Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Layers of Imagination: Painting, Play, and Personal Growth with Juliette Crane
343 Plays1 month ago
In this episode of ReBloom, we’re joined by artist Juliette Crane, whose work blends the whimsical and the profound. Based in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin, Juliette’s colorful mixed-media paintings explore memory, imagination, and the natural world—inviting viewers into layered worlds where abstraction meets figuration.
Juliette shares how losing her job in 2009 led her back to painting, and how embracing imperfection and play transformed not just her creative process, but her life. We talk about the stories behind her characters, the symbolism of layering, and how she continues to evolve as an artist, mentor, and teacher.
To learn more about Juliette’s work, retreats, or online classes, visit JulietteCrane.com or follow her on Instagram @juliettecrane.
Website: www.julietteCrane.com
IG: https://instagram.com/juliettecrane
Inquiries: info@juliettecrane.com
Thank You to Our Sponsors: Jet Creative and UrbanStems!
· Jet Creative: A women-owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment. Whether you’re launching a podcast or building a website, Jet Creative can help you get started. Visit JetCreative.com/Podcast to kickstart your journey!
· UrbanStems: Your go-to source for fresh, gorgeous bouquets and thoughtful gifts, delivered coast to coast. Treat yourself—or someone you love—with 20% off! Use code BLOOMBIG20 at checkout.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Rebloom Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome to Rebloom, the podcast where we explore the power of change, rediscovery, and living with intention. That's right. We're your hosts, Lori and Jamie, two friends who really love a good story about transformation.
00:00:16
Speaker
In each podcast, we're going to chat with inspiring guests who've made bold pivots in their lives or careers. They've let go of what no longer serve them to embrace something more authentic, joyful, and true to who they really are.
00:00:31
Speaker
And the best part, many of them reconnect with passions or dreams they discovered as kids. It's about finding the seeds planted long ago and letting them bloom again.
00:00:43
Speaker
So if you're ready for real conversations about reinvention, purpose, and following your creative heart, you're in the right place. Let's dive in and see what it takes to re-bloom.
Teaser for Guest Conversation
00:00:56
Speaker
Boy, are our listeners in for a really great treat today on someone who has taken some major pivots and blown up in a big way.
00:01:07
Speaker
This is an incredible conversation. Awesome. I kind of feel like sometimes the universe gives you exactly what you need, even when you don't know that's what you need.
00:01:19
Speaker
So some of the pivots came at her and she was not expecting them. But where it took her, it just blows my mind. We were just in awe. So it's going to be a great, great thing for our listeners to hear.
00:01:33
Speaker
It's a great conversation. And I think if you're on the edge of wanting to rebloom, this conversation is going to probably be just what you need.
00:01:44
Speaker
Thanks for listening.
00:01:48
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Rebloom. We are so excited that you have joined us and I'm excited to have my co-host Lori Siebert
Guest Introduction: Juliet Crane
00:01:58
Speaker
here. Hi, Lori. Hey, Jamie. How are you?
00:02:01
Speaker
i'm I'm glad I'm able to do this today. I've been suffering from vertigo, which is no joke and i'm feeling better now. So I'm really excited to talk with our guests today.
00:02:13
Speaker
And to who are we talking with today, Lori? So this person, I feel like I've been friends with forever, but this is the first time I'm actually talking like semi live. We go back and forth on Instagram a lot about different things. um We kind of do some similar things.
00:02:33
Speaker
Her name is Juliet Crane, and she is an amazing artist and teacher. And she just shared something about potentially being an author.
00:02:45
Speaker
um So we're going to get into her entire journey. And I know that there have been some pivots along the way, which is what we love to talk about. So welcome, Juliet.
00:02:56
Speaker
Welcome, Juliet. thank you so much for having me here. oh Thank you for being here. You know, I have to tell you a fun story.
Juliet's Journey: Childhood to Rediscovery
00:03:03
Speaker
I was just teaching down in Charlotte and Lori had sent me a text message that said that you were going to be on our podcast.
00:03:11
Speaker
And my phone was flipped over and one of the attendees saw your name. And they said, Oh my gosh, she's incredible. you She's just so cool. And I'm like, Oh, that's really nice. I'm like, yeah, she's gonna on our podcast. So welcome, welcome.
00:03:24
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you. That's so nice to hear that. It's just amazing and small worlds coming together. Oh, in the creative world, it's it's pretty interesting, the connections. And I think we travel in similar communities.
00:03:39
Speaker
and So I was really glad you reached out to talk with us. so we usually start just asking, take us back to I mean, you can go back to when you were a little girl or you can start a little later at ah and a major pivot point.
