Do it Scared

The thing I’ve learned about creativity is it takes time. I don’t mean a long span over your life. I mean time during the day. It needs you to rest and to stop thinking so that it can move through you. Luckily, one of the most incredible gifts and deceitful tricks of travel is having extra time. The refreshing expanse that opens in your mind can be filled with beautiful ideas, sparks of creativity, and the rush of awe. It can also be filled with old patterns, self-defeating thoughts, and lies we tell ourselves that prevent our growth because choosing comfort is easier. 

When I travel I’m often filled with inspiring ideas of how I want to share my talents and how I want to make a career out of the things that I’ve loved since I was a little girl. One of these (many) passions for me is art. And more than art itself, it’s connecting people through stories. This circles back around to my desire for travel. Talking to people of all walks of life, hearing their journey, their sorrows, and their triumphs makes me feel like I have a purpose and a calling to share these. Some of the most influential people I have met over the last few years have been right in my backyard of Colorado. I have met some incredibly inspiring women whose stories lift me up and fill me with the encouragement to pursue the life I’ve dreamed of living. 

To share these stories I’ve started making art work inspired by them. Each piece tells a story in a mix of line drawing, watercolor, and sometimes words and poems. I’ve realized that sometimes the greatest healing comes from sharing stories and experiences with those around us. I’ve seen the power that a simple phrase like, “yes I understand, I’ve been there too,” can do to make someone feel less alone. At first I was scared to share this art. I wanted to wait until it was perfect, or a perfect product, or a perfect book while I still hold the dream that someday soon it will be. I didn’t want to wait to get this out into the world. One of my favorite phrases over the last year has been, “Do it scared.” It came from one of those days still in bed after my afternoon nap, still exhausted from opening the coffee shop that morning, one of those moments that made me stop scrolling Pinterest for just a second when I saw:

If you can’t beat fear, do it scared

All this long winded procrastination is here to say is my artwork is up for sale! There are 8 pieces so far and many more to come. Here is the link, share it with your friends, and since I’ll be hanging out in Bali for the next month I’ll have lots of time for custom orders so let me know if I can make something special for you! 

Thanks for hanging in there with me, and for inspiring me to have the courage to do it scared! 👣