALL summer I’ve sat day and night to get the first pieces done, I photographed, wrote descriptions and thought of how to let people know I’m out there, too. That was my first step and I was so proud of myself. I remember my first sale and I literally jumped through the roof.

(Some of Luisa’s lovely sewn creations)

And now I’m there with all my dreams and plans and a bunch of ideas that are coming out of my ears already but I’m totally stuck. Even terrified. The thought of quitting my day job, loosing the security of a monthly paycheck, my retirement pays and a steady day scare me. I don’t doubt my talent or my passion or that I could be so much more than a worker in an office but I just can’t do this right now. To be honest, I’m not brave enough. And I have not yet found a solution for this.

So what I do is keep on doing what I’m doing. I feel very blessed about everything I’ve accomplished by now and I reached the point where I can tell myself that it’s ok to still wait a little bit longer. I gave myself this year 2011 to find out what I really truly want. That’s a big thing to figure out. Throwing out wishes to the universe not knowing what the real wish is is just wrong. Until then I keep on sewing and blogging and just do what I love.

HA! See?! There we have it. I’m already doing what I love BUT there is so much more in store for me. And I’m really looking forward on working on my dream and to fight my way through my future.

[Images courtesy of Luisa]

Find out more about Luisa on her blog Happy Serendipity or on Twitter.

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Would you like to share your story on Do What You Love? Maybe you have some good advice on how we can all be more brave? If so I’d love to hear from you so please read this and contact me for more details.

Layer painting

Posted on 2011-04-08 at 10:30 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Getting stuck into Juliette Crane’s fun ‘How to paint an owl’ e-course and loving getting messy (and using these bright juicy colours). Here are my first couple of backgrounds – over the coming weeks I will be adding owls and some embellishments.

Can’t wait to go mad with the spray paint… Will share more here as the paintings develop over the coming weeks!

STOP PRESS: Etsy.com’s European Director to speak at retreat next month!

Posted on 2011-04-05 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

So excited to announce that… Etsy.com’s European Director Matt Stinchcomb will be one of the speakers providing first hand insight and advice in a special series of creative enterprise sessions at the Do What You Love art and creative enterprise retreat in May!

[Image courtesy of Matt Stinchcomb]

Matt has been with the company since it was set up, just six years ago, by a bunch of artists, musicians and makers who wanted somewhere to sell their own creations. It now handles $400 million in sales, with an annual revenue of $40-$50 million. In 2010, Etsy listed more than 6.7 million products of which the most popular categories were jewelry, art supplies and vintage. Matt has held various roles at Etsy, including heading up Marketing, and as VP of Community, and has been with the company since the beginning.

Matt will join us from his base in Germany to talk about making the most of the Etsy community and the wider online space to market and sell art and crafts. He will also share an insight into his own journey with Etsy, having been part of its phenomenal growth over the past six years.

This will be a unique opportunity to ask and learn about life behind the scenes at the world’s biggest handmade marketplace, and get insider tips to grow your creative business.

Only a handful of places remain for the Do What You Love retreat next month – register now!

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NB this is the only Do What You Love retreat this year. Don’t miss out on this very special event!

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Learning to trust in myself and the process: Sarah Early shares her story

Posted on 2011-04-04 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This week we cross continents as we share the story of stationery designer Sarah Early in the US.

Sarah Early

[Image credit: Sea Star Arts]

Do what you love. Sounds great, right? But what on earth does that mean?

My name is Sarah, and in May 2009 I found myself floating adrift in this terrible job market, an eager bright-eyed hot-off-the-press college grad ready to get down to business, only to find business was kind of at a standstill.

The short of it is, one part-time and unpaid internship after another lead to the realization that now, more than ever, maybe I needed to change my thought process. Instead of finding someone to employ me, pay me, and essentially ‘take care of me’ – why not just trust in myself for those things?

[Photo credit: Sea Star Arts]

I changed my plan of attack and started looking for people who just needed freelance help rather than a dedicated employee. And that’s when everything changed. When things started going well, I decided not to be just a freelancer, but to start a business offering that service to fellow businesses.

My success in the realm of graphic and web services for businesses allowed me to pursue another thing I love: paper and invitations. So early in 2010 I developed a stationery line and invitations, and things are going equally well on that side of my business.

[Images courtesy of Sarah Early except where otherwise noted]

I’m not going to say it’s not really hard. It is. I had the distinct advantage of being fresh out of college, so being broke was old hat for me. The sacrifice for me comes in the long hours and the leaps of faith I have to take daily hoping that everything will pan out the way I want it to. But for the most part, the key to my success has been growing very organically and planning for the future.

I believe doing what you love is as much attitude as it is action. I am lucky to have created a job for myself that involves everything I love – designing, blogging, coding, paper, etc. – but that also by necessity means it involves things I don’t love – like spreadsheets, fear of failure, sales. But I get through the hard parts because I know it’s all integral to my success and continuing to do what I love.

Find out more about Sarah and her gorgeous designs here

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Would you like to share your story on Do What You Love? Please see here and contact me for more details.

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STOP PRESS: Some seriously exciting news about the Do What You Love retreat to be announced tomorrow – don’t miss it!

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Introducing the stunning work of Mirang Wonne

Posted on 2011-03-30 at 11:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I wasn’t expecting to find such delicate industrial beauty inside the old military station of Fort Mason in San Francisco, but that is exactly what I found when I stumbled across Mirang Wonne’s work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists’ Gallery.

You can see the scale of the work in this photo, where Louise is standing captivated by it.