00:03:55
Speaker
pivot point. Can't talk today. um and just kind of share your journey with us. Yeah. So, I mean, speaking of when I was a little girl, um basically I always loved to color and paint and do art stuff. Like for all of my Christmas gifts, that's what I would always get.
00:04:16
Speaker
um I didn't necessarily ask for that stuff. It's just what I was always doing and always into. So that's what I would always get our different art supplies and everything.
Turning Points: Job Loss to Art Reconnection
00:04:27
Speaker
And so in 2009, I lost my job. I had been going from job to job. I was a web developer. I was a floral designer. i was a photographer for a while.
00:04:41
Speaker
And just sort of doing all of these jobs on the edge of creativity and some of them not even so creative like web design. I really just did not like working in an office and it just was depleting my spirit. But I felt like this is what you're supposed to do, right? Like this is what you do when you get a job. You just go to an office and be under these fluorescent lights. And I just, I hated it. I knew there had to be something else. I just didn't know what that would be.
00:05:10
Speaker
And so in 2009, I was fired from one of the jobs I actually liked, which was landscaping. I love flowers and plants and being outside. And so when was landscaping, I thought, well, this is fantastic.
00:05:24
Speaker
And I wasn't even doing art at that time. i just was finding these other, you know, creative outlets like playing with flowers. And I got a phone call or it was a phone message that fired, it was firing me from that job.
00:05:39
Speaker
And I thought, Oh my God, like the one thing I finally like here, I'm fired. And he's not even going to like tell me in person or anything. It was just a phone message.
00:05:50
Speaker
And I decided, okay I have to just take care of myself. um I need to just take a little time off and not think about what I'm going to do next, just sort of get back to myself. And so I did what I did as a little girl and took my art supplies that I had and went out in the backyard in the summer and spread everything out on a big
First Art Show and New Beginnings
00:06:12
Speaker
blanket. And I just played and i focused on color and dripping and splashing color and making a mess, but it didn't matter because I was in my yard in the grass
00:06:21
Speaker
and the sun was shining, and it was just so much fun, and I found myself again. And that led to painting on these giant sheets of masonite board that I got at Home Depot.
00:06:33
Speaker
And just, I started painting these characters, like figures of women, and giant owls, and women holding owls. And I just was having a lot of fun with them.
00:06:46
Speaker
And people started, friends started coming to my house, and they were like, hey, you should show these some, like you should have a show somewhere. And I thought, well, okay, maybe I'll ask at my local library because they have art there.
00:06:58
Speaker
And so I asked at the library and they had had a cancellation. So they were like, yeah, you can come the next month and hang your artwork. And so I did. And I thought I might as well make an event out of it and invite everybody I know and have like a little opening and have some wine and cheese and just see what happens. And so I sent out an e-bite to everybody and people showed up and people actually, people I didn't know bought paintings. And those were like my first paintings that I sold.
00:07:30
Speaker
And then other people asked for cards and prints and said like, you should make jewelry out of these. And so that all just kind of got me really excited that people were interested in what I was painting. I was having fun painting And then they wanted more. And so that kind of gave me direction for my next steps locally.
00:07:51
Speaker
And then I was also blogging at the time on Blogspot. And, um you know, this is like 15 years ago. And so I started connecting with people online also, like as I was painting, posting my artwork.
00:08:04
Speaker
And then when I mentioned I was having an opening, people were like, you should do something online too. And so I got all the support online telling me to open a shop. And then people were like, how are you doing this? and i they were like, you should have a class about this. And so I did an in-person class locally and then People wanted an online class. So then I started an online class and it just sort of kept going step by
Growing Online Presence and Art Classes
00:08:33
Speaker
step.
00:08:33
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Yeah. It sounds like ah like a snowball almost. miss Yeah. I'm curious because you you said that you you lost your job.
00:08:43
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But you know I can't imagine that the next day you're out in your backyard painting. like It was kind of like that. It was? was low.
00:08:55
Speaker
I had also been writing a fiction novel at the time. like That was sort of where my creative energy was going. I had this idea to write a novel about... a woman who could jump into her paintings.
00:09:08
Speaker
So I wasn't painting, but I just had this idea that I wanted to write a book. Okay, I'll write a book about, it evolved into this woman who could jump into her paintings. yeah I love that idea.
00:09:19
Speaker
Yeah. i Well, it's still, it also is still on track. It's just, you know, taking more time than I expected. But um that led me to, you know, joining, I went to a a six-week writer's workshop out in New Hampshire. And it was an intensive writer's workshop to edit this novel and to meet other writers. And i just get really intense about stuff and really obsessive.
00:09:45
Speaker
And so I just dove into every critique group I could. And I took all the critique and I just worked, worked, worked. And that really burned me out because people were not liking the imagination in my book.
