Have you ever met someone that completely changes your life, and, well, your outlook on everything. I was fortunate enough to meet such an artist at Art & Soul last year in Hampton. I took a class with Juliana Coles. Juliana is such an incredible artist, and to take one of her classes, is really life changing and for me, quite freeing. I immediately came home and purchased more of her workshop booklets and the journey continued.
My call to action for each of us.....support one another in our journey. That may sound silly to you, but I just wonder sometimes what our lives would be like if our favorite artists would not be creating art because they have "safe jobs". You know, jobs that bring in a regular monthly paycheck with benefits and such. I wonder what I would be like as an artist if my "mentors" would have decided to do something "safe" full time, and completely ignored their creative calling, and not lived their dreams as full time studio artists.
When I shop, I always support local business owners. I buy my makeup from my Mary Kay gal, and my cooking utensils from my Pampered Chef lady, and my art always comes from other artists....
So, I challenge each of us to support each other in our dreams, our amazing journeys so that we each can continue to live what we love.
Juliana, I thank you, thank you, thank you, for living your dream and sharing it as a blessing to others!!
Until next time,
Ophelia
11 comments:
Great post, Ophelia. I agree: it's so important to support each other; as we do, we support our own dreams and hopes for the future. And, those of us who are lucky enough to be pursuing our own artistic journey must also encourage those who haven't yet taken that "leap".
Hi Ophelia,
Thanks for posting this- I always love to hear about life-changing teachers! I think I will check out some of those workshop books, too. I appreciate the reminder to support others who work for themselves!
Big hugs,
Jennifer
Thanks for the comments. Yes, I agree we all need to pitch in and support each other. Its good Karma practice.
Kimberly
I totally agree. It makes you think about your own life too, doesn't it? Like what gift do you have that you should be sharing but aren't because of fear of leaving your day job. Unfortunately in our current economy and healthcare system, it is VERY hard to leave what you have. Hopefully someday that will change, and there will be a lot more artists and teachers out there. Thank you for your thought provoking post :-)
I agree also. It's just as important as a creator to hear that your creations inspire others and/or bring them joy, because many times an encouraging word (or sale) can make the difference between someone continuing on that path or giving up and finding the "normal" job.
Glad I spotted your blog on ArtComms. Excellent post. Very thought provoking
Hi Ophelia,
I always support local business. I just made my first purchase from ESTY, I'm taking my first on-line class and try to support other artists and comment on their blogs when something they say or make touches me. Great post.
Hi Ophelia,
I always support local business. I just made my first purchase from ESTY, I'm taking my first on-line class and try to support other artists and comment on their blogs when something they say or make touches me. Great post.
I totally agree. If artists do not purchase art from each other, how can we expect others to do so? And, if an artist cannot spare the cash for a purchase, they can always give a sincere compliment or a well thought out comment about a blog entry. "Very nice" or "I like it." is better than nothing, but only slightly more so.
I so totally agree, Ophelia! Supporting each other is "life's blood" in my opinion. Great post, and I so enjoyed your demo yesterday. Thanks for everything and see you soon. YAY!
Lovely post, Ophelia. We gain so much by supporting one another. Inspiration, comraderie, insight. It is means so much when you know you are helping to foster someone's dreams.
:-)
Shelly
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