Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Cathy Nichols: Following her heart with her art!
292 Plays5 months ago
It’s no secret, Lori loves color and Jamie loves florals! What a treat for us to interview and welcome Cathy Nichols, a mixed media artist specializing in lush florals set within lyrical layers of text, pattern and of course bold color. Her goal is to promote a vision of kindness, love and interconnectivity in her work using paper, paint, archetype and, always, a bit of magic. A lifelong teacher, Cathy adores nurturing her students and helping them to unleash their creative vision. Her beautiful story of reblooming is an inspiration and she reminds any artist, new or experienced, how important it is to listen to your heart and allow your emotions to take you on a creative journey.
Our Podcast is proudly sponsored by Jet Creative and UrbanStems! Jet Creative is a women-owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment. If you are looking to build a website or start a podcast--visit JetCreative.com/Podcast to kickstart your journey.
UrbanStems is your go-to source for fresh gorgeous bouquets flowers and gifts delivered coast-to-coast! USE: BLOOMBIG20 to save 20%!
Subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @rebloom.podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Heart-Centered Creativity
00:00:01
Speaker
Do you have a dream that is a small seed of an idea and it's ready to sprout? Or are you in the workplace, weeds, and you need to bloom in a new creative way? Perhaps you're ready to embrace and grow a more vibrant, joyful, and authentic life. If you answered yes to any of these, you are ready to re-bloom. Welcome to the podcast where we have enlightening chats with nature lovers, makers, and artisans as they share inspiring stories about pivoting to a heart-centered passion. Hello, I'm Lori Siebert, and I am very curious to hear from friends and artisans about the creativity that blooms when you follow your heart. And I'm Jamie Jamison, and I want to dig deep into the why behind each courageous leap of faith and walk through new heart-centered gardens.
00:00:54
Speaker
Each episode of Rebloom will be an in-depth conversation with guests who through self-discovery shifted to share their passions with the world. Get ready to find your creative joy as we plant the seeds for you to Rebloom.
00:01:13
Speaker
Well, hello, everyone.
Kathy Nichols' Artistic Journey Begins
00:01:14
Speaker
We are thrilled once again to have a beautiful artist who has rebloomed from one career to an amazing new career. I am Jamie Jamison. And I'm Lori Siebert. And today we are going to welcome Kathy Nichols, who is an incredible artist. Of course, she does a lot of florals, which I love and does beautiful colors, Lori, which yeah you love. Yeah. in c Incredible, incredible. So hello and welcome, Kathy.
00:01:48
Speaker
Yeah, Kathy, I have been wanting to meet you forever because we follow each other on Instagram. We talk to each other on Instagram. You teach at one of the places I teach at. And lo and behold, we finally get to do it today on the podcast. Yay. Yay. They will not only do we get to meet you, but now our audience gets to meet you and you are incredible, incredible. So welcome. Tell us a little bit, Kathy, about how you got going and and this and how you got going with art because it's a little unusual.
00:02:23
Speaker
Yes, well, it all starts back in more of the normal places that most artists start, which is in childhood. So I was a very prolific child artist, and I was constantly drawing, constantly making up little stories in my sketchbook, and I was an only child. So yeah there wis there wasn't a lot of distraction going on. There weren't a lot of kids in the neighborhood. There was one strange neighbor that never spoke to me once at the bus stop. I don't know. So I had a lot of time to focus on my art. But this is important because the art for me, even as a child, was always sort of a form of self-care and self-love.
00:03:07
Speaker
and I would go, even as a teenager, I would go to my little art table, which was the kitchen table. yeah And I would take out all of my watercolors and I would start painting. And I did that whenever I didn't get invited to a party or the boy I like didn't call or anything traumatic happened in high school. And i that was my place to go to feel happy. And it worked every time. And so, I mean, I really want to go back to those moments because I think those are really important um to remember, like, as to why we create art in the first place. And it is kind of important in my story too, because my story is a little bit like,
00:03:47
Speaker
I always thought that I had this seed of creativity and I didn't feel that it was necessarily recognized when I was younger. So had I was the child of two athletes, I mean really good athletes. My dad was a professional football player and my wow yeah and my mom was a really just amazing tennis player. Like she had all these trophies that she always won and I was horrible. I don't why. I think I must have had like an eye problem. I don't know how I was drawing a painting. I had some real issues. I was not coordinated. so But they didn't, like my mom every year sent me to sports camp.