00:10:02
Speaker
They thought it was like two color because I was working with adult people that were working on adult fiction. Yeah. and people just weren't, I don't know if people weren't in, or this group I was working with was not open to the whimsy that I am.
00:10:19
Speaker
and so it really has then taken this whole career of, you know, being an artist and finding that community to then, you know, be able to finish that book as well as then continue to share my paintings and my process.
00:10:33
Speaker
It's so interesting to me how sometimes the right time, you know, it's all you have a seed. Like this has happened to me a lot of times where I'll have an idea and I'll think this is a brand new idea and I never thought it before and I'll get all excited. And then I'll find like in an old journal where I wrote that very idea down, but I didn't pursue it then because it wasn't the right time.
Balancing Present and Future Plans
00:10:59
Speaker
Absolutely. It sounds like a lot of your experience is kind of like that. like Definitely. And I'm very much at the point now, finally, where I am just letting things unfold and recognizing that things take time to unfold.
00:11:17
Speaker
And rather than me push, push, pushing constantly and trying to make everything happen and control everything, I'm finally like, okay, I get it now. I have to just step back and let things unfold as I'm also, you know, taking, take not taking control of them, but sort of lining things up and taking creative action so that things can happen, but just not being so attached to the outcomes.
00:11:41
Speaker
hello I think that is so neat. And I think that that's often what people, that at least that's been my experiences. You know, I started down one path and then another thing led to another, to another, and you never thought that that was the path you were going to go down.
00:11:55
Speaker
But I have two questions. One sort of a question, one's an observation question. One is why owls and women... Oh my God, I was going to ask that question. That was my first question. I'm like, that's an interesting combination.
00:12:07
Speaker
But then my observation slash question is interesting about your fictional book about diving into your paintings, because you do have a strong female influence with these incredible eyes. And
Artistic Inspirations: Owls and Women
00:12:18
Speaker
it's funny, I felt like I was looking into your paintings. Like I felt that way when I looked into it.
00:12:23
Speaker
and like, I don't know if that was her intention, but I was like, wait a minute, this is all coming together. But why women and owls? I would love to know that. Well, thank you so much for all of those kind words, because that's very much how I feel as I'm painting. I just see the eyes in my paintings sort of as a mirror. And so as I'm painting, that's how I can kind of feel that it's coming together because it's sort of I'm looking at this person, which is a reflection of my internal self, which then also feels like a reflection of the entire universe all in one reflection, if that makes any sense. And so it's sort of this like universal mirror that I'm feeling connected to as I paint.
00:13:10
Speaker
And when I started painting owls, it was just sort of, I got into this process of covering up the white space because I couldn't, I felt too scared to start on just white or just a blank canvas or blank paper or whatever.
00:13:25
Speaker
And so I started just sort of playing with color, scribbling color, and then taking a step back and seeing what I could see within that color. And I all of a sudden saw an owl And it was the first owl I painted called Moon Belly.
00:13:44
Speaker
And i initially was really into having a piece of paper or something in the the owl's belly that was also reflected in the external world.
00:13:56
Speaker
And so sort of like mirroring that effect of having something that's inside of you And, you know, being able to demonstrate it externally and then also have it sort of inspire you at the same time.
00:14:11
Speaker
Internal, external worlds like that just fascinates me and how everybody connects. And so when I saw this owl, I just was like, well, I might as well go with it and just outline this owl outline.
00:14:23
Speaker
That is how the first owl came about. And I just kind of got obsessed with them. As a little girl, my parents had this wooden owl statue next to our fireplace.
00:14:34
Speaker
That was this beautiful carved piece that was basically when I was like five, it was as tall as me. And so I remember like coloring next to the fireplace with this owl beside me. oh And I think that that always, you know, stuck with me as a ah nice sort of guardian of an image. Oh, I love that.
00:14:55
Speaker
I want to go back just a second because I was listening to ah Amy Poehler was on SmartList
Creative Process and Managing Criticism
00:15:02
Speaker
podcast episode. And they were talking today about living in the moment versus planning, which is what we were talking about.
00:15:11
Speaker
Like, how much do you stay present when Because that's what everyone says you should do versus being a planner and being someone who wants to make things happen. Like finding that balance between those two is I think, really, really hard because I always want to be prepared.
00:15:32
Speaker
too. That's a great question. So I'm curious about that. And how do do you manage both? Are there things that you do to manage both? Well, definitely the the book that I mentioned that I am writing, um it's i just put together the nonfiction book proposal for this book that basically I have found that my creative process has really helped me live my life, better live my life.
