The Business We Call Art

Business and art not things that necessarily sound like they should go hand in hand. Probably one of the reasons "starving artist" is a saying. I have never had a very entrepreneurial spirit, no mind for numbers, and not too much consideration for money. However I have realized that art is truly a way I can bless my husband and later our family. It could be, if things come together, a way to work from home-enabling me to manage our home well. The biblical idea of a woman who manages her home (stays at home) isn't what many like to portray it as. It involves many things including business. the infamous "proverbs 31" woman managed her home like super wife/mom but also ran it like a business. She used her resources for the financial gain of her family, created a haven for her husband and children, and was able to serve the poor both with her actions and money. I think she understood and utilized the opportunity her home afforded. The opportunity for hospitality, conversation, refreshment, nurturing, growing, resting, learning, and serving. An opportunity for people who aren't related to be welcomed in and to feel as family. She works hard and leans on the Lord for strength and therefore is able create a place where business flourishes as well as people.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her hands hold the spindle.

She opens her hand to the poor

and reaches out her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of snow for her household,

for all her household are clothed in scarlet....

She makes linen garments and sells them;

she delivers sashes to the merchant.

I hope that in my home creativity will flourish with business and most importantly all who come into our home. Business is definitely something I need to work on, so I have been using the time i've had lately for growing in this. This has involved getting business cards, working on my etsy site, learning what it means to be a selling artist. Also I am going back to school! As of this week I will be going to Cal Arts where I will be studying portrait painting. I am so excited!

An Attempt at Photography

(picture from the cutest friendliest sewing shop I have ever been to)

I feel an important step to improving my artistic abilities is to become a better photographer. To paint pictures that I have personally taken, of locations that are special to me, that I have experienced. This has been hindered by my horrible skills in photography. For some reason I have never seemed to have a knack for it.

This week I decided to work on it. I spent the week visiting my sister in Wisconsin and decided to work on taking pictures. I used my Iphone and a photo editing app on it. I hope you like them. I had a lot of fun taking them and editing them. Hopefully a few of them will make some good paintings in the future.

My brother in-law's family owns an old building which used to be a bank. It was one of the few banks which survived throughout the depression. They now use it for their lock company. I fell in love with it.

This is the view out the window from the upstairs.

This is my favorite.

My sister's silver tea set in her very fancy dining room.

This tree is behind the Gappa's house which is the parsonage of the church Zac's dad pastors. It was a lovely church, a lovely house, a lovely family, and an awesomely creepy tree.

So many of the houses in these small town are old, even historical. However, most of them are in need of some tender loving care.

Wisconsin in march would be perfect for the set of any horror film.

Classic Red Barn. One of many red barns that we saw.

The End

"In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

From the beginning of my artistic endeavors one thing has been incredibly clear: art is such a temperamental talent. Something that comes so easy one day will be impossible the next. Inspiration at times can seem to ooze out of your fingers on to the page or canvas and then poof! it's gone, who knows when to be seen next. When I first started I depended on those times of inspiration where the skill came easily and when it did not, I would not even try. Quite an immature approach to take, I know. But art was merely a hobby for me and I had planned on keeping it that way wanting to maintain my love for it. As a young girl I was privileged with many opportunities to search famous galleries here in Los Angeles, in Washington D.C, and in Florence and Rome Italy. This proved to both inspire and terrify me.There I would be convinced that there was nothing I wanted more then to be able to express myself like the masters and equally convinced that I surely would never be able to do that. Every once in awhile I would work on a piece long enough and eventually grow to love it, but this was so rare my relationship with art was "on again off again". Temperamental, just like my abilities.

In the early spring of 2009 I married my high school sweetheart, the creative director of our church, a graphic artist! All throughout our relationship he encouraged my artistic endeavors. Always insisting that I paint more, that I finish the projects I start. At the time I was working at a restaurant and hating it. He insisted that I quit and either find a job I loved or simply paint at home. I soon found a job that I loved. This is when art became more to me than just a hobby. I was hired as a studio manager (an art teacher) at the studio where I learned how to oil paint as a young teenager: Young at Art Studios. Teaching art taught me more about the skill then anything ever has.

When you're teaching a student through a project there is no option of setting it aside till inspiration came. I could also not rely on whether I felt like painting (drawing ect.) I simply had to do it because it was my job. This is when I learned that art is a skill and a craft that has to include a good amount of discipline. I began painting daily, whether I worked that day or not. I also finished things! Pretty soon I was finishing so many projects there wasn't enough room for all of them in our little apartment. This is when a friend of mine suggested having my first art show.

Quite honestly, this terrified me. I didn't even put my art up on my own walls! There is something about showing a piece of your artwork, like saying "this is my best" and seeing an immediate judgement. But I had a group of people cheering me on and pushing me to do it, so I did it. It was thrilling and terrifying and wonderful. I sold quite a few pieces that day and what I thought would be a sad thing turned out to bring me great joy. I loved hearing where people were going to hang the pictures. I loved hearing about how my silly piece of art was going to become apart of someone's home.

I recently stopped working at the art studio, mostly for health reasons. I have realized that God has put art into my life as a great grace in my life. I am embarrassingly weak and unable to stand for long periods of time without becoming sick. But painting is something I can do anywhere and no matter how sick I feel. At this point I am figuring out what's next. I'm hoping that I will continue to grow in my painting skill but also in my inspiration. My goal is to paint something meaningful. To be able to express a real message in a significant way. A lot of my pieces are just fun and practicing, but I hope the Lord allows me to do more then that.