First Art Class...

My first class was a ton of fun!  I wanted to share some pictures of these great kids....

Such a great group!

 

 

My daughter was a huge help with setting up and assisting during class.

 

 

Class in action.

 

 

I just love these kids!  They were so much fun.  I am so excited for my next bunch of

little artists.  I still can't believe I am living my Dream!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Opening...

Hello All!

I am so excited to tell you that my Grand Opening was a HUGE success!  The Colfax Chamber of Commerce started it off with the official ribbon cutting.  So many people came and enjoyed themselves.  There was tons of positive feedback; I am so proud to live in a community with so much support.  Here are a few pictures...

 

Here's me, proud new business owner in Colfax.

 

 

My gallery when you first walk in.

 

More gallery...

 

And more!

 

 

My studio work area where I get to Create.

 

 

The Classroom, where other come to Create.

 

 

This is a great big part of God's dream for my life, and I'm feeling so blessed that it is all happening.

I just want to thank my entire family & friends for all of their support and helping to make this dream possible!

 

 

I'll be posting about my first class very soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Pictures of the Studio!

So, I was looking through my pictures and I found some more from the beginnings of the studio, and I wanted to share.

 

Pulling up layers of carpet.

 

My son helping pry the glued down carpet padding.

 

YUCK!!!  Taking down wallpaper.

 

 

My husband installing flooring.

 

 

Looking good!

 

 

Beautiful!

 

 

Classroom flooring.

 

 

I am so excited about my grand opening this coming Saturday!  If you are local, please join me

at 10:00am for the ribbon cutting and grand opening.  There will be door prizes, refrshments

and an opportunity to sign up for classes.  Hope to see you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Happening!

Yes, it's true.....it's happening......my art studio will soon open!  It's definitely been a work in progress, but it's getting so close.   Let me back up for a second, back in December 2012, my husband and I started renovating part of a building here in Colfax.  It was a huge project because there was a ton to be done and the building had been vacant for some time.  I really wish I had taken pictures from the very beginning, but here's an idea of what we had to do.....we pulled up 2 layers of carpet and then found that the carpet padding was glued to the floor, so then we had to pry that off, talk about labor intensive; then we put new flooring down.  Next, was peeling wallpaper, hours and hours of peeling wallpaper YUCK!  Then came painting and cleaning and cleaning, and yes, more cleaning.  Nobody had really used this building in probably 10 years.

I only have a few pictures of the work in progress, but here they are:

This is after we put some flooring in; notice the ugly wallpaper.

This is the classroom area, my hubby and I built the table.

Moving boxes in!

Getting stuff put away.

"DREAM", cuz it's coming true!

So, I will keep you updated on the progress and take some more pictures.

For anyone who is local, keep in mind that my grand opening will be June 22nd.

I will also post a schedule of the classes that will be offered......stay tuned!

One more picture....

The door to my studio!

Answered Prayers and New Artwork

Isn't it amazing how God answers prayers?  We don't always get them answered right away because prayers are answered in His time.  BUT, it's so cool when He responds so quickly; so quickly that you think, "Wow God, you must have known I was going to ask for this!"  Well duh!  Of course He knows because it's all in His plans for our lives.  So let me tell you about my recent answered prayer.....As you know I'm just starting to get myself out there, I've started my blog and I'm getting my creative business going.  I've been wanting to take bigger steps on this journey and build my creative business, but I knew that bigger steps meant spending money (money that we really don't have).  I'm learning how to the whole process of a creative business works in an e-course by Kelly Rae Roberts; last week she was explaining how to build your business by printing high quality prints from your original pieces of work.  I thought this was a great idea, but this idea was going to turn in to spending lots of money; high quality fine art printer $600, high quality ink for the printer $100, better scanner $120, special fine art paper to print on $50.00.  It all adds up!  So, on Sunday we had a great service talking about how God has a dream for our lives and during the prayer at the end of service the pastor happened to pray about us being able to find the resources we needed to take further steps in God's dream for our lives.  Our pastor always reminds us to pray specifically for the things in our lives.  I went home and I did just that, I prayed specifically, that if it was in His plan for my dream, that I would be able to get a good printer some how.  On Monday, I was cruising through Craigslist and I found the exact $600 printer that I needed to be able to take my next step; the seller was asking for $150, further in the ad the seller stated that she never could get the printer to work right, the colors were off and it liked to print out weird language instead of what you wanted printed.  She was so frustrated with the printer that she ended up getting a commercial printer and was selling this one to see if someone else wanted to fool with it to try to get it to work; her business was too busy to mess with it.  Right then and there, before I emailed her, I prayed that if this printer was the right one for me (even though it wasn't working right), that she would accept my offer of only $75.  I know it was only half of what she was asking, but I put my Faith in God and sent the email.  Later that day I received an email from her saying that she would go ahead and accept my offer because she just wanted it gone; oh ya, and she had brand new unopened ink for it!  WooHoo!  As I was thanking God for this printer, I was also praying that I could get this printer to work for me.  Wednesday, I drove to Spokane (an hour away) and picked up the printer, as I left the seller's office she said, "good luck, I hope it works out for you."  I got home, hooked it up, cleaned the printer heads and realigned everything.  I scanned one of my canvas paintings and hesitated a little before I clicked the print button......."click"......it starts printing......still printing.....and what do ya know a perfect print of my canvas!!!!!  Praise the Lord!  God is good.  Now, I get to take my next step in making prints of my creative business.  I'm learning that if I listen to God and stay on the path that He has made for me, that He will bless me and always take care of me.