00:16:02
Speaker
So when I am creating, i can be fully present, but then i can also get into in my head. And when I've put together online classes, I always put together the painting videos. I recorded the painting videos and then did the audio second and as like an overlay.
00:16:21
Speaker
And that made me sort of be really conscious of my painting process while I was painting. so that I could see when my inner critic stepped in and said, like, you're not doing this right or this is ugly. Like, what do you think you're doing? You're going to turn your owl into a woman. Like, how why would you do that?
00:16:43
Speaker
It's perfect the way it is, you know, like all these doubts that come in. And I just recognized, oh, that's this weird voice is just always coming up in my head. I can choose to not follow it.
00:16:56
Speaker
I know that like when I've been painting, there's always an ugly stage. There's always that voice that comes in. There's always the point where I feel like I'm painting something silly.
00:17:06
Speaker
And it's especially when I'm trying something new. And so I've then applied that to life as well, where I recognize, you know, when I get really anxious about something, it's like, okay, wait a second. This is just,
00:17:20
Speaker
You don't have to stay in this anxiety. You can do something that makes you feel better because so much of it for me is in my head. It's just my mind chatter. And once I can, you know, through my painting process, I was able to recognize this voice in the head and then be able to do something about it rather than listen to it.
00:17:40
Speaker
And so like with when I'm anxious, I have sort of this list of things that I can do in life. um One of them is sketchbooking. I love to just take out my watercolors in a sketchbook or pencil and just kind of doodle and and play. And that really helps like completely detour that anxious voice in my head.
00:18:01
Speaker
So then it's like, I I'm present and I'm comfortable. And then when I'm comfortable, I feel confident again. And then once I feel confident again, i can do that new thing or do that thing was me. That was maybe scaring me or freaking me out.
00:18:16
Speaker
So by, whether it's in my painting practice or in in life, being able to recognize that moment when it's just a voice in my head oh and not overriding it, but doing something about it and caring for that voice and then making myself feel better so I can move forward from that place of feeling good rather than like, quiet, it' be quiet, you know get away.
00:18:41
Speaker
So that has really that's really helped me and the two work really well together. Let's take a quick minute and thank our amazing sponsors. Our podcast is proudly brought to you today by Jet Creative and Urban Stems.
00:18:57
Speaker
Jet Creative is a women owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment since 2013. Are you ready to re-bloom and build a website or start a podcast? Visit jetcreative.com backslash podcast to kickstart your journey.
00:19:14
Speaker
They will help you bloom in ways you never imagined. And bonus, our listeners get an exclusive discount when you mention Rebloom. And a huge thanks to Urban Stems, your go-to and our go-to source for fresh, gorgeous bouquets and gifts delivered coast to coast.
00:19:33
Speaker
Use Bloom Big 20 and save 20% on your next order. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at ReBloom Podcast.
00:19:46
Speaker
Thanks to our sponsors and thanks to you for joining us today.
From Local Classes to Online Business
00:19:52
Speaker
So you had the the show at the library and it it like you kind of like, like from there, like rambled off, like all this stuff that happened from that. Can, can you like take us back and slow down that process a little bit?
00:20:08
Speaker
Tell us like, you know, cause now you're making product and now you're doing this and now you're like, how did that all unfold in more real time? Like slow yeah slow that down a little bit for us.
00:20:21
Speaker
Well, the crazy thing is that it actually did all have like I was doing I do one on one coaching and and mentoring and someone had asked, um like, how did you actually start making money from, you know, from that point of having that show and selling a few paintings? What did you do to make money?
00:20:40
Speaker
And I went back into, i have this class called Business for Creatives, where I totally went through every every product that I designed, every you know thing every way I marketed.
00:20:53
Speaker
um And i came up with a list of everything that I did within that first year. And it is absolutely, it's crazy. Yeah.
00:21:05
Speaker
And I can recognize because shortly after i've I burned out, but I was so such a workaholic at that point that I just wanted to keep going. And I thought it was being, and I was being enthusiastic, but really I was like not feeding the fire at the same time.
00:21:24
Speaker
So um after the show, so like I had the show at the library in October 2009 And by December fifteenth of 2009, I was doing a local, um I had gone into this local shop and it was a little boutique. And I really wanted to ask her, you know, if I could show my paintings there, like have another show.
00:21:49
Speaker
And she said, you know, you should, I have a space in the back. You should teach classes here too. And i I was like, okay, cool. People are asking for that online. So maybe locally, I'll just give it a try.
00:22:02
Speaker
And so by December 15th, I had that first class. Then I had another one in January and then another one in February. i also, my husband then lost his job but right you around that time.