00:04:27
Speaker
Which, can you imagine? Especially if you're not athletic. I was not athletic, so she sent me to sports camp because she thought she loved it, so I should love it too. She wasn't trying to be mean. She went to leap away camp too, for eight weeks. So I went to sports camp, and I never knew there was such a thing as an arts camp. I didn't even know what that was. So I didn't get to do a lot of exploration of that in traditional settings, which is me and my house. And then when I was in high school, I had a really good art teacher and she said, Kathy, there's this competition for this scholarship for a really cool little art school that you go to after high school, like not as college, but like after school. Right. She said, it's actually tomorrow night. I want you to go. Promise me you'll go. And I'm like, oh, gosh, all right, fine. I'll go because you're asking me. And I went. I walked in.
Balancing Art and Practicality
00:05:26
Speaker
And there was immediately, they put us with these big like sheets of news prints with like, they gave us some charcoal and they gave us like two colors of watercolor paint and a brush. And then in walked this woman in a robe and just stripped. I'm like 16, I'm just like. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. You know, life drive, we know now that's obviously what people do, but I had no idea. So I was like so thrown for a loop that I just thought, OK, well, I wasn't nervous at all to do the painting. That was a place to go. Yeah. So I didn't have to deal with what on earth is happening over here, which is great to be naked. Now everyone's comfortable, but I was 16, so it's a little shocking to me. So I just focus really a lot on the paintings and the drives.
00:06:13
Speaker
And I know it's a long story, but I left the competition and it turns out I won one of the scholarships. Oh, that's amazing. Really awesome because no one had to pay for that. And so I didn't even ask my mom. It was just like, I got it. And it was validating, I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah. yeah So validating. It really was, Lori. So I got to go to these classes after school. It was life drawing, of course, and oil painting and sculpture. And we had wonderful a wonderful teacher and then other student teachers that came from New York City that just from Cooper Union.
00:06:53
Speaker
And they were really good. And they just came and taught these high school students. So it was a really special place. And um it was called the Huntington Fine Arts School. It was in New York as well on Long Island. ah huh Anyway, so I was, you know, it was time to go to college and I applied to college and I got some art scholarships, which is shocking now, because now that I have kids of my own, I would never let them not take money. If you're going to study, just go. But I didn't.
00:07:26
Speaker
because I didn't have any faith in my ability. Like I still didn't have the confidence. It's so strange. I just didn't believe I could make a living doing this. And do you think, i mean not I'm gonna ask a quick question. It's not because, um I'm sure your parents were incredible, but they were they were athletes. They had different they had different backgrounds. ah Do you think also because they didn't understand the art world, I think sometimes parents, i I taught communication for years and at the university and I would have the kids say, my parents think that this is going nowhere. that you know and they And they discourage them. And I'm like, but do you enjoy it? There are plenty of careers here. if It's just a lack of, and do you think it was a lack of understanding maybe too?
00:08:10
Speaker
Absolutely. they they wanted to They wanted the best for me and they wanted me to make sure I could support myself. And I was primarily raised by my mom, but my dad had input as well. And his advice for me, which is hilarious, was you should be an engineer. I mean, honestly, there couldn't be anything that I would do. There's nothing. like I wasn't even good at math. so Yeah. he read He read the Wall Street Journal thing or something that said they are the highest paying careers or something. 100%. Yeah. 100%. That's who I was. Yeah. And my mom, just, she... She was a really an entrepreneur. So we did kind of end up having that in common, but she was always like watching me do my little art projects and I'd be in the basement. Sometimes I'd be doing jewelry and I'd hear her from the top of the stairs and she'd be like, Kathy, what are you doing?
00:09:01
Speaker
And I'd tell her I'm making jewelry. She'd be like, oh, you've got to sell that. You have to sell that. Like, everything had to be sold. So I just really connected selling art with making art. And I just didn't think I could do it. It was, yeah. So I don't think they understood that you could make a living as an artist. Did that stress you out when she would say that? That would be... You could be ill. Like, how do we get a stomach ache? I'd be like, oh gosh, you have to sell this now. I don't want to sell this. I was so shy. I was just like an only child. I was shy. And I didn't want to sell anything. So that was maybe her way of trying to support that interest in you, but instead it was like freaking you out. But she really, to her credit, she always, always supported what I chose. I had to choose it. That was really interesting, but then she just took me all the time. So you chose a different path in college, which led you down a very different path career-wise initially. What happened?
