If It Wasn't Hard, Everyone Would Do It

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.
The hard... is what makes it great."
~Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks' character), A League of Her Own

 

It's not always easy living the creative life! We may struggle to make time to make our art. Or we may have to overcome fears of self-doubt and insecurity to perform or exhibit our work. And at times it may feel like an uphill battle, with no assurance that we'll book the gig, sell the work, or receive recognition for our sweat and perseverance.

When it feels hard, and we feel like giving up on our creative dreams, is when we most need to remind ourselves why we do what we do. And then recommit to our dreams, ourselves, the life we came here to live, and the love we came to express.

 

In 2009, the first time I showed my paintings at Art Farm (an Eric Matelski event to benefit Denver Urban Gardens) it was rained out and our work spent the day under garbage bags.



Photo credit: Tim DeMasters

On the surface, the event didn't appear successful. But through a contact I made that day, the event led to my first solo art exhibition 3 months later. The night my show opened at Michelangelo's Coffee and Wine Bar, I sold 5 paintings and a percentage of the proceeds benefited another non-profit, The Cunningham Foundation, through my Canvas for a Cause practice. It was a huge success!

Photo credit: Sean Richardson

We never know who we'll meet next or what new opportunity will present itself. That's the mystery and magic of the creative life! And it may happen when we least expect it, when it feels hard and we feel like giving up. So don't! Instead, get some rest. Then step back in front of the canvas, the page, or the audience, and keep doing the work.

It's when our fears are the loudest, and we want to turn back, that it's most important to keep moving forward. The seeds we've been planting and nurturing are right under the surface of the creative soil getting ready to breakthrough. Keep giving them love and light. We're going to bloom! 
  

Live creatively, even when it's hard,
Marcella

She Lives Creatively Spotlight: Laurie Maves

"I want to be as relentless and as ballsy as [Frida Kahlo] was - and yes, I said ballsy."
~Laurie Maves

 

Laurie Maves was the first artist I met in Denver the summer of 2009, the year I moved here. I didn’t know any other artists in Colorado and I knew nothing about navigating the Denver art scene, but a painting of mine had just been accepted into my first juried art show. Laurie – BIG hearted soul that she is – took me under her creative wing. Five years later, it is an honor to feature her in this month’s She Lives Creatively Spotlight!

 

Right: One Million Faces photo credit: Peggy Dyer

Marcella: So Laurie, you have a BA in Studio Art and an MA in Art Therapy. After college, what were your initial creative career aspirations and what career path did you follow?

Laurie: After graduate school, I worked briefly at an outpatient treatment center, called the “Rock Creek Center,” as an Art Therapist. It was a beautiful facility in a south suburb of Chicago. But I lived in the city and the commute was crazy. I thought there had to be more to life than working as a therapist driving over an hour in each direction. So I said, “ENOUGH!”

Laurie: My love of the outdoors, of big blue skies, brought me to Denver. I had various jobs as an Art Therapist working with the elderly, working with mentally ill adults, and then with PTSD children. After filtering all of that trauma for others I said, “ENOUGH! I need to get back to my roots as an artist.” It was the one thing I knew in my heart I wanted to be since I was a child. So I slowly left the counseling field and slowly opened my small business as a full time artist.

Marcella: What advice do you have for artists – like me – who are primarily self-taught?  Do you think creativity, and running a creative business, can be learned? And if so, what challenges, or advantages, might a self-taught artist face?

Laurie: Make work, make work, make work. Thousands of hours are required to having a perfected creative relationship with yourself.  You have to know what drives your images. And make those images a dozen , a hundred, a thousand times. As long as you are called to make certain images, certain paintings, certain drawings, make the work!

Laurie: I think anyone can learn to run a business, but not everyone has the discipline and the drive to do so. Any artist, whether she is a, “self- taught,” or a, “professionally schooled,” artist has the same challenges.  Until one experiences high levels of success in whatever market they choose to pursue, the online market, the real market, or the gallery system, most times the only one who will market your work is yourself. And if you’re not willing to put in the time or effort to get your work out there – wherever that may be – I believe you’re going to be frustrated easily.  You just have to put your head down, get going, and believe in yourself. Because if you don’t, it’s hard to ask other people to.

Marcella: When did you leave your day job to pursue your painting full-time? For those aspiring to be a full-time working artist, how did you know when you were ready to take the leap?

Laurie: I quit my full time non-profit job in 2006, but took a few other part time jobs to supplement my studio income until about 2008. I didn’t know I was ready. I think my part time work kind of just dwindled out. Maybe that was the Universe talking to me. But I wasn’t interested in finding another form of part time work, even if it was creative in nature. I just wanted to paint. So I started to market, market, market myself to anyone who would look or listen.