00:22:16
Speaker
So that was then also part of the like, oh my gosh, what are we going to do for money? Like I have to really make this work. And so i like was making it all work from a financial perspective in addition to being creative. And luckily it all just sort of ran together. But um after I taught those few classes, ah that's when I ended up doing a, going on an art retreat out in California. And that was my first art retreat.
00:22:46
Speaker
And I went with these two women that were starting their own art classes or their own online classes. And so I was not planning on doing an online class. you know Often it I have the idea and I wasn't, I mean, i sound like I was a really like action oriented person at the time, but because of them, we went on this art retreat. And then after we stayed in Big Sur for a little bit,
00:23:15
Speaker
And they were absolutely putting together their first online classes. And they were like, by the time we leave, we are going to open registration. so they are my I was like, are you kidding me?
00:23:27
Speaker
But because they were doing it, i was like, okay. And I, I had all the ideas. I had my process down. I had practiced it in the in, in person classes I was teaching. And I saw how students were reacting.
00:23:41
Speaker
and that it really worked for people, this sort of step-by-step layering practice of like laying down the color and then using simple shapes to create this owl and and making it all fit together. And so I'm like, okay, well that's my class right there. So I might as well do this.
00:23:57
Speaker
And I opened registration like literally that February by the time we went home. um Maybe it was March. um But yeah, then i opened registration and I didn't even have the class created. I just had the outline.
00:24:11
Speaker
So then when I went home, I started recording the videos and that was my first online class called How to Paint an Owl. If you could see our faces right now, we're just sitting here in amazement at you because it's like, wait a minute, what?
00:24:26
Speaker
But, you know, I think there's a couple of things that you did that I love, and I want our listeners to kind of key into those. One is that I love that you did a ton of stuff in 2009, but you also did a little mini audit of everything that you did because some things work and some things don't.
00:24:43
Speaker
And when I'm working with clients or I'm talking to people, I always say, where's your bread and butter? I mean, you can do things that are very fun and interesting, but they make no money. And if your goal, it depends on what your goals are, but if your goal is to be successful financially, you have to do that audit. So I loved that.
00:25:03
Speaker
But I also love that you had no fear and you were just trying all of these things to figure out where the bread and butter was. I mean, I love the teaching and the online teaching and I'm just, my i'm I have i've no words. Yeah. Yeah, because every one of those paths takes a lot of ah research and you like to know what you're doing.
00:25:27
Speaker
to Launch a class and to do product. all Each avenue is a lot. And you were doing it all at one time. Definitely. And I also, I had started doing products.
00:25:39
Speaker
um like taking prints, mini prints of my artwork and putting it on jewelry and putting it on magnets. And just that's where I was kind of just having fun.
00:25:51
Speaker
But I would sell those like a whole set of magnets that took me forever to create. and they were all hand, you know, I hand embellished them on top of it. And it would be like $15 for this whole set.
00:26:02
Speaker
And that didn't account for my time or my costs. And I was like, there's no way this can be if I'm serious about this, I can't keep doing this. So that was definitely how it became, you know, as luckily people were asking for classes and it was those, it didn't exist at that time. Like online classes weren't, it was just the beginning of that stuff happening.
00:26:26
Speaker
So there was no right or wrong way. And so, and not that there necessarily is now, but it was all, it was new to me and, you know, new to everybody else. So it was just kind of a conversation with knowing what my community wanted and working with these other amazing women that were also trying to figure it out and just sort of doing it together.
00:26:47
Speaker
it almost seems like you exploded. You lost you lost that job. You just kind of went pow and like got shot out of a creative can and And then it seems like you were driven both by like the need to be creative, but also the need to make a living because of what happened with your husband. So you had dual, dual drivers actually propelling you forward.
00:27:14
Speaker
so definitely So as you you get through 2009, 2010-ish, um things start to kind of, I would imagine, start to gel or come together for you.
00:27:26
Speaker
What were some of the things as you began to pivot in this art career that you so you saw that you're like, nope, this is the direction I want to go and here's why? What were you saying?
Overcoming Financial Challenges Together
00:27:35
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, definitely because of the the financial perspective and the financial need to make things happen,
00:27:42
Speaker
My husband ended up starting his own business doing IT t for nonprofits. And so luckily 2010, like he was able to to do that and make that happen.
00:27:53
Speaker
So he was making his income and then my online classes started. the how to paint an owl did really well. And so I thought, well, I'll just do another one of those. um So I did a how to paint an owl too, and that did really well.
00:28:06
Speaker
And I was then also selling my paintings and still trying a few other things at that time. But really the the teaching in person and online was sort of where I chose to focus my energy for, because I loved it and it was a great financial opportunity.
00:28:23
Speaker
And then in 2011, things happened with the government where nonprofit funding was taken away. So my husband's business kind of, it had done so well that first year, and then it was sort of um a lot of crickets.