00:09:58
Speaker
Definitely. So I thought, well, I know how I'm going to make a living. I'm going to study English. There, there we go. There's nothing. Were you always a writer or did that? Oh, okay. I was a good writer. That's true. i was asssuming Your father was probably shaking his head going, that was not engineering. That's a right letter, but wrong. yeah That was not a good option in his eyes either. And my mother was just probably like, look, she's going to probably figure something out. Just send her to the liberal arts school and she'll be fine.
00:10:31
Speaker
She can be a lawyer. Everybody here, she can be a lawyer. Exactly. Thank you. Definitely. I've forgotten to add that. yeah Yes. Yes. That was the where yeah another part of the story, which I didn't end up doing. But yeah, so I chose English. I majored in English. I became a, I then went to graduate school as well for English literature. And I continue to do writing and writing and essays. And I worked through graduate school teaching the incoming freshmen how to write essays. So your your teaching piece started way back then. Yes, yes, that's exactly right. That's right. So I sometimes forget that connection that I did have experience teaching first. Yeah. And I didn't love those students. And I i i love teaching them. I did.
00:11:24
Speaker
I just didn't make very much money, but I did love teaching them. And as a graduate student, you don't really care about the money too much. Yeah. Yeah. But after I graduated, I thought, well, I would actually like to make some sort of income. That would be nice. Yeah, that's always nice. It would be nice. And so I thought, well, how am I going to translate this English degree into a career? And so I chose PR because I figured I could write the press releases. Sure. Any of the writing that needed to be done, there was a lot of writing at the time that had to happen.
00:12:00
Speaker
So I ended up interviewing for jobs in New York City. I thought, well, where am I going to go? I wasn't living in New York. I was was in Colorado because I went to graduate school at Colorado State University for Collins. And I thought, all right, I'm going to go to the Big Apple. And this is the place where I'll really you know get a chance to have a big career and meet all these
Pursuing Art Full-Time
00:12:22
Speaker
people. And I found a job in PR. and I was working in all things, the tech sector. I know. my gosh And this was in the 90s. It was like the mid to late 90s. Yeah, all the 90s. That's what I was doing. So it was actually kind of an exciting time to be in tech. I think we're really changing. The internet had just kind of exploded on the scene. and yeah
00:12:51
Speaker
And we had clients like we had big clients. We had Sony, the Sony PlayStation. Wow. We ended LG. They used to be Goldstar. And we had Apple. but um account But our CEO did. It was really a good company. So I did that for a little while and it helped me a lot because I was learning. Yeah. I have a question. I have a question. of I'm curious. This is Lori always says I'm curious. I'm curious during this time though when you're doing more of the writing, are you still going back to your watercolors? Are you still going back to your sketchbook when you're stressed? Are you still finding yourself including creativity ah in your life during those years too?
00:13:39
Speaker
Absolutely. That's such a good question, Jamie, because I absolutely did that. That was, even when I was in graduate school, I would grab, um I would always do charcoal. I guess it went back to the early days with the life drawing and I would work with charcoal and just do people. I just like to draw people, interestingly. Yeah. It was imprinted in your brain when you were 16. I'm going to do this. I really, I did that and then I was in New York City and my favorite thing to do was on the weekend on Saturday mornings to go to the art students league. It was wonderful. You would just go in there and would smell like charcoal and oil paint and there'd be a, it was really cheap and you would just sit down there. You didn't have to like have a joining fee. There'd be all these other um sketches and you would draw the model.
00:14:34
Speaker
For three hours. That's fun. Amazing. Oh, great. Fun. That was really awesome. So yeah. I love that you, and I love that. I love that, you know, even, and Lori talks about this, how she was a child artist. She really, that was, but it, it even though it was, you had to pivot from a career perspective, you kept it as a part of your daily, maybe not daily practice, but a part of your life. Yeah. but I did. I felt like I couldn't help it. Like I had to do it. you would It was always meditative do you feel like ah blending what you were learning in PR has helped what you're doing now i would say absolutely i mean i just feel like you picked up so a skill set there that would be really powerful and helpful later on.