 

Laurie Maves' paintings

Marcella: When I first met you in 2009, you were working out of what I would describe as a mid-size studio in the Santa Fe Art District in Denver. Since that time, your business has grown and you relocated your art studio into a spacious warehouse. How did up-leveling your creative space come about?

Laurie: I had a studio in one of Denver’s many, “Arts,” districts. But I found that most of my commissions and work came to me by referrals, word of mouth, and via social media. So having realized that, I didn’t need to have a studio in the, “Arts,” district to thrive. I found that the studio rental spaces were more expensive for the real estate than what I could get in a not-so-popular area for artists. The move has been refreshing for me. I can afford the much larger space. And as one of my friends says about my new 2,000 square foot studio, “I now have room for all of my big ideas."

Marcella: Were you nervous about making the transition to a larger, more expensive, warehouse space? How did you overcome any fears or anxieties you may have had?

Laurie: Sure I was. And sometimes it’s a challenge to make the rent. But I also feel that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. So I just keep making the work. Some months are gracious and some months are super skinny. But again, I believe in what I am doing and that making paintings and commissions for people is my primary purpose on this planet. So if the finances suffer, so be it. This studio I have now is a dream studio for me.  As long as I can afford to keep it, then fabulous! I finally can say that I have had the painting studio, “of my dreams,” and that’s a wonderful feeling to have.

Marcella: Also when I met you 5 five years ago, you were donating a lot of your art work to charities for fundraising events.  Are art donations still part of your business plan for getting your work out into the world? Do you have any favorite causes you like to support through your art?

Laurie: I have donated hundreds of artworks in Denver and across the country over the past 15 years. One year I donated $10,000 worth of work to various charities. Sometimes I think artists can be, “overexposed,” so you just have to find a fit for yourself. I am asked almost monthly, if not more, than that to donate something to somebody. So I made the personal choice to reel that in a bit.

Laurie: Now I focus the majority of my donated time and artwork to the LLS and to cancer organizations. From time to time, if I have extra work on hand that has not sold, I will try to donate that to organizations that are asking. But I often find that many artists are asked WAY too often just to give their work away. We don’t get a tax write off, as many people do not know. We only get to write off the value of materials used in making the painting, not the retail value of the finished work. So donations really only come from your heart as a way to help others. Not as a way to get more exposure or as a write off. So it’s not currently part of my, “business plan.” I think it’s a good idea for new artists to Denver, or just artists who are newer to the game in general, to get your work out there, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Marcella: You also used to live paint  – a LOT! You even painted live at Red Rocks Amphitheater during a musical event, toured with a local band one summer, and at least once you were featured on the evening news. So is live painting something you still do?

Laurie: Live painting is still something that I do and love. I do it mostly on a, “for-hire,” basis for non-profits and their annual events and fundraisers. And the paintings that I have made on-site at a fundraising event are put to a live auction and have helped raise $1,400 - $3,500 at a single event. So over time I’ve proved my talents as a great way to not only provide entertainment for their guests, but as a great method for raising extra dollars as well.

 

Laurie Maves live painting

Marcella: I know you’re a HUGE fan of Frida Kahlo. You even made a pilgrimage to her home in Mexico a couple years ago. How has Frida influenced you as an artist?

Laurie: She is the classic example of a woman that used her creatively as her life line. I have always admired her boldness in her works. And she would not apologize for who she was or what she painted. Her paintings were her truths. She lived an amazing life traveling the world with a great deal of physical and emotional pain. She also accomplished great goals in her short life. I want to be as relentless and as ballsy as she was - and yes, I said, “ballsy."

 

Frida Kahlo painting by Laurie Maves

Marcella: You use social media a lot to promote your art / art business. Which are your favorite platforms? What marketing advice do you have for fellow creative types looking to use social media to grow their creative business?

Laurie: It used to be Facebook, but I found that to be a, “closed,” audience in a way. So I’m focusing on Twitter at the moment. My advice is the same as it is in regards to becoming the artist that you were meant to be. And like making work and spending thousands of creative hours. You have to be relentless and to post, post, post. Those who don’t like your work, won’t follow you. But those who do, look forward to your posts every day. A following can become a blessing and a burden. But when people are looking for your work and give you constant feedback, then you know you are making a difference in someone’s life, simply with your creativity and your willingness to share that

Marcella: How do you define success – for you?