00:28:41
Speaker
And so because he was in into IT t and has always known everything about IT, t um and my business was taking off with these online classes, we became a unit and started working together. And um he started helping me build my online classes so that I could do that a lot more efficiently and move them onto a private website and, you know, help me film them a whole lot better and help me include the audio and just really make everything um a lot more professional and then easier for me.
00:29:19
Speaker
So interesting that you're saying this because I know so many artists that have a husband just like yours. And I'm like, why don't I have that? has e s and Her husband helps her. Oliver, her husband helps her.
00:29:37
Speaker
that's such a great like thing to have So I will say though, as of 2019, we stopped working together. Okay. So there's a reason for that. So it was really fortunate at the time, but we definitely recognized that it's not a long-term sustainable thing for us in our relationship. Luckily, he does still help. Like if I have to do a live Zoom or something, he can totally step in and he doesn't mind doing that.
00:30:05
Speaker
But we are not a couple who can continue to work together. Well, I work with my husband. He does financial stuff and I have to tell him often I'm off duty. Like yeah I don't want to talk about work right now.
00:30:19
Speaker
Like for me, it was the reverse. Like I'm the one that's just a hundred percent always in it. And that just became all of our relationship. And we realized we didn't really want to live that way. Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:31
Speaker
So that was another pivot. That was a major pivot. Absolutely. Yeah. So what did you do then? Because you were probably used to him doing that piece of the the puzzle. then Absolutely.
Refocusing on Painting and Personal Goals
00:30:43
Speaker
Yeah. So we were able to, that was a really big pivot. We were able to, um,
00:30:49
Speaker
sort of take the, the class, the classes and move them, you know, by that time in 2019, um, Kajabi existed. And so he had built this private classroom and I was able to, we were able to move all of the classes to Kajabi, which then had all of the, everything and more built into it.
00:31:10
Speaker
And then, so we were able to do that. So I didn't have to rely on him for maintaining the classrooms anymore. And then I also have a virtual assistant.
00:31:22
Speaker
And so she stepped up and and started doing a lot more for me at that point as well. And then COVID happened. So 2020, it was like online classes just started booming because everyone was taking online classes. right So that was that part of the pivot, which then allowed me the time i realized that missed my painting and I missed my writing.
00:31:50
Speaker
So that's sort of where I'm also focusing. My business now is going back into my my fiction book and then revisiting this nonfiction book. And then um I've started reaching out to galleries and working with them in different ways and painting larger. Like I've always wanted to larger. So the business is kind of moving in different directions that serve my creative needs a little bit more again. Okay. So you're backing away a little bit from the online teaching, but you are teaching live because I know you're teaching. Yeah.
00:32:25
Speaker
Like you said, in May, with yeah i track which I'm also teaching with them this fall. So yeah that's super exciting. So I did a um a retreat. I live in Wisconsin. And so I did a in-person retreat in Wisconsin last summer.
00:32:40
Speaker
And that is something that I really enjoy doing. And then I'll be teaching in France in a few weeks and sort of just playing with that as well, because I missed the being with people in person.
Teaching and Retreats: Balancing Introversion
00:32:54
Speaker
It was kind of like, oh, wait a second. i i I'm an introvert, but I still love.
00:33:00
Speaker
being with people and hearing people's stories. So I really wanted to find other ways to connect with people too. yeah And I think you, and even when you very first started teaching, it's interesting because just meeting with those people in those small little classes in the back of the shop,
00:33:18
Speaker
they gave you the inspiration to set up your online classes. they You knew what they, because you have to meet people. And plus it's the connections and it's just, you know, it's, it's, we all need people. Certainly after 2020, I think we all need people.
00:33:33
Speaker
So yeah are you doing still small local workshops or are you doing more big retreats now? um Well, definitely the one in Wisconsin was maybe 15 people, um which was small to like,
00:33:46
Speaker
I mean, to me, that's small. And then same with France will be about the same amount of people, about 15 people. And that I did a live zoom a few weeks ago.
00:33:59
Speaker
And, you know, that that was like more like hundreds of people and being online. And it was fun, but it's so weird when you can't see people. I definitely love the more, um,
00:34:11
Speaker
Being able to talk to people one-to-one, like my favorite part about the Zoom was being able to see what people had created and, you know, talk to them about why they painted what they did.
00:34:21
Speaker
And I also started doing the one-to-one mentoring and coaching, which is online. And so that also too kind of, you know, it was the very intimate one-to-one sessions.
