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So spoiler alert: This story is about me, and I am absolutely no good at sharing about myself and this is going to sound corny. But to be an Artist is to put yourself out there, not only in your art but to be honest about who you are deep inside to your audience so they can understand why you create. I have decided determinedly to begin this journey so I have to bite the bullet and just tell it like it is. So bear with me, here goes!
I will start with a love letter to my family. To know me is to know this is the most important part of me. My name is Jessica and I live in the Central West of NSW with my most favorite people in the world, my partner and our three mischievous children who bring me so much love and joy. I grew up here, but during High School I dreamed of getting out and moving to the big city where all the opportunities were. So strong-headedly (like many creatives) I moved myself to Sydney the day after my last HSC exam. I even had to travel back for my graduation. There I studied and did my Fine Arts Degree at the National Art School in Darlinghurst, majoring in Photography but getting HD’s in life drawing which was my passion. When I was finished, I moved to Melbourne and immersed myself in all the Art and Fashion culture I could. The energy was amazing and I learnt so much and met so many amazing people. There was so much to do, it felt like every week night and weekend I was doing something, exhibitions, parties, events, festivals, even the odd gala. And then I decided YOLO I’m going travelling. I packed up and traveled for a couple of years, not too far, I spent quality time in the inspiring places I found. I couldn’t get enough of the food of Southeast Asia, and fell in love with the landscape of New Zealand. But on a short visit home, working at a pub to earn more money to continue travelling, I met a boy, my soulmate, who had also returned home after years of being away. Well, a new journey had begun, one much more adventurous and liberating than I had experienced before. We are lucky to both have our families here too, which brings support and a wholesomeness you can’t get anywhere else, so we decided to stay and bring up our children in the country. I love them so much I would do anything and everything for them, though I did not consider leaving a gap where I could do something for me.
I think subconsciously I thought of living in the country as having limitations. I felt separated from the community I once had and I allowed myself to become more and more distant from the craft I enjoyed so much. I had so many excuses for not perusing anything like no time, money, energy etc. There is definitely a need for more creative resources in the country but I was holding myself back from participating in what is there and I unintentionally fell right off the radar. My priority was my family so I pushed on. Also being a private person I couldn’t talk about this feeling of absence building inside of me, I had to save face. I am grateful a few have seen my creativeness and commissioned me a few works, I have sold some other work but I just couldn’t get my head in the right mindset to produce more. I didn’t realize this was creating such a void inside of me until it was noticeable on the outside.
Then I was told I presented with a low mood. I thought this can’t be true, I’m a positive, happy, bubbly person. But it made me stop and think about myself and how I actually felt inside. I was overwhelmed by a cascade of emotions. I was neglecting a part of me which is my character and, in my personality, and also provides self-care in order to heal. And worse I wasn’t being my true self for my family and that isn’t fair on them, and that broke my heart.
My immediate thought was I have to fix this, and returning to my art was my first thought. I had to stop thinking of limitations and look for possibilities. Maybe it was possible to have both worlds.
I simply started back where I left off. I just started looking at art online and all of my old inspirations, and I was so surprised and I learnt more than I could ever imagine. I first learnt about Procreate, a program for your iPad partly similar to photoshop but it was $15. I looked on YouTube and the work artists and designers were creating showed no limits. I got myself an apple pencil and I just gave it a go. It felt just like drawing again but with a whole new realm of possibilities. I loved it, I was reconnecting with my skills while learning a whole new medium which just mad sense in the new frontier of the digital world. I found several online communities of creatives around the world sharing their knowledge and talents through free or inexpensive learning portals which I found was so genuine, kind and inspiring.
This is something I can do. Share my work and become a part of this community of creatives while sharing my soul with my loved ones and build my own community. I have already re connected with many friends from my studies or adventures, and I give endless credit to them continuing their passions through the years and all they have done and where they are now. If there was a bright side to the Covid pandemic I believe it would be our resourcefulness to adapt to remedy all these new unimaginable limitations. Bricks and mortar are moving online, investing in ways to reach an even bigger audience than before. I think it’s a new chapter for everyone why not embrace it. Creative opportunities are out there, maybe we just have to be inventive with the tools we have to put ourselves out there in a different way. There is honesty and a personal touch in many resources I have found, Artist are putting themselves out there independently and doing amazing things. I am already having so much fun just with building the basics, creating a website and starting on social media. I just can't wait to put more work out there, I have nothing to lose.
To find happiness is being with the ones you love. I can now see you can do anything anywhere you just need to find your way; it doesn’t matter where you are. Besides, it’s pretty sublime when you can walk outside and see the horizon every day.
I would like to share some learning portals mentioned above if you have not already heard about them. Trust me you will be inspired, no matter what skill you are looking for just search for it and see what comes up:
https://www.skillshare.com - Skillshare is a learning community for creators. Anyone can take an online class, watch video lessons, create projects, and even teach a class themselves.
https://www.domestika.org - Domestika is the largest creative community. Learn and share from anywhere with online courses taught by the best professionals in the world of design.
https://www.patreon.com - Patreon is the best place for creators to build memberships by providing exclusive access to their work and a deeper connection with their communities.
To prove my appreciation of these courses here is one particular course I did on Domestika to overcome my nerves about sharing my personal story:
Also test your capabilities on Procreate. Art is for everyone!
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Lovely story