Laurie: When I receive random feedback from people I’ve never met in person and they reach out and say I have inspired them today. And tears. When a client picks up a painting and they have tears of joy, for feeling understood, or simply feel a deeper level of human connection. I have the greatest success when my clients cry. I know I have nailed it.

Marcella: What do you consider to be your greatest artistic achievement – so far?

Laurie: Painting live at a TEDx talk. I completed a live painting in under 10 min. That was awesome!

 

Laurie Maves live painting during TEDx Talk

Marcella: What are your self-care practices (nutrition, exercise, etc.) that support your health and vitality, to in-turn support your creativity?

Laurie: Green juice, yoga, and meditation

Marcella: You are a mom of two very active boys. How do you balance being a mom with being an artist?

Laurie: I don’t know how I do it. You just do.

Marcella: What’s next?! Are you getting ready for any upcoming art shows or events?

Laurie: My friend Anya McMannis and I are hosting a summer solstice creative workshop at my studio Saturday, June 21 called, "Art 1 on 1.” We may still have a few spots open if any of your readers are interested in participating. It will include live painting a large group mural and creative journaling.

 

{Register for "Art 1 on 1" creative workshop here.}

 

Laurie: But my most exciting project is a series of healthy cell paintings that I am making and sharing with cancer patients. I believe art and imagery can help in the healing process for anyone who is ailing, physically or emotionally. These paintings are driving my studio time on a daily basis. I have been studying Edgar Cayce and it all seems to be coming together. I just have to make the work...

Marcella: What is your long term vision for your art / art business?

Laurie: My ultimate dream is to paint live in front of thousands of people who are attending motivational workshops and conferences. Like for holistic health guru Kris Carr or something similar. I believe people receive messages differently and for visual learners, witnessing a live painting may inspire them with the speaker’s message on a whole other level. But I would like to keep growing my business as much as I can handle. Then maybe someday I can retire and live off the income of print sales. But I think I would just paint in my retirement anyway. I continue to look for ways to expand my work. So that’s what I’m doing and sharing it with the world. 

 



Laurie Maves with Kris Carr and Peggy Dyer

Marcella: If you could speak to your younger creative self, what advice would you give to her with the wisdom you possess today?

Laurie: Just make the work. Don’t worry about your audience. And focus less energy on trying to be accepted by others . If I make work that is genuine to me, the rest will fall in line.

Marcella: Thank you Laurie! xo

Marcella: To learn more about Laurie Maves and her art visit www.LaurieMavesArt.com

Create More Time to be Creative

Guest blog post for Gallery24seven.com:

Is a never ending To Do List getting in the way of your creative productivity? Often we think we don’t have time to be creative. But I’m willing to wager that many of the things on your To Do List don’t really need to be done today, by you, or, at all!

Following are 3 easy steps to transform your To Do List. It just might transform your life!

Step 1: Reframe your Shoulds into Coulds

There are always unavoidables on our To Do List, like making the car payment or buying the cat food. But often things on our list don’t really need to get done. They’re more like good ideas and nice intentions. Or worse, they’re someone else’s idea for how we should spend our time.

Start by reviewing your To Do List and cross off anything that was not your idea. Your sister might think it would be great for you to start online dating. But if the thought doesn’t excite you, let it go.

Next, separate the Shoulds, like paying bills, from the Coulds, such as cleaning the bathroom. Once you’re done, you’ll have two lists. The first are your Big Rocks, the things you really should do to be a responsible adult and manage your life. The second is a Could Do List, the things you feel you should do… eventually.

The beauty of a Could Do List is that it reminds us that we’re at choice. How delicious would it feel to wake up tomorrow morning and ask yourself, “What could I do today?” Or say to yourself, “I could do this… or could do that…”

A Could Do List leaves room for inspired creativity and  invites in possibility. So the next time your best friend invites you to join her on an all-expenses-paid trip to Cozumel, or just for a cup of coffee around the corner, you can say, “Yes!” Your Could Do List will allow for the freedom of spontaneous choices, instead of just guilt-ridden obligations.

Read 2 more easy time creation tips at the Gallery24seven.com blog here.

It Was My Shameful Secret (this week I get real)

In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to share something with you that you may not know about me. It's something I kept as a secret for years because I felt shame about it. Until my friend Karen committed suicide in 2010. That's when I decided I could not - and would not - hide my secret any more.

If you've read my About page on my website you know that I'm upfront and honest about suffering from life threatening depression 12 years ago. But most people don't know the details: that in 2002 I spent 7 days in a double-locked psychiatric ward of a hospital on suicide watch, followed by 4 weeks in an out-patient program. That's when I was reintroduced to art through art therapy and my creative, and spiritual, journey began.   