OK, that was my prayer  answered, now here are some pieces that I have been working on and finished......

                                  Always remember to love know matter what.

                         This piece was inspired by what happened to me this week..
                         I asked God for what I wanted, I was seeking out what I wanted
                         and God opened the door for me.

                          This is to remind you to remember to Be Still and listen  
                          for God's voice. Take time to listen and you will hear Him.                                                    

I really hope this was encouraging for you.  If you are waiting for an answer from God, just know that He is listening and He will answer your prayer at the right time.  The answers aren't always what we want them to be, but God loves you and wants the best for you.  Let go, give God the reigns so He can lead you down the path of life.

My Continued Journey

So I will now continue......We found out that my husband was going to be transferred to Colfax, WA, I said, "Col-what?  Where the heck is that?"  I find out it's over in Eastern WA; I had never even been to Eastern WA before.  And now we find out we will need to be there in just 3 short weeks.  WHAT?!?  I called my parents, packed up the kids to stay with my parents and Kevin & I headed over to the town of Colfax to find a place to live.  We arrived in Colfax and drove all through town.....it didn't take very long as there are only 3 stop lights and the town is about a mile long.  The population in Colfax is about 2800; I was thinking, "Hmmm, this could take some adjusting to."  Now I'm originally from Phoenix, AZ -population=millions, after high school we moved to Olympia, WA -population around 100,000 and now Colfax is less than 3% of that!  On with my story, we ended up finding a house for rent the only house to rent in Colfax at the time and oh so thankful it was big enough for our family.  Now back to Olympia to pack up and get moved.  We happened to be moving during spring break, so it worked out great that we could get a little settled in before the kids went to school.

OK, OK, I totally fell in love with this cute little town.  It almost felt like we went back a couple of decades.  Everyone was friendly and helpful and so excited for a new family to be moving to town.  Everywhere I went I felt so welcomed.  Colfax is small, but we do have the essentials here; grocery store, hardware store, a few gas stations, a few restaurants, a couple of fast food places, the grange (I call it the everything store), some gift shops, an elementary school, a high school, tons of parks and lots of churches.  I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to live without my Costco, but it's only an hour away, it'll have to do.


                                                        This is Main Street in Colfax

We found an amazing church Catalyst Church (formerly Colfax Assembly of God).  They have an awesome youth group (which was important to me for my kids), a supportive mom's group and an amazing pastor.  I have to tell you that this whole move was definitely in God's hands.  The transition could not have gone any smoother.  I mean really, we had only 3 weeks to move our family of 6 across the state and virtually no problems at all!  Only God can do something like that.  I should have been trusting God more because after all He is the one in control.  He lead us to the right town, the right house and the right church; what more could I ask for?  Ok, I did ask for one more thing.  I asked God to show me what I was suppose to be doing in my life because I knew there was more.  I had been praying for a long long time for God to show me that one thing that I had been missing in my life, because I was still feeling I needed something.

After unpacking, getting the kids in school and getting settled, I started making crafts again, (it had been so long since I used my creativeness) and I loved making things.  I was having fun making my little decorative blocks and wood signs and I even started selling them at one of the local gift shops called Cottage Gate.  I thought to myself, "maybe this is what I'm suppose to do, make crafts and sell them."  I was kinda on the right track but not quite;  I loved making things, but my heart wasn't totally in this.  I was cruisin' the internet one day and came across a website, The Worship Studio, and found a book called Unlocking the Heart of the Artist by Matt Tommey.  I didn't think I was really an artist, but it said something about crafts so I thought it sounded like it might help me.  This book really made an impact on me.  It talked about being an artist in the Kingdom; I was thinking, "do art for God?"  Yes!  God's work here on earth.  Use the gifts and talents He gave me to bless other people.  What a concept!  I knew that this was what I was missing from my life!  I needed to use the creativeness that I've always had to help others.  I get it now, but what do I want to make?  Back to the internet again.

