How and why did you choose to be an artist?

I think art chose me. From the time I was little, I was a creative. My Mom was and still is an artist. I grew up surrounded by paintings & art supplies. She always had a studio set up someplace in the house. In our first house it was in the middle of the kitchen. My Dad started building a log house on our property when I was 5 years old. When I was about 12 years old we moved into that log house.. There was a room set up as my Mom’s studio in the new house.

Whether it was painting, sewing or crafting, she was always creating something, which meant, so were her kids! When it’s normal to grow up with things in the house, whether it be paintings, music, food, animals etc, it almost becomes part of your DNA. Your natural surroundings.

When adults say they don’t have a passion for anything, or they don’t know what they’re good at, take a look back at what life was like when you were a kid. What got you fired up and excited as a kid? Were you always pulling out the pots and pans and getting in your Mom’s space when she was baking or cooking and always wanted to help? Were you picking up the guitar, or getting really creative with your clothes as a teenager? Were you super into movies? Steve Speilberg began his career when he was just a young kid. He used to make movies with the family camcorder.

There was probably something that got you excited when you were a kid and maybe you’ve forgotten how much you love science experiments or owning a pet? Maybe you had a lemonade stand at the end of your drive way and there’s an entrepreneur inside of you somewhere that needs to be re-awakened! Or you used to write pages and pages of stories or journals and poetry and you just haven’t found the time lately to write.

Those things we did as kids, when we had all the time in the world, can get lost in the business of being responsible adults. That’s normal. But if you are searching super hard for what your passion may be, you probably don’t have to try so hard. What did you enjoy as a kid? You will probably enjoy them now as an adult. Even if it seems silly to do now as a grown up, that doesn’t matter! Does it bring you joy just thinking about it? Then I think you found it!

Maybe you used to collect things. Heart shaped rocks, or sea shells. Someone told me their kid likes to collect sticks! They kid of rolled their eyes and shrugged their shoulders about it, but I bet you that kid has a plan. Maybe they’re going to make something cool with the sticks, like a homemade clock. Who knows! It DOESN’T matter! If collecting a bunch of sticks makes you happy, then DO IT!

Maybe you used to build things. Legos, sandcastles…whatever. And you chose accounting and are unhappy. Maybe you need a serious career change! haha! Or maybe you just need to carve out space to literally build lego sometimes. Doing things that make you happy are essential to live a happy life. We all don’t need to re structure our whole lives to choose to do some things that make us happy, but this blog is to just get you thinking again about what brings you joy.

Maybe you loved to colour, or do do puzzles. Time spent doing things like this isn’t a waste i it brings you joy , excitement or even relaxation. We need to allow ourselves time for that kind of thing.

A few years ago we went to Costa Rica for a 3 week holiday. I met a lady running a taco stand right on the beach and leaned that she used to live in Canada and worked many years at a job she hated and after visiting Costa Rica, she realized she just wanted to cook for people on the beach. So she runs her own business now in paradise. This is an extreme move, but it was inspiring to hear her story. Doing things you love is so important. Even if it’s every once in awhile. Even if you have a few minutes a day. You don’t need 8 hours a day and a full art studio to enjoy painting. For most of my life, up until about a year ago, my art work space was set up in my home. Just in a room designated to paint in. It started in my childhood home in the kitchen with my Mom, then a spot in her art studio, then my bedroom when I was a teenager, then a small room in our first house, then the whole lower level of our second house, and now a full blown art studio/gallery addition we just completed in June of 2023.

So I guess when it all boils down to it, I chose art because it makes me feel good and over time, I found a way to make a career out of it. But that all came later. Maybe that’s another blog post because it’s another story. I chose art because I love to create. That has always been number one.

xox,

G