Infinite Love, 12x12, Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, sold

I'm telling YOU this because I didn't tell Karen, my friend who ended her life. In the four years since her death, I have rehashed our last conversation over and over again in my mind. I can't help but wonder, if I had shared the truth about of my journey, could I have saved her?

I know that we are each responsible for our own happiness and the choices we make. But I think of Karen often and wonder, if she had known about the lows I had endured and the challenges I had overcome, could I have given her hope to live another day, and then another…

I’ll never know. But it’s my hope that by sharing my story of choosing life, when I welcomed death, and starting over again, and then again, that I will inspire someone, somewhere, to give life a second chance.

And I’m going to be brutally honest with you. My life, since my dark night of the soul, at certain stages over the past 12 years, actually became more difficult before it got easier. I had several failed relationships between my two marriages. A couple of business startups failed. I was sued. And I went through bankruptcy. 

But I kept going and I continue to. I’ll tell you why. 

 

A Good Cry, 20x20, Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, sold

The night I was hospitalized, I had a mystical experience. I’ve since come to learn it was an ADC, an after-death communication. My maternal grandmother had lost her battle with cancer 4 months earlier. I laid on the floor of my house at the time, in the fetal position, holding my bottle of antidepressants in one hand, my car keys in the other, and the intention in my mind to swallow all of the pills with booze from my (first) husband’s liquor cabinet, and then lay down in the back seat of my Volvo in the garage while I waited to slip out of the life I felt stuck in.  

It was a foolproof plan. My husband was in Japan on business. No one would find my remains for days. But as I laid on the floor, in the fetal position, sobbing, I felt as though someone wrapped a warm blanket around my back. I was alone, and yet, I felt as though I was being comforted. Then telepathically I heard my Grandmother’s voice, “This isn’t the life you’re supposed to be living, but it’s not your time. You need to get help.” And so I did.  

I’ll save the details of how I went from experiencing a visitation from my deceased grandmother, to admitting myself into a double-locked psychiatric ward of a hospital for another post. But what I will share is that since my friend Karen chose to make a different choice, to choose death instead of life, I have felt that it's my soul’s calling to shine my light so that others may find their way again.

Whispers Through the Veil, 12x24, Acrylic, $457
Available for purchase through Sync Gallery in Denver



Everything I do – from the paintings I paint, to the blogs, essays, and magazine articles I write, to providing my Creative Life Coaching services – is with the deepest hope and desire of my heart and soul to inspire others to not only live life, but to live life fully, joyfully, and creatively. 

There are no accidents. You are here for a reason. No matter what the circumstances of your life, your presence is needed. You are here to love and be loved.  

With help comes hope. If you, or someone you know, is feeling helpless or hopeless, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

You CAN begin again! I'm living proof.

Live and live creatively,
Marcella

P.S. Last week's blog, "The One Question that can Change... EVERYthing" is going to be reprinted in the August issue of Science of Mind magazine! If you missed it, you don't have to wait until August. Read it here.

The One Question that can Change... EVERYthing!

“What do I really, really, really want?”
~Elizabeth Gilbert

 

It’s been said that we are transitioning out of the Information Age and entering the Age of the Artist. As systems are changing and paradigms are shifting, we are moving beyond knowledge and embracing higher levels of conscious thought and intuition.

As we embark on this new age, this time to explore and implement new, creative, ideas to solve the world’s challenges, the world needs YOU. Your talents, your gifts, your creative ideas, and your rebel ways to lift us higher and lead us further.

You hear the call. Something inside of you is inviting you to dream bigger and shine brighter. But how, you ask? How do you answer your heart’s calling when you work, manage your household, perhaps raise a family or care for others? How do you make time to be creative, when your never ending to-do list never ends?

Take it the cushion. It could be your mediation cushion. Or the cushion on your couch. Where ever it is, sit your tushy down, close your eyes, and ask your heart, “What do I really, really, really want?”

In 2008 I saw Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love, on Oprah. Liz shared a lot of wisdom she gained while she spent a year traveling through Italy, India, and Indonesia to write her New York Times bestselling memoir. But the nugget that struck me the most was her invitation to ask ourselves, as we go into meditation, “What do I really, really, really want?”

 

Meeting Liz Gilbert at book signing in Colorado in 2009, just 1 month after I moved there
(Detroit was not on her book tour that year)

Liz went on to say that it’s extremely important to ask, “really,” three times. And to emphasis the word the third time you say or think it. Doing so invites your heart to answer honestly.

