About

Hello Beautiful Maker,

I'm Kelly. 

I paint, I make jewelry and I teach what I love. 

I believe creativity has the power to cause major shifts in your life. To see yourself differently than you ever have before. 

Here's a little of my story: 

Intuitive painting discovered me in 2012, at the ripe young age of 42. I had no idea what it was at first, but when I realized I could have permission to paint whatever I felt like, no matter what it looked like, I was freed. 

No boring and exact still life to create, no focus on perspective that I could never quite get right. Just me, music, paint, tools and my canvas of choice. And who cares what it looks like? (That is the secret ingredient, the letting go of what it looks like.)


Painting whatever came to me, no matter what it looked like, muzzled that voice in me that said:
"You aren't good at art"
"You can't even draw"
"You will embarrass yourself if you try."  

Not caring about what the painting looked like is what allowed me to start painting again for the first time since middle school.

Turning off judgement is still a practice (in painting and in life) as we're so attached to what things look like, what the outcome will be. Particularly if we sell our art or teach classes. 

Students often want to know what their creation will look like before they begin, but that is not how true creativity works.

Creativity wants freedom, she wants to have her way, she wants you to get out of the way so she can do what she came here to do. And you are merely the instrument. It sounds pretty woo-woo and out there, but I assure you, intuitive painting in its purest form will teach you about yourself like nothing else will. Trust me.

In my classes, whether jewelry making, intuitive painting or wine and paint classes, I encourage students to learn the concept and then use it in their own way. I suggest to wine and paint students that they choose their own colors or paint whatever they feel like, they do not have to follow the teacher like we did in school. You can't do it wrong.

In jewelry making classes, we use projects to learn techniques. Students are free to make the project I'm working on or take the ideas and the tools and the how-to and spin it into something of their very own. They have come up with beautiful things I would have never thought to put together. I am learning from them all the time as well. It's a happy cycle of teaching and learning.
 
Speaking of jewelry, I started making jewelry just for something fun to do with a friend and now here I am, three years later, quitting my job so I can spend more time making jewelry, painting and teaching. 

This massive life change took me years to work up the courage to do. I had to build my business and get my finances in order to make it happen, but now it is finally here! I am so happy and giddy and sometimes terrified, but I still work part-time so I have what feels like the perfect blend of security and freedom.

I now have more time to focus on what I really want this site to be and this business to look like. I want it to be a place where we can share whatever is really lighting us up at the moment in hopes that it will spark something for someone else too.

So, come dive in to creative exercises to get you dreaming, doing and making. It all starts with picking up a brush, a bit of metal or your tool of choice and just beginning. 

I'll be kicking off 2017 with a Daily Creative practice to:
 
1) Improve my artwork and develop my own voice-I've been spending a lot of time watching tutorials and learning and I feel that, although I love learning techniques, I sometimes drown out the sound of my own voice. This is my 15 minutes a day to do something for myself.

2) Stimulate my creative brain by feeding it daily-it really only takes a couple of minutes a day to develop a habit. Although I write and make jewelry every day, I want to keep my painting practice alive as well.

3) Make new connections with like-hearted creatives who are on a similar journey. Artsy people are my people and I love connecting with you online.

4) Share the joy I find in art making and my process. I've immersed myself in making during very difficult times in my life. I know first hand of its healing powers and I know it has the power to transform pain. It's something I hope anyone in need can access and use instead of some of the negative, alternative coping techniques out there.

5) Find clarity and direction. Intuitive art making shows me the way, by showing me my patterns and where I get stuck. I just transitioned out of a full-time job that I had for 14 years, to focus more on my art making and my business. I'm ready to sort out the old and get clear about what really matters.

I'll be sharing what I've done, along with how you can do it too. You're welcome to give it a try or share your own ideas of what's been lighting you up each day.