00:15:22
Speaker
100 percent. And in in ways that are not really clear, like the trajectory isn't really obvious right away. It's not like I because I never do PR like dialing for dollars. We used to call it. I never pick up the phone and call the press and send them a press kit about my art. I mean, I've thought about doing it so many times, but then I just go back to making the art. Yeah. hurt And I just don't get to it. I feel like it would be very, very helpful if I did, but I just can't get myself to do it. But the skills I learned were, um, don't, you know, you really, the squeaky wheel gets heard. yeah I'm really shy, like I've said, and as a child, so I didn't really speak up. I would kind of, when someone said, no, you you you can't do that, I'd be like,
00:16:12
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I can so relate to this. Right? Right? Yeah. Yeah. Just be like, that's fine. I don't need to push. I'm something else. You two are so funny. Here's me. They say, no, I go, well, why not? Why not? they You know, we had another person on and I was like, oh yeah, that's me. I'm like, well, no, no just means maybe. No means I can try another. I wish I were more like that as a kid, but yeah, too. But I think it's important for our listeners because there are both sides. There are the people like me who do say, but well, I can see 12 reasons and I convince people all the time, well, I think you should hire me. And I think, you know, and I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm selling. But there are people who are shy and it's still, you still need to, it's it's even more, it's a heart, it's more difficult. I'm trying to come up with my, I should have been the English major. I was a communication major.
00:17:04
Speaker
But it's important to realize too that even for those that will take note for an answer that you still need to push yourself. It's hard. It's harder. Well, it's interesting that what you said about, you know, I should do this PR stuff, but I'd rather make art. I'm like, oh my God, I can so relate to that. because yeah That goes for me and everything. It's like, oh, I should walk work out. Oh, no, I'd rather make art. I'd rather make art. ah So so you're you're chugging along, you're doing the PR, you have a huge job because you're dealing with some big stuff. I mean, it's kind of tech. she start When did your heart start start to really pull you harder and say, no, no, no, no, no, I need to pivot? When when did that start to happen for you, Kathy?
00:17:50
Speaker
Well, I mean, there was one very, on very just jarring trip to Las Vegas to Comdex, which really wasn't at the thrill of my life where it felt like it was the darkest place ever, you know, spiritually. I'm like, I don't know if this is the place for me. But it was also just the cumulative go into the art classes at Art Student League. And staying connected to that part of myself that love to create. And at a certain point, the having like going to Comdex and pushing these products and
00:18:26
Speaker
carrying the press releases everywhere and the clients getting like all overwrought and my boss getting mad at me. and and the I was good at the job and they kept promoting me. There was a lot that was going on with it, but I just had this incredibly had this little empty feeling that kept growing, just a feeling of emptiness. I was in New York City, so that can get to be really you know, it it gets to press on you because places the buildings and the darkness and you're not by nature at all.
00:18:57
Speaker
So yeah, it was like a feeling of emptiness and then a feeling also that I was in the wrong life. Interesting. wow Interesting. Very profound thought. And I remember actually thinking that vividly when I was on the street in Manhattan, I was walking home from work and I'm like, this is not my life. This is not the life I'm supposed to have. And I was already 29. So, I mean, I'd had that life for a while. And I thought, OK, I have to do something about this. And I realized I had to quit my job. Wow. I know. I know. My gosh, my poor. I'm sure that that conversation with the parents, again, why didn't you become an engineer? You know, like, now I'm going to quit. now I know. I don't think I told my dad. so fun But I just like, I'm quitting this job. This is the wrong life. And I'm going to start there.
00:19:52
Speaker
Good for you. Thank you for saying that because- Good for you. That takes courage and at 29 that takes a lot of courage. yeah that Thank you. yeah It was the strangest feeling because I remember I quit the job and my two best friends also were in the agency and they had we had our cubicles like all right next to each other. there Their looks on their faces and their feelings when I left, they just were like, Where is she going? It's like I was being, I was going into an alien spaceship or something, never to return. And they seemed sad. And I felt bad too, but I'm like, I know I have to leave. This is the wrong place. And I think I had no other job.
00:20:34
Speaker
I had not even been interviewing for other jobs because I only had that one thought, which is this is the wrong life. I didn't have and didn't have any idea what the right life was. Wow. Which is strange. And you're in New York City. I think you're in New York. In New York City. And I'm not an heiress, okay? So I had to really... I had to figure something out. and The only thing I could think of to do was to go back to Colorado, because I didn't finish my master's degree. I had just the thesis, you know, like a long thing. You have to write. And I just couldn't finish it in the time period. So I was like, oh, that's what I'll do. I'll finish this thesis. It was just a... a cover, really, for having to do you know something. And then I found a really you affordable um room to rent. And I'm like, oh, I'll finish this thesis. This will be great. So I did actually finish the thesis. And I was all set to you know start applying for jobs. I'm like, oh, I should be a professor. you know Clearly, that's my calling. I'll go and get my PhD now in English. And then something happened.
