01.
Summarize your life in a few sentences
It is hard to summarize- let’s just say it is busy, full, and rarely boring! I am an artist, a creative entrepreneur, a mom, and an avid yogi and skier.
02.
What’s your background?
I grew up in Colorado, where I developed a deep connection to nature. Art was always something I wanted to do, and I majored in painting in undergrad and graduate school. I worked in art galleries and as an art professor in Denver before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area for several years. I was immersed in entrepreneurship there, and developed a real love of the business side of being an artist. My family and I moved back to the Denver area in late 2016. I am happy to be back near my beloved mountains!
03.
How did you start your business?
I have been a working artist since college, and became an artist entrepreneur after leaving my academic career in 2009 and moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. I threw myself into creating art and building a business out of it. I had to learn a lot on my own, but as I found a community there of artists and women entrepreneurs, I felt more confident, and success started to happen. When I moved back to Colorado I quickly realized that there was a need for artist business resources like the ones in the Bay Area.
artboss began out of this realization, and the synchronicity of meeting my co-founder, Jessica Loving-Campos, a fellow artist, marketing expert, and creative entrepreneur. We are both passionate about helping artists and creatives build their businesses. artboss will provide workshops and consulting services for creative entrepreneurs wanting to learn marketing, social media, networking, branding and communication strategies.
04.
What inspired you as a creative woman?
I studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, during my undergrad, where we learned to paint the landscape in the Impressionistic style. It was wonderful, but I found that I wanted to paint how the landscape made me feel, not just what it looked like. This began my journey into abstract painting.
My education also included mentorship by a master painter and color theorist, Jeffrey Keith, who taught me how color could evoke emotions. And I am fascinated with science, particularly physics and astronomy, and the metaphorical capacity of scientific theory. All of this trickles into my work, which is an exploration of my emotional experiences of nature, science and color theory.
05.
What was your first job ever? Any funny or memorable story?
My first job was working in a grocery store. Not much memorable or funny there!
06.
If you won a lottery today, will you still continue to build your business?
Absolutely! In fact, I would go bigger. If money were no object, I could see artboss as a studio building and community for artists, with gallery and educational space. And I will always make my art- that is my constant.
07.
Walk us through your day as an artist, entrepreneur and mom.
Everyday is different, but it begins and ends with parenting my two young children. In between, I am making art, working on art business tasks (social media posts, emails, etc), and meeting with clients. On the weekends I spend time with my family and try to ski or get to a yoga class!
08.
What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Last year was amazing. I finally had my own studio, was able to work in a larger format, sold more work than I ever had, and started a new business, artboss. This year is looking awesome too!
09.
Where or what do you think you will be/do in the next 5 years?
I will be making art and hopefully building my art business and artboss around the country.
10.
Share a quote/advice that you’d like to tell the 25-year-old you
“You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.” ― Joseph Campbell
This is something that was very difficult to absorb as a 25-year-old, when I had very specific ideas about success and failure. It took me several years to embrace my authentic self as an artist and person. Once that happened, I had more clarity and fortitude to pursue my goals.
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