My Story:

My artist story is the story of taking up more space.

Maybe the path to becoming an artist is always meandering. Mine certainly was. I was a service-learning college administrator for 7 years and a special ed teacher for 11 years of my 12 years in the classroom. I have an English degree and a master’s in American Studies. My favorite thing to teach (other than art) is geometry. I have been a barista and a house painter. And I don’t have an art degree.

But when I took my first watercolor class in my late 30s, it just clicked for me. So I painted a lot. And the circle of what became feasible started to grow. At first, I whispered in my most timid voice, “Would other people pay me to paint portraits for them?” So I tried. I offered to paint some small humans in my life. And like magic, more people wanted me to paint the special people in their lives, too. I suddenly was a portrait artist. People who had seen me in one way began to see this new side of me. 

And with a slightly louder voice, I asked, “Could I sell other kinds of art, too?” I literally bought a hat that said “Artist” on it so I would force myself to walk around the world like a real artist. I started to paint lots of things-cities and waterscapes and pets. Some paintings were wonderful; others were not. And I learned that that’s okay-we are not defined by a single painting but by our cumulative artistic journey. And I often learn as much from an unsuccessful painting as a successful one. I painted 30 birds in 30 days-and boy did that open some doors. I applied to national shows and got in! I started making prints and built a website. I figured out the pitfalls and joys of doing a festival.

By this time, my insides and my outside aligned and I told the world, “Hey, I’m still learning here but I’m going to become a full-time artist.” And I quit my job as a public school teacher and started teaching in art studios around the city of Atlanta. It was hard to figure out the balance. I discovered an “artist” is a jack of all trades who never, ever stops learning. I’m a web designer and a bookkeeper and a framer and a graphic artist. I also found that one of my absolute favorite things is to be in community with others as we make art together. 

These days, I find myself shouting: “I’M GOING TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE FIND THEIR ARTISTIC VOICES!” I am now the co-owner of Arts Beacon, a teaching art studio in Atlanta. It is a magic place where people try new possibilities and hone skills and create and grow together. And I get to support and cheer and paint alongside them. 

Who knows what’s next? But I swear if you feel the pull to try something creative, jump! You might just become even more you than you knew was possible.
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Want to learn art at arts beacon with our amazing community of artists? Check us out at artsbeacon.com!

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