I feel I have so much to say, so many stories to motivate and inspire others...but where do I start? I am not just on this journey for myself....I feel a deep calling to reach others and help others to connect to their inner spirit and find a place within themselves where they can feel empowered, loved, and connected to the magic of this Universe. I truly believe we are all created from a divine source...I have felt moments where I am uplifted and completely taken to another realm where time just stands still. It is in the process of creation that I can honestly say I am happiest and most fulfilled. I am eternally grateful for all the life lessons and all the obstacles that only made me stronger and brought me to this point in life. And I want to instill this sense of gratitude and love to others...especially to my son who is a miracle himself.
People often ask me where did this all begin? Where did you go to art school? How do you find inspiration? All normal questions asked of artists. I went to the art school of life....I cultivated my creative side all throughout my childhood and into my adulthood through classes and art workshops and many silent moments with a sketch pad and pencils, never really knowing why the need for me to be in solitude with my art was so necessary to my overall well being. All while I pursued a career in finance. It was in 2006 when I used art as a means of healing the pain that was inside me. I will make a brave admission for someone who is rather private in the hopes that it will help others see and feel the light. I suffered from depression and anxiety for years...years and years I was a prisoner of my own mind and ended up with illnesses and pains that seemed to take over my body and mind.
Part of my struggle was that I always wanted to be a parent and I had that one vision in my mind that it would happen as soon as I was ready. I also knew that one day I would adopt a child...not sure why I had this knowing that it would happen but since I was little, I knew that is what I wanted to do. In 2006 we began the adoption process. More heartbreak ensued after birth parents chose other parents and our adoption agency didn't seem to have any leads. My entire happiness was placed in the hands of the universe....on this one obsessive goal to be a mother...I had stopped living for myself and was consumed with thoughts of what if this doesn't happen, who will I be? who am I without that child I dreamed of? Where do I go now? I knew I couldn't go on like this.... so began my quest to understand the nature of happiness and how expectations that are unfulfilled leads to suffering. This is the art school of life. I knew that I needed to let go and surrender to whatever the universe had in store for me. But how to get there? Where else but in the safe haven of creativity! And that is how my story begins....my son was adopted in 2010, 4 years after starting the process! The way I see it, I gave birth to my art while waiting for my son. He is the joy in my life and has filled up my heart to the brim. The journey was not what I had planned and it took many turns to get here, but..I became a mother to a boy who was 6 years old by the time we met him, already with his own personality and ideas of the world. Things were not easy for this little guy. He was in an orphanage since the age of 4. We had an instant connection, it was love at first sight.......though it was difficult at times, love was all he needed....he was the smallest boy in Grade One, but love and nutrition has helped him grow leaps and bounds into the young man he is becoming today. Many people tell me he is lucky he found me...not true....we are BOTH lucky.
So that is the beginning of my journey..........art was a way for me to overcome many obstacles I had been facing at the time.....I am here to fulfill my calling which is not just to create art and sell paintings...where I really feel immense satisfaction is seeing people's faces light up when they make something they love or knowing that my studio is a place where people can feel safe to express themselves and be the artists they were meant to be and if I can impart some wisdom here and there to help others with their struggles, then that is enough for me....I am truly blessed and grateful!!
