Finding Joy in the Creative Process

Ever wondered how embracing the beauty of imperfections can transform your artistic journey? Join me, Tracy, as we explore the vibrant world of Art Biz Jam in Richmond, Virginia, where I had the pleasure of connecting with industry leaders and showcasing my augmented reality work. This episode promises to open your eyes to innovative ways of presenting art, inviting you to think outside traditional boundaries and create for personal joy rather than commercial gain. Get ready to be inspired by stories of risk-taking and overcoming the fear of rejection, leading towards more genuine and fulfilling artistic expressions.

As we wrap up this enriching conversation, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all our listeners for their unwavering support and engagement throughout the episode. Reflecting on the wealth of insights and ideas exchanged, I am reminded of the importance of cherishing the creative process and seeking inspiration in unexpected places. Your participation makes this journey worthwhile, and I eagerly anticipate continuing our discussion in future sessions. Until then, take care and keep embracing your creativity with open arms.

Chapters

• 0:06 Embracing Creativity and Community
• 9:14 Farewell and Appreciation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

hello, hello everyone. This is tracy with brutally made, and I am catching up on a recording this week in my studio, um, so, yeah, I thought I would try to do this so I could get this week's episode out. I have been really busy. It's been great, and talk about my experience at Art Biz Jam this year. It was tremendous. I went to Richmond, virginia, for the conference and got to meet a ton of new people. And got to meet with some people in the industry with Inesco and Williamson Home and Workshop, and they were all just tremendous speakers. Got to meet the owner of Evergreen and see Tim Lamb with Evergreen again, which was phenomenal, and then, just you know, catch up with friends that I made last year and then make new ones. Oh my goodness, it was just so much fun. I just loved every moment of it. It was really a great portfolio review and getting to actually present this year a little bit of my augmented reality.

Speaker 1: 1:23

I really wanted to do a hands-on workshop, but time was very limited so we got to really just discuss it for an hour. So I tried to fly through some of the things that I could give them an idea on how to make it work, maybe for their product lines, their industries, their artwork and show it in person a little bit more. I just had such a great time and I really got to pique the interest of people in the industry that I've wanted to work with in certain you know formats for a long time other than the public murals that I do, other than the public murals that I do and it was great to see their reaction to the work and get to talk to them about possibilities. So I just encourage you to take every opportunity to explore different ways that your artwork can do things than just be presented in the way that you're thinking about. So if you're a sculptor, if that is something that you love to do, tell more of a story with your pieces, create little vignettes and, you know, kind of marry that with maybe some texts and do inspirational posters and journals and wall art and things that inspire great, I guess, ideas and words, things that you feel when you're making that. Relay that in different ways by presenting your sculpture pieces Just an example, just trying to get people to think outside the box. That's kind of what my shop is here for. People come in.

Speaker 1: 3:08

I don't know if I can do this or that I really have an interest in this. You know little craft that you're doing or this art style that you're showing. I don't know how to do that. I wouldn't even know how to begin. I don't even know how to draw a straight line All those things I hear all the time and I'm just like, well, just sit down, let's just play, let's just try. Don't be afraid, you're going to mess up. We all mess up.

Speaker 1: 3:34

Nothing has to be perfect. It doesn't have to look exactly like a reference picture that you're pulling from the internet or bringing in. It has a life of its own, a wobbling of its own, a feeling of its own. That's okay, it's totally acceptable. People beat themselves up too much and they're too much of a critic, and don't suck the joy out of it by doing that to yourself, and let others express their artwork the way they want to as well. You know, of course we can like and dislike things. You don't have to like everything, and you're not going to like everything, and everyone is not going to like you, and that's totally okay, it's totally acceptable. It's okay to only appeal to certain people and you can have your tastes and preferences just as well, but don't let that fear of not being accepted stop you from trying, and that's one of the things I just want to get past and get people to think past is that it's okay to not be liked by everyone, not have it, you know, be perfect and to really appreciate the time that you're taking to create. You know, and not everything has to be monetized, not everything has to be for sale. Some things you're just going to create for yourself.

Speaker 1: 5:05

I got to decorate a shed for the holiday market coming up out here in the lot, and I don't have a shed, I'm not going to because I have the space, but I was just very, you know, I was very excited that I was asked to do that and I have tons of Christmas. So I was like, yeah, I can do this. So I set up and they did a photo shoot and there's a couple of trees that I had and three or four people were like, are these for sale? And I'm like, no, I made these for me and they're examples of what we could do for a class this Christmas. But it's what you love and let's turn it into something fun. And so, yeah, I don't sell everything that I make, and that's okay, but it can inspire someone to think about oh, I'm going to make this for me in a very similar way. Or I love that idea that you made this out of a popcorn bucket, which I did.

Speaker 1: 6:02

It's okay that not everything will be for sale. Sometimes you make stuff for yourself. You're allowed to do that. I had a guy come in and wanted to buy a picture off the wall that's in the back that someone gave me as a gift and I wouldn't sell it. And he's like everything's for sale. And it just reminded me of something my dad would always say everything's for sale. And I'm like well, she gave it to me when I opened the store and I know it wasn't that much, it was. It's not like this custom made thing at all. You can buy it in the store. But she gave it to me and I love this phrase and so, no, it's not for sale. And and I said but because you're so passionate about getting this, let's just make it a class and maybe you could make them for yourself. He thought that was pretty funny. But again, not everything has to be for sale. It's okay. You can do things for yourself and enjoy things for yourself, and that's totally acceptable too. So you know, becoming an artist doesn't mean that that's going to be your career all the time.

Speaker 1: 7:01

For me, that's just what I want to do. I absolutely love it and I have always dreamed of having a creative career, and every career that I've had I've always tried to turn into something very creative. I've always been just a creative soul and I just love it, absolutely love it, and I love inspiring other people to be creative. I've always been just a creative soul and I just love it, absolutely love it, and I love inspiring other people to be creative. I love people, I love community and it's just really important to me to foster that in positive, beautiful, accessible ways and I'm trying really hard to do that. So I hope that that comes across. I hope that people see that. That's my legacy, I guess, in my mind is that they see that love, that that's important to me.

Speaker 1: 7:53

I have a wonderful exhibit that's going to be presented Thursday and I get to install that this week and it's just totally been an honor getting to work with the First Ladies Museum and I'm just blown away about what it's turning into. I'm just super excited for that and very grateful that I was selected to partner with them to do this work. Honestly, it's just been so much fun and there's more to come with it and I just get lit up thinking about all the things that is going to come of this, because it's just been so much fun and I just hope it brings people a lot of joy and great historical discussion and gets people learning a little bit more about what they do and in our history you know here. So more on that once it's presented, but I just wanted to stop in say hi, try not to miss too many more of the podcast dates. Share some of my journey the last week and, yeah, looking forward to this month because I love Halloween. It's so much fun.

Speaker 1: 9:14

All right, I will talk to you next week. Take care, you are brutally made. Thanks for listening and thanks for tuning in. I'll talk to you next time. Bye.