00:34:36
Speaker
But I still in person, small group is my is my favorite, really just like hanging out and and painting together. too yeah I just angry agree i just filmed for two separate online summits in the whole time I'm doing it. I'm like, why am I doing this? so I don't want to film. I don't want to edit. I just want to paint. Yeah, exactly. Yes. People too. It's so fun. It's just so fun.
00:35:06
Speaker
so so and especially in a casual environment for me, like really just hanging out and, you know, having a sketchbook or something, just like when it's not something specific you're having to paint. I, that's,
00:35:21
Speaker
when I don't know how I'm going to do that more, but I definitely have this drive and and longing to do that more.
Insights: Community and Persistence
00:35:27
Speaker
So you've created this beautiful business. Tell us about creating an art business. So you're now 10 plus years into it.
00:35:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's like 15 years. Yeah. Tell us what you've learned. Some of the, you know, it there's been pivots along the way, things you maybe hadn had to stop doing. have Were you licensed? Did you license your work at all?
00:35:47
Speaker
I never did do that. No. Okay. um Yeah, I definitely, the biggest thing for me has always been to have a creative community, whether that's online and or in person, um because i just, there have been a lot of challenges and a lot of things that I didn't know how to do, of course.
00:36:08
Speaker
And so by having different people I could reach out to and ask questions, like that has just been phenomenal. And to be able to then support other people in whatever they need as well has been great.
00:36:23
Speaker
I also, that my biggest lesson has been that like, don't just give up. Don't expect that it's going to just happen.
00:36:35
Speaker
And don't expect that your first idea is the one that's going to work. That to me, it's like life, business, art, they all are so similar that I always have to try something in order to figure out what is actually going to work.
00:36:52
Speaker
And usually it's within that trying that then I figure out the better ideas. So, you know, maybe, well, I mean, just a few weeks ago, I was thinking I was going to def, okay, now it's time. I'm going to publish my fiction book about this woman who can jump into her drawings. I've been working on that now literally for 20 years and it's totally changed so many times, but the core has stayed the same.
00:37:17
Speaker
but it just keeps changing. And so I finally, um i'm I'm working with this mentor of mine and she was helping me with the query letter. And I thought, okay, this is it. And then she got super busy and I realized the book would need so much more work than I can give it right now.
00:37:34
Speaker
And so rather than letting you know sitting in that disheartening moment, I thought, okay, what can I do now? I can work on this nonfiction book book proposal that has been sitting for two years unfinished and maybe that's what I should do. And so I got that out and I heard all the voices of, oh my God, I can't do this. what Who do you think you are to be writing a nonfiction book?
00:38:00
Speaker
And how are you ever going to get this published? But I was like, nope, just keep going. And I looked at that nonfiction book proposal. I thought all I had to do was write my sample chapters.
00:38:12
Speaker
Easy, right? But I thought they were at least sort of finished. But when I looked at them again, I was like, I don't like any of this. So I had to rewrite all those, you know, sample chapters, but there's so much better now.
00:38:26
Speaker
And the whole book proposal is so much better now. It's like completely aligned with where I would like to go from here now. And so, no, it's not that fiction book. And it's yeah it's like, it wasn't what I thought was going to work out, but it's this new thing. And by allowing it to just unfold,
00:38:44
Speaker
and still having that enthusiasm, um i feel like I'm on the right track. i I think that's so awesome. You know, it's interesting. I i have a a book proposal out there myself, and it's a nonfiction, and I just blew up the whole thing myself. So I completely understand. And you know what? It's so much better now, to your point. I mean, but I think sometimes you sit with something and as as we've talked about, the seeds are there.
00:39:10
Speaker
You know kind of where you want to go, but it's just you need to have it just sort of germinate a little bit before you can then fully express where you want to go. And so Lori doesn't even know that, but I, I just spent all last week blowing it up and redoing the whole thing because I'm like, I had sent it out to someone who gave me great feedback. And that's the other thing. It's, it's being open to critiques and being open to where you are. And it's not a no, but it's a, Hmm, you know, we need more or we need, ah you need to pivot along the way. And, um,
00:39:44
Speaker
So I hope it both both book ideas sound amazing. I know, I know, they really do. I especially want to read the one about the woman who can jump into her paintings. That like that really intrigues me.
00:39:58
Speaker
yeah Thank you. Yeah, i'm I am so excited about it. And it's just, it started as a, you know, middle middle grade novel, and then it became an adult novel. And You know, it's like as life happens, those things get infused into the work, whether it's painting or writing or, you know, whatever you're creating. And it's just it keeps getting deeper. and And to me, it keeps getting better.
00:40:25
Speaker
Kind of reminds me of layering and painting. Like, and it's you know, I have some paintings hanging in my house right now and I'm like dying to paint over them or add to them or because they, I don't love them anymore. They're like, I've changed.