00:21:45
Speaker
that changed it all. I went to, I was invited for 4th of July, that summer, that same summer, to visit my friend who lived in Venice, California. And I went to Venice Beach and this friend said, hey, why don't we do some painting? I'm like, really? You're a painter? OK. And he took out these big pieces of plywood and these really like bright colored paints. And now, remember, I was like, my experience was at the art students late league and doing oil painting and black and white. And and they were so bright. I remember how colorful and pretty they were. And he'd had some oil pastels and some chalk pastels. He's like, here, let's do it. We'll do portraits of each other. And I thought, well, of course I had a crush on him. I was like, didn't?
00:22:34
Speaker
So we did these drawings and these paintings and we turned them around to face each other at the end and they were so beautiful. They were so filled with like love and energy and color. And and I love this. I love it. Please tell
Support and Breakthroughs in Art Career
00:22:50
Speaker
me you married him. Did you marry him? No. Oh no, here's more of the story. That is a different story. We're not, that's not this podcast. This podcast is about reblooming. Okay, I got caught up in the love. It's okay. He did ask me to marry him and basically on that trip. Oh, that's sweet. And we did get a engaged. And I did, we didn't end up getting married, which is a little sad, but it's all for the best, I'm sure.
00:23:18
Speaker
So, but I did end up moving back. So I moved to Venice. I knew I had to live there too. I'm like, this is interesting, fun. Everything about it was like, if that was the wrong life in New York, this was the right life. I just could feel that it was right. Yeah. What a change, a cultural change. Oh my gosh. What a huge change. It was so different, but I broke up with the lovely man. ah So and then I had to like figure out how to support myself. Sure. and
00:23:49
Speaker
I'm jumping ahead because I know I could go on and on about love and all that. But the important thing is I knew i was I wanted to support myself. I didn't want to, you know, I didn't come there just to marry this person. I came there because I wanted to be creative and I wanted to be in this place. Yeah. Good for you. Thank you. But I still didn't have the courage to do it, ladies. Oh, no. Oh, no. I know. Don't worry. It's coming. OK. but yeah I'm on the verge. Oh, so I got a job teaching English. I had to do something. So I'm teaching in LA College and it was a really hardcore school. And even the college, it was the community college. And um I went in there.
00:24:33
Speaker
It was very hard to connect to the students and with the students to get them to want to write essays. When I said that, they're like, the guy in the front said, you're not my essay. I'm like, what's up? Oh, boy. So yeah. So I found myself able to connect with them because I brought one of my paintings in, one of my big colorful paintings that I had done when I first went together. That was our show, don't tell exercise. And as soon as I brought, and I had sparkles in this painting, there were there were actual sparkles and stuff. And it was a house with a guitar around it. And it was really cool. And I said, here, let's write about this. And they're like, is that your painting? And they loved me after that. I don't know why, but they saw I was an boring, like this boring art teacher, I mean, boring English teacher.
00:25:23
Speaker
Because they could, you know, I think because art connects people. I mean, I think that's the beauty of it. And, you know, whether but it, you know, whatever your medium is, some you're connected. You can find that connection point. It becomes almost like the triangle. You can have two individuals, but when you have something that is beautiful that you can look at and you can appreciate, whether you're the artist or the person that's enjoying that piece of art, it becomes the connection point in the triangle. That's so beautiful, Jamie. I love that. How Well, I'm getting almost to the big turning point here. Yeah. So I thought, OK, I'll be a teacher. I'm just going to do it. I have this master's degree. I have all this education in place. For the the love of God, let's just use it already. So I'm going to go and get my teacher certification. Or I thought I'd go to law school.
00:26:16
Speaker
Because both of them would work. you know English major. There we go. Yep. This will be great. So I'm seriously about to apply. I have all the applications out. I'm getting ready to do everything. I'd already taken all the tests, you know all those tests. You have to take the battery of tests and the GRE and i ah whatever I had to take. I took them. And I'm in my little apartment in Venice and I look, I'm like, well, I'll just take a moment and sit down on the couch before I fill out these applications. And I sat down and there was a big white wall in my little tiny apartment. And I'm like, hmm, you know, I don't really want to fill out those applications.