You may not hear the answer right way. Be patient. And you may not, “hear,” an answer at all. You might see what looks like a sign. Or you might feel a strong intuitive hunch. How ever your Higher Power answers, listen. You’re being guided.

When I began to take the question, “What do I really, really, really want?” into my meditations, my husband Sean and I were renting my Grandparents house back in Michigan. When we weren’t planning our destination wedding, we were busy making home improvements. And we were debating. Should we buy the house where I spent a lot my childhood and start our family there? Or should we relocate to Colorado, a place we had both loved to vacation?
 

Before taking Liz’s, “really want,” question into meditation, I felt conflicted. I loved my Grandparent’s house. I had so many fond memories there – both as a child, and as Sean and I began to create our life together. And we had the opportunity to purchase the house at a really great price. Plus, it had everything we wanted if we were going to start a family: multiple bed rooms, a fenced in yard, and a 2-car garage. But I was hesitant to commit.

After a week, maybe two, of taking Liz’s, “really want,” question into meditation I began to hear the still small voice. For me, it sounds like my voice, yet not my voice, whispering in my ear, over my shoulder. I know, crazy right? But she’s never steered me wrong... Anyway, the answer I heard in response to, “What do I really, really, really want?” was, “paint.”

Paint? Yes, paint! But I already was painting! Dry wall. We were tearing down old wall paper that my Grandfather had hung 25 years earlier and we were repainting all of the walls in the house.

Confused by the answer I was hearing, I kept taking Liz’s, “really want,” question into meditation. And I kept hearing the same answer. Paint.

Paint? And then it dawned on me. I had begun painting again, on canvas, a few years earlier when I studied with Detroit artist Shadia Zayed. But after we began renting my Grandparent’s house, and started making home improvements, I had stopped creating.

Finally, after months of feeling conflicted over the different life paths I could follow, I knew, with conviction, what I wanted. A simpler life. Where I had time to paint – on canvas, not dry wall – just for me, just for the joy of it.

 

Eating wedding pastries after eloping, August 2012

So we didn’t buy my Grandparent’s house or start a family. Instead, we relocated to Colorado where we still rent. And when something breaks, we call maintenance and they fix it. And we cancelled the elaborate destination wedding we were planning. Instead, we eloped at city hall. And these days, the only time I paint dry wall is in public spaces, to patch up holes from a previous art show.

Live creatively – the way you really, really, really want to,
Marcella

Feeling Fried? Take an Om-cation

"I have so much to accomplish today that I must
meditate for two hours instead of one."

~Ghandi

There's nothing like a crises, even a minor one, to show us that our life is over scheduled and we are over committed. If you're like me, and you find yourself getting impatient and snarky when your schedule is thrown off due to an emergency (real or perceived), it's probably time for an Om-cation.

 

When we get uber busy, many of us tend to keep working, to keep pushing. It's during these times that our self-care, spiritual, and creative practices tend to fall to the wayside. Just when we need them most (to keep cortisol, our stress hormone, down and serotonin, our happy hormone, up) we tend to ditch the tools that would help us cope.

When I feel like I've mentally checked-out, and that my evil twin is showing up in my place during stressful situations, it's a sign that I need some radical self-care. For me it means clearing my schedule (often easier said than done), sleeping in until I wakeup without an alarm, reducing my sugar and caffeine intake, and taking my butt to the cushion to let my monkey mind go at it while I, "sit like mountain, thoughts like clouds," for at least 20 minutes.

If you're new to meditation, just try sitting quietly for 5 minutes with your eyes closed while you take deep breaths. Let your mind wander, because it will. But a mantra like, "Om," helps. Or I invite you to try two of my favorites: "I am love," or, "Thank you." When you notice your mind is rehashing your to-do list, just gently begin again. 

Get your Om on and live creatively,
Marcella

P.S. Think you're too busy to take an Om-cation? That's when we need it the most! Ghandi was hip to this cosmic irony when he said, "I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one." 

Win Support for Living YOUR Creative Life

Guest blog post for Gallery24seven.com:

Over the years, as my art business has grown and my writing has taken off, fellow and aspiring Creatives have often invited me for coffee so they could “pick my brain” to learn the secrets of my success. I have enjoyed these heart-to-heart connections SO much that I have integrated coaching into my business!

After more than a decade of practicing the art of honoring my creativity, years of building my successful art and writing business, and committing to cultivating my Live Creatively philosophy and lifestyle, I am excited to offer my Creative Life Coaching services!

Read the the rest of the guest blog post, here.