00:40:40
Speaker
But then I'm like, well, do I want to keep them as a reminder of where I came from? Or do I want to like completely start over and paint over them? Definitely. it's also, there's, you know, there has been this afraid, very petrified part of me and a self-sabotaging part of me um that doesn't, you know, can work on that book forever.
Overcoming Self-Sabotage
00:41:05
Speaker
Because then that's also super safe to just keep, I'm just working on it. You know, it's still not finished. If you stay in that mode, then nobody's ever going to see it.
00:41:16
Speaker
and And that is sort of, well, for me at least, it it feels really silly and unfortunate to leave things at that point right now. So i'm I definitely keep checking in with myself and making sure I'm not self-sabotaging. Yeah, well...
00:41:33
Speaker
And again, I think everything has its time, its timing. And i think I think you'll know, you you will know when it's the right time to to put that out in the world.
00:41:46
Speaker
Well, and for me too, it seems that external circumstances seem to present themselves at the at certain moments to help me move forward.
00:41:57
Speaker
with different things as well. So part of the reason I decided to move forward with the nonfiction book was because I joined a online writers community and that sort, you know, that I just happened to see was available.
00:42:11
Speaker
And that sort of, you know, led me down this new path. And So it's kind of the internal voice awakens and then the external circumstances also present themselves. That starting with 2009 and getting tired from your job, exactly that was external, but boy, did that light you on fire.
00:42:32
Speaker
Definitely. Well, and I think the way it happened, that was absolutely it. I was like, well, if I am just not going to like any jobs and I'm just going to get fired from the one job I do like, I'm going to just do something I actually really love.
00:42:47
Speaker
There you go. I love that. Is there something else that you'd like to share with our listeners?
Advice on Following Joy and Intuition
00:42:54
Speaker
Yeah, the one last piece I think is coming back to joy that I feel that so often i can get really caught up in what I think should happen or the way I think things should look or what I should be doing.
00:43:11
Speaker
And it's really helped me to realign with my internal compass and where I need to go when I, I guess it sounds cliche, but like following your joy, finding your joy, doing the thing Sometimes I think like, oh, just do the thing that you really enjoy.
00:43:28
Speaker
And for me, okay, that's painting. So I'll go into my studio and I'll be painting, but it doesn't mean just painting anything. It's also very specific to what I feel in that moment, what colors I feel like exploring and what techniques I want to play with.
00:43:45
Speaker
And and rec just recognizing that there are specifics within that moment and I feel like when I align with that part of me that is all of a sudden lit up by certain things and I give it the attention it's looking for, then it helps me to better find and address those things externally as well and in the rest of my life.
00:44:08
Speaker
So that by, you know, feeling that joy, I'm attracting more of it. Oh, I agree with that. And ah I've been working for the last several years on up forever.
00:44:20
Speaker
i was the kind of person that I had to do my shoulds first, like my to do list, the things I have to do, maybe I don't want to but I would always save like what I wanted to do or what I was drawn to for almost like the dessert.
00:44:35
Speaker
And then sometimes you don't have time in the day for that, because you've taken the whole day up doing the things you should do. And I've been really working on you know, what is it one thing I want to start the day with maybe that is more of a want to do um Because I think it does when you kind of shift your your way of thinking, then the rest of your day kind of falls into place in a much more peaceful way.
00:45:02
Speaker
Exactly. I've been doing something similar to where instead of filling my morning with all the things I should do, because I've just had my coffee and I have the energy to do all this stuff that I don't really want to do, but I should do.
00:45:17
Speaker
I am just telling myself to you know do the painting, do the writing, do the creating in the morning. The stuff that I'm really excited about so that that energy gets put into the stuff that is actually moving me forward in the way that I want to be have my life move forward rather than in the way that it should move forward. That is great advice. I love that. If you're a morning person, some people are night people, so maybe they do...
00:45:43
Speaker
those things that they love doing at night when they feel most energized. But I think it's sinking your timing, your body to put in place the things that you love to do when you are most energized.
00:45:59
Speaker
And then I think everything else just kind of falls into place. Definitely. And also not being distracted by the things that you think that you should get done before you get to the dessert, like you say Exactly. Exactly.
00:46:16
Speaker
Thank you, Juliette. This has been just the most amazing conversation and hope you have a wonderful trip to France and peace, love and rebloom to our listeners.
00:46:28
Speaker
Life is too short not to follow your passions. So go out there and let your heart plant you where you are meant to be and grow your joy. We will be right here sharing more incredible stories of reinvention with you.
00:46:42
Speaker
Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode of Rebloom. Until next time, I'm Jamie Jameson. And I'm Lori Siebert. Peace, love, and Rebloom, dear friends.