00:27:00
Speaker
I want to paint a giant painting and I want to put it on my wall. And I said to myself, it was just like a moment of reckoning, like, okay, Kathy, you can go through another round of school. Yes, you can go back to school. Sure. You're a good student. But where is it going to take you when what you really want to be doing is painting? yeah
Success Through Art Licensing and Teaching
00:27:23
Speaker
And I knew I wanted to be painting because that's what I felt so much. And I thought, I'm going to paint a huge painting that's going to be the story of my life and I'm going to paint it and put it up on my um my wall and I'm going to be an artist.
00:27:40
Speaker
I just committed to it. Wow. Good for you. Wow. Good for you. Yeah. Thank you. I just committed to that. Like, this is what I'm doing. And I committed to being poor because I thought that's what it would be. 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. Jet Creative is a women-owned marketing firm committed to community and empowerment since 2013. Are you ready to Rebloom and build a website or start a podcast? Visit jetcreative dot.com backslash podcast to kickstart your journey. They will help you bloom in ways you never imagined. And bonus, our listeners get an exclusive discount when you mention Rebloom.
00:28:28
Speaker
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. Use Bloom Big 20 and save 20 percent on your next order. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Rebloom podcast. Thanks to our sponsors and thanks to you for joining us today.
00:28:58
Speaker
I love how you have these amazing aha moments, like walking on the street in New York, like, okay, I'm in the wrong life. And then again, okay, I want to paint a big painting. That's so cool. oh i guess glad Because, well, and it takes, I mean, that the as i and I've said it already, it the courage that it takes to make those very distinct breaks. We've had others on here who've talked, and even myself, i' you you sort of slowly transition out of one thing and then you slowly transition up to another thing before you get there. That's certainly the way most people do it. um
00:29:39
Speaker
But it doesn't always have to be the way. You can be brave. I mean, you may have been the girl that someone said no, but you're also the girl who said someone when you decide to do something, you say yes, and you just do it. That's pretty amazing. That's incredible. Thank you. I just thought there was some energy in it. There was a lot of energy behind the decision and the commitment. And I think there was just, I don't know why. I never, I never wavered in that. Like, I'm like, I will be an artist. This is what I'm going to do. And I told my mom and I was sort of dreading the phone call because she was expecting me to, she was hoping for law school, but being okay with it, you know, going to be a teacher. And I said, mom, I'm going to be an artist.
00:30:21
Speaker
She was like, oh, good God. She's like, it was really quiet on the phone. And then finally she literally said to me, that's fine. Just go and make business cards. She still wants you to sell. She's still working on the selling the jewelry. Yeah. And they say, catch they she said, Kathy Nichols, artist, you need to go get those. And I did it. And then whenever, and then something she was right because but I had the business cards. That's affirming. Yeah. I was like, Oh, I'm an artist. Look, here's my card.
Embracing Self-Taught Journey and Advice
00:30:52
Speaker
Just, I didn't, I sold nothing. I hadn't even painted anything really yet. But I'm like, yeah, I'm an artist. That's why I am. Well, it's interesting.
00:31:01
Speaker
It's interesting how some people cannot ah embrace that title. You know, they're so afraid of calling themselves that. So I love that you went and had those cards that said it, printed it, and now you can give it out to everybody. It's like, yes, this is what I am doing. Yeah, that's right. And it was like, you know, was very affirming and it was It was also in writing. So I'm like, this is what I'm doing. This is who I am. And I found it kind of magical. Good for you. I really did. It was just this power in deciding something and then declaring that this is what you're doing. And you just everything else just kind of it is attracted to that.
00:31:43
Speaker
Because people started to say, I would literally go to parties. And I'd be like, oh, they'd be like, what do you do? Oh, I'm an artist. Meanwhile, I didn't have any job, really. Yeah, nothing. Like, I did not. And I was no more of an artist than someone who was sketching, you know, in their room by themselves and probably less so because I wasn't even doing a lot of sketching yet. But I did. I didn't tend to do it. And I also started a journal, this massive series of journals where I was painting and drawing the story of my life, this idea out of my head, all these sketches and all these stories. And I would get people that I knew to pose for photos and
00:32:28
Speaker
It was so funny. Thank God I was in Venice. And I was like, okay, you're a bird. And she is the other bird. I was having them pretend to be birds. And then I would take the photos and I would do this these like stories of these people. So strange, but I found it very fun. Oh, I love that. Oh, how fun. So did you start to so you you you know, you made this break and you're like, OK, I'm an artist. How did you write? I'm going to be a mom now. How did you start making money and paying the rent? Like how what what you had to kind of dial it up pretty quick, I would imagine. Or there might have been a side gig. But how are you making that happen and initially?
