Brush strokes gently glide over a white canvas. Pens sweeping across a blank piece of paper. A clean plate sits ready for a delicious meal to be presented. A story is waiting to be written and told. Creativity is like air to my life. Its been a part of me as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I always loved drawing, creating scrapbooks, and doing anything creative that came my way.
Today I wanted to give you an insight to my heart as an artist. Its a part of me that has always been there, but has ebbed and flowed over the seasons on how it presents itself in my life. I've done a lot of different art pieces and projects over the years, and dabbled in a lot of different areas of creativity. Take a step into my mind and heart as I share some insights into my passion as an artist!
What are your current favorite mediums (aka favorite ways to get creative lately)? Hand lettering pieces currently tops the charts! I love getting to do word art because I am a very visual person, so if I can create something that reminds me of great quotes, and inspirational verses and sayings, it means that much more! Some other mediums that I really enjoy right now are: chalkboard designs, charcoal drawings, painting, cooking (Zach really loves that!), and blogging.
What are other creative ventures that I have dabbled in in the past and enjoy? When I was younger, I was a die hard scrapbooker! I have several albums scattered around of pictures from when I was a kid (also a whole page in my scrapbook dedicated to stickers...I mean, seriously, there are some cool stickers out there!) Card making was another venture that I branched out into. I still do love making my own cards! I also played around with designing and making my own jewelry, and still have some of those pieces! I also love event planning (we planned our own wedding with lots of fun DIY projects), novel writing, and home decorating.
Favorite series of art pieces that I have done? That's a hard one to pick! But, I was extremely blessed with the opportunity to travel around the world from 2011-2012, and I was able to paint eight different murals around the world: two in the Philippines, two in Cambodia, one in Malaysia, two in China, and one in Moldova. It meant a lot to be able to come in and bless another country with my artwork and leave a piece of encouragement with the precious people we met there!
Future artistic and creative adventures I would love to learn? One big one is that I have always wanted to learn how to oil paint! I generally use acrylic for my painting pieces, but I would love ot branch out into oil one day! I also plan on creating a series of children's illustrated books, and it's a dream of mine to get into letter pressing.
Who do I get my artistic talent from? Did I take any formal art classes? My mom is who I get my artistic side from. She is an amazing artist and I am so blessed and thankful to have inherited that creative gene and artistic bent in my life. Growing up I had art class in school in elementary and middle school, and had one or two painting classes. Regrettably, I only took one art class in high school (I think in my mind I was like, oh, well I can already draw so I don't need to take a class..oops!), and just a few art classes in college to continue practicing. But the majority of what I have done is self taught and the result of practice!
(Acrylic painting I did in 8th grade after the tragedy of 9/11)
Why I am passionate about creativity? Y'all. I could go on FOREVER about this. But creativity is just that deeply rooted in my heart. I am passionate about it because we are all so unique, and we all express our creativity in different ways. I love seeing how other people express their creativity! Art and creativity is one thing that can transcend across cultures and break through language barriers quickly. Seeing other people's creativity is a small window into their heart, and what is important to them. I absolutely love getting to share my heart through my art and creativity, and I love inviting others into figuring out what they love to do creatively!
What inspires me? Wow, short list or long list? I could probably write a book about this as well. So many things inspire me. It's probably a much shorter list to describe what doesn't inspire me. My top inspiration is creation around me. Nature and fresh air and sunshine just liven up my soul! A good cup of coffee and a lovely meal prepared by loving hands is also incredibly inspiring. Books, music, sayings, the Bible, and other media sources provide great inspiration! Being around other creative people also is inspiring. Creating in a clean and organized space is also inspiring to me! My experiences in life, the stories of others and the things that I observe are great points of inspiration as well.
How long does it take me to create different artistic pieces? Honestly that just depends on the piece and project. A large painting will take several hours, or over a series of days. Smaller pieces can be completed in a day, etc. So it really depends on the size, medium and detail of each piece! My creative process varies piece to piece. For some paintings, I pencil an outline in first, and other times I just go for it! Same with drawing as well.
What is my favorite work that I've ever done? Too hard to pick one! I have a special place in my heart for each piece that I do. I love doing portraits of people that I know or have met, I love the murals I did around the world, and each saying that I write has a special place in my heart as well! It's impossible to pick just one right now.
Do I sell my artwork or do commissioned custom pieces? Yes and yes! I have an
Etsy shop , but currently I do not have my listings up yet. Keep it saved and check back though for when my pieces go up! Right now as I am preparing my listings for Etsy, I do custom pieces and also sell the ones I currently have and share on social media. You are always welcome to reach out and ask for custom pieces, too! I love making a special piece just for one person.
Do I sell original pieces or prints of my work? Right now I only sell my original hand made pieces, and not any prints. I may make multiples of certain pieces (a certain quote, etc), but each piece is hand drawn and made by me! I think it's that much more personal, and I love that you get an original piece straight from me!
There you have it, just a small look into my artist heart and my passion for creativity in my life, and what it means to me! I hope you have enjoyed hearing about my creativity, and I hope that you are digging into creativity in your own life! Be confident and find inspiration in the things around you, then share that with others!