According to the gallery brochure, Mirang ‘creates drawings on stainless steel mesh by burning the surface with a torch. The silver coloured metal surface… bears some resemblance to Asian calligraphy and brush painting created on long scrolls of paper’.

The colours in the melted mesh were beautiful, like oil on water, and the work drew me in.

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I was in California to take a painting class from the awesome Jesse Reno. You can read about it here, and see what crazy stuff I painted! More on my USA adventures to follow shortly…

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Time to do something different in life: Eileen West and Debbie Miller share their stories

Posted on 2011-03-28 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Ever feel that it’s time to do something different with your life? Well you’re not alone! This week we share the stories of Eileen West, someone who knows she isn’t doing what she loves, but is doing something about it, and Debbie Miller, who reignited her passion for art when she turned 40.

(Image credit: Mary Ingraham-Brown)

Hi, my name is Eileen – I live and work in Seattle, and I am not doing what I love . . . Yet! (And here I envision those of you in the virtual twelve-step program for people in my situation saying, “Hi Eileen!”)

My big “Ah-Ha” moment about doing something different with my life came after attending the Fall session of Squam Art Workshops last year. When I got home I wrote:

“SAW was a life-changing experience for me. How exactly my life will change isn’t clear to me yet – what I know is that there is a lump in my throat telling me that I am supposed to do something much bigger and more creative with my life . . . a voice that is calling me to a higher purpose, which will have something to do with Art.”

It felt as if a veil had been lifted and allowed me to see briefly the possibilities of what a life doing what I loved would look like – and then it came down again . . . but not all the way!

To me doing what I love means spending my days doing something TRUE, something that makes my heart sing. It means creating connections and community through art – and eventually I plan to do that through my photography. At the moment, I’m only pursuing photography in the windows of time that present themselves on the weekends and occasionally during my lunch hour – which, needless to say isn’t quite what I have in mind long-term . . .

The biggest reason I haven’t pursued what I love is because I have two children, a “real-job” that pays me well, and I am (for the most part) the sole provider for our family. We’ve felt the economic downturn personally, so having a good job that provides healthcare benefits for my children and me isn’t something I take for granted.

Not to be deterred however, I am actively setting intentions and laying down the road-map for my journey toward a different and full-time creative life! I am turning 40 this year, and here’s a sampling of what I’ve got going on . . .

E-courses! Unraveling with Susannah Conway, and Blogging Your Way with Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring.

Reading! Flying Lessons by Kelly Rae Roberts and Ordinary Sparkling Moments by Christine Mason Miller

Growing! Integrate personal growth seminar – amazing!

Travel! I’m off to Beth’s inaugural “Do What You Love” retreat in the English countryside this May, and back to Squam Art Workshop’s lakeside arts retreat in September.

And all along the way I’m promoting my work, taking risks, and saying “YES!” to my dream of being able to earn a living and support my family as an artist. It feels great!

The universe has been very good to me so far this year. If I had to ask it for one more thing? It would be to have a big blog readership and to sell lots of work through galleries and my Etsy store. OK – so that was two things . . . I can have it all, can’t I?

Eileen currently works full-time as the Office Manager at a small medical clinic in Seattle, Washington. Her dream as a photographer is to photo-journal people’s everyday lives, candidly capturing beauty in what’s real. You can find her blog at West of Whimsy.

[All images courtesy of Eileen West unless otherwise stated]

Debbie Miller

To ‘do what I love’ means that I paint because to do otherwise simply does not work for me. It is how I make sense out of the world. I cannot imagine NOT painting.

I grew up in a very ‘art-friendly’ home where my desire to be an artist was never discouraged, in fact it was encouraged! How great is that? Eventually I found my way to the Rhode Island School of Design where I earned my BFA in Illustration. I thought that this would be a good way to combine art with a ‘real world’ kind of job. The painting classes I took though were where I felt most at home, the most natural, happy. I was lucky to have the late artist Richard Merkin as a professor, his energy, enthusiasm, knowledge and character were infectious and inspire me to this day.

Marriage and family came next and that happily became my focus, although I was always doing something different and more creative ‘on the side’ though – like teaching art, freelance illustration jobs, painted furniture and garden design.

Then I hit 40. I missed my oil paints. I had to paint.

(Oil painting by Debbie Miller)

I dug out my old box of oil paints, bought some new brushes and set up a small studio in our basement and began to paint again. It was scary and exhilarating. Remembering the lessons learned at RISD, I knew painting everyday was crucial to improving and developing. So that is what I did, everyday, in the basement next to the washing machine. At night I would scour the internet for information on painting and it’s there that I found other artists doing what I was doing – painting-everyday and blogging about it. How great to be around so many artists again! Suddenly I was not alone painting away in the basement, there is a whole community of artists online – sharing info and inspiration.

I started posting my small practice paintings on my new blog and from there opportunities like becoming a member of https://dailypainters.com came about and Debbie Miller Painting was born.

My studio has moved to a light filled loft in an old mill building, truly a dream come true.

I am a painter.

Balancing a family with the art does have its challenges – the laundry simply has to wait. Since starting my blog four years ago, one of my favourite things is when I get a message from someone saying that I inspire them or one of my paintings speaks to them in some way. Many people are timid or afraid to let the artist in them out and I understand that feeling. I wish I had known as a younger woman that this part of me was OK and should be the one steering the ship.

Now I have many big dreams – an open painting group here in my studio is something I want to make happen. Getting together ‘just to paint’ with other artists has so many rewards. Teaching workshops is another thing I’m thinking about and of course I want to continue my personal evolution as an artist to the point where the income and the artistry sustain me equally.

Find out more about Debbie on her blog here or on her website here.

[Images courtesy of Debbie Miller]

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