00:33:08
Speaker
Oh, there was a side gig. There were two side gigs. I had several part-time jobs, absolutely. But they weren't anything career-like. So you could commit to your art. Yeah, I could. That's great. I did get master's degree, coincidentally, because I got to be a grader for the GRE. It was the best job at that time. You could do it from home. Yeah. Really, really helpful. And I also had a part-time secretary job. and nonprofit. But so I had money coming in. I wasn't a lot. But I ended up the art started to make money through two things. First was the commissions. You know, that kind of always starts with that. Yeah. When I gave out that business card, a percentage of the people would say, Oh, can you paint something for me? and Okay.
00:34:00
Speaker
There were some strange commissions. I had a woman, she wanted me to spend time with her pigs and do a painting of she walking the pigs in her favorite coffee shop in Venice. It was mine too. and I had to spend time with them. That was interesting. so there was take I had a CEO, as he wanted to be in a Superman outfit,
Reflections on Art and Self-Care
00:34:23
Speaker
but the big turning. I just took these things on. just I was like, yeah, I better make some money. And then the big turning point was my mom came to visit and she had, I don't know where she got this, how she had these pictures or maybe she made me do it, a portfolio of my art that I actually painted, a few paintings. And she walked into this wonderful gallery in Venice called the 10 Women Gallery. And it was a co-op of all women.
00:34:58
Speaker
And it was so popular. It was on Abbot Kinney, which, you know, now is like super expensive. And it was still very trendy then, but we could afford it because we were at kind of like the older side. buthu yeah She walked in and she's like, oh, my daughter's an artist. She doesn't care. And she shows them all the artwork. like They really want to see it. you know They probably don't care either. But somebody said, actually, we need a new artist. where look We're having like, um I don't know what you would call it, not really auditions, but like they're looking for an artist. You don't have to do a presentation. ah huh ok Kathy, you're going to go and you're going to go to this thing. And you're going to bring your art and talk about your art. I'm like, oh, there she is, wanting you to sell. There she is. I'm going to. No, please, no. You have to. You have to go. You're an artist now. Come on, that's nice.
00:35:45
Speaker
And I did it and it totally changed my life, honestly. Wow. That's amazing. But you know, I think, I think, I love your mom. I, you know, because again, and my background's in marketing and you know, it's interesting because you, you want to just create art. But but as I've worked with artists and talk with artists over the years, you also have to think like you're in business too. I mean, it's great if you have the luxury to just create art for yourself. But if you do, like your mother wants you to do, pay your rent and pay your bills and things like that, and you do want to be a creator of art, you need to sell it. And you knew do need to think of yourself well in as a business person too. And that's hard. It's hard for an artist to do that.
00:36:26
Speaker
Were you with your mom when she may went made that stop or she did that on her own? Oh no, she just left your mom. Oh no, Joanne. and She had her friend Diane with her. So they went together and they showed, they but knew I wasn't there. I was at home or I was out somewhere and she just came back and told me what was going to happen. Your mom was the OG influencer of how you did it back in the the olden days. But, you know, that is the way that, you know, it's interesting because had you walked in there, Kathy, it would be like, here's my art. I'm here. And they might have been like, oh, yeah, yeah. It's kind of nice when a friend says or a mother, oh, my gosh, you have to see blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then they're kind of OK to. but All right, they'll look at it and
00:37:14
Speaker
That's lovely because you've got someone else talking about you. She was your agent. She was your agent she super agent. Fabulous. lovely So you you pivot. the So I'm going to kind of fast forward for our folks. You've now got but this amazing career. you've now I'm going to take us out. You're in Asheville, North Carolina now. wow Tell us about, I'm going to kind of, if you don't mind, skip us, you know, skip us a few years. Here you are. You've pivoted. You've re-bloomed. You're a full-on successful.
00:37:52
Speaker
and very talented, licensed, teaching artist. What? And here you are. Tell us about oh that. Oh my gosh. There's just, ah I don't even know where to start. But I will say, I mean, that it didn't happen overnight. Yeah. So it was a lot of baby steps and a lot of learning along the way. Yeah. But there were a couple of big moments and one of those was Well, one really crucial thing that I want to talk about, because I think it's important for the listeners, just who are artists, to remember to always keep doing your art. No matter what happens in life, you need to keep doing it. I had some really um interesting things happen in my life.