I started to research.  I came across the blog of Kelly Rae Roberts and this is where I discovered mixed media art.  I fell in love with this type of art.  I googled "mixed media art" and found a whole new world!  I started following the blogs of Kelly Rae Roberts, Melody Ross, Christine Mason Miller, Paulette Insall and many others.  I then ventured out and played around with some mixed media techniques;  let me tell you, it was invigorating!  It was an absolutely perfect fit for me.  Let me explain a little, mixed media art can be a bit messy, chaotic, busy and fun; I am a bit messy, chaotic, busy and fun - a match made in heaven (lol).  I have finally found my passion.  You know you've found what you were meant to do when you:  A. can't wait to get out of bed to do it, B. you feel so at peace when you're doing it, C. you get really giddy and excited when you've finished a piece, and D. you are so proud of yourself that you can't stop looking at what you've made!  I finally feel like I have found my long lost missing piece.
                                       
                                          If you already have a passion, did you always know it was your passion?
                                          Do you ever feel like you're missing something?
                                          What does your journey look like?

Finding My Way

So, how did I get where I am today?  I've asked myself that many times and then look back at this journey called life.  As I was growing up I was always trying new things, I wanted to experience everything; dance, baton twirling, arts & crafts, sports, band, scouts and I'm sure there are plenty more.  After high school, I went to college for a while, then fell in love, got married, had kids and so on.  I felt pretty blessed being able to stay home with my kids, but I felt I needed more.  I never could figure out what was missing, but I just felt that there was more to life.  Don't get me wrong I absolutely loved being a stay home mom.  So the journey of trial & error (failing) began.  I started off with scrapbooking and had a ton of fun with that, so much fun that I needed to sell it!  It was my first time at selling something through having "home parties."  I was meeting new people, scrapbooking and making money, plus I could still be a stay home mom;  what could be more fun?  Oh wait......I forgot to mention, yes, I was making money, but it doesn't quite work out when you are spending way more than you're making.  So I quit selling.  Hmmmm, what to do now?  Well, why not try selling something else, I'll sell makeup!  I love makeup and I could make enough to get my own makeup "free" and even get a pink car someday, hahaha....NOT!  I spent too much money trying to make more money, YIKES!  Had to quit that.  So, on to the next direct selling company, and the next, and the next....on and on.  I think I finally realized that I didn't make a good sales person; I was too nice and not pushy enough I guess.

After realizing direct sales wasn't my thing, I tried other part-time jobs.  I knew I loved being at home with my kids, but I also knew I needed to get out of the house once in a while.  So, I tried a few different things; one of them was personal training.  I went through the certification process and got a job at a local gym.  I loved it; I was helping clients learn how to be healthy and exercise.  I knew this was it. I got to pick my hours, work around my kids schedule and I made great money.  Everything was awesome, except this wasn't God's plan for me because he kinda slammed that door for me.  We had gotten a new owner and he pretty much fired everybody to start with a clean slate.  I believe that getting fired is a big fat NO in God's plan.  Subsequently, on to working very part-time at our taekwondo studio (we all took taekwondo together as a family); I worked in the office and thoroughly enoyed it.  I was meeting new people and learning a lot about all of the families at the studio.  USMAC is the studio I worked at in Lacey, WA; and let me tell you.....I will never forget my time there because I learned so much about myself.  The family that owns this business is the most generous, caring, respectful, protective family I have ever met.  They are so involved in the community and made such a positive impact on every family involved at USMAC.  Here are some of my fun times at work:

                                            At a community school event.

                                                  Halloween safety seminar

                                   My family at our Karate Kid demo at the theater.

                           USMAC supporting the breast cancer Race for the Cure.

                                            Fun in the CPR/First Aid training.

                                            Mom's & kids at USMAC

As you can see, I was involved in many things with this job.  Everything was going great and life was very fulfilling at this point.  Even though I thought things were great, God had other plans.  Something I had thought would never really happen; my husband was being transferred to a small town, let me rephrase that, a VERY small town.........Stay tuned for the rest of my story; it gets better.