00:38:42
Speaker
and
00:38:44
Speaker
I did start an art gallery of my own in New York. I did get married. I had two kids and I started an art gallery on Long Island. It's still there. It's called the Firefly Gallery and I started it with my friend Kate Sidney. That was also really important because I was able to nurture other artists too. Lovely. and But in that time period, I had these two babies and they were only 18 months apart. I was trying to do my art with these two babies. And it was really challenging because one was awake, the other was... asleep and it was just like they weren't coordinating and they weren't helping. I don't like to do that. They don't. yeah They know. It's like they know. They didn't have to do any or anything and I so I would do like whenever there was a moment when they took a nap I would do a painting.
00:39:35
Speaker
I would do something. I probably didn't finish a painting. I would do something. So I was always creating along the way. And I was always trying to sell my art. I had a website really early on. Yeah, good for you. Yeah. I do kind of have to go back to the 10 women days because that's how I met a lot of clients. um Sorry to jump ahead for you. Yeah. And it was in LA. too So like you would get people that were kind of like like Julia Roberts and I met Oh, and Wilson. He changed all my paintings because it was even though it was a tiny gallery, my paintings were tiny. A lot of people came there. So that was really helpful just to get exposure. It's not like I had a bunch of Hollywood clients. I didn't. I had most of regular people that would just go on my mailing list. So I was kind of accumulating this mailing list very, very slowly over time.
00:40:24
Speaker
And, and also doing the website. And all of this just created a really like strong business background and, and sort of marketing and work ethic that went along. It was always a business once I started to sell it in 10 women. gallery Yeah. Thanks mom. Thanks. Yeah. 10 women was in Venice. This was in Venice. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And so no matter what I did, I had that background of I'm going to sell the art, even little bits and pieces. And I think the big thing that happened though, well, two big things. One big thing was that I got this amazing licensing job. So this licensing gig was from Sherpani Handbags. They are in REI.
00:41:10
Speaker
They, out of the blue, the CEO called me. I did not even know who they were and said, we want to put your bags on, put your art on bags. I'm like, this is totally BS. I don't know who this person is, but they just want to steal my art. That's what I thought. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, call back. But they weren't trying to steal my art. they They really did put it on bags. They put them on the bags for four years. Wow. That was a huge advantage because I really needed the money at the time because I became a single mom with the two kids. So it supported me through that, which is another thing that was just really lucky.
00:41:49
Speaker
But the other big turning point was finally deciding I'm going to quit all these other jobs. i I wasn't supporting myself as an artist until, believe it or not, I was a single mother, which is insane. Interesting. Yeah. And at that time, my job was taking me away from my kids. I was commuting like an hour each way. It was in New York. And I'm like, you know, I feel like I can make money. The Sherpani gig was over, by the way. It wasn't like I had all this money. I thought, again, I feel like i'm and I can do this. So I'm goingnna i'm going to become a full-time artist. So that was a huge turning point. I did sell paintings. I did sell art. I didn't sell tan. But I decided I was going to do it anyway. It was another one of those crazy things. And making the decision again,
00:42:39
Speaker
crazy, but you built up to it. Like, A, you never stopped creating art. B, you did the part-time jobs and built the art career. You were building it along the way. But there is a point, I think we all have that point where we need to say, not only is am I going to put artist on the card, yeah But I'm going to create the business that is an art business. and And once you do that, to your point, that is a big pivot point. That's a huge pivot point.
00:43:12
Speaker
Yeah, I'm I'm noticing a lot of patterns in some of these conversations we're having with people about this topic of reblooming. And one pattern I see is that as people go through the different seasons in their lives, they're picking up different skill sets that at some point down the road, they blend them all together. But typically they're blending it together with a passion that they started out loving when they were young. Yeah. And that's the true sweet spot because you picked up the PR skills, you picked up the gallery skills, you, you built your clientele. You've made big choices and big changes. And now you've brought it all together into this beautiful career. Yeah. That's amazing. I mean,
00:44:07
Speaker
Yeah, and it did, quitting the day job was a really big thing. yeah It was this sink or swim situation. I had realized I had to seriously make money somehow. And it wasn't like I was doing anything bad. But I just had to really, really push myself and get very, very professional about my creativity and commit to it. Like I made myself a little schedule. I ah had one day off when I moved to Asheville, by the way. I'm so sorry. I moved to Asheville. I quit the job the day job. I moved to Asheville from Long Island, which is where I lived with my ex-husband. Why? Because I couldn't afford to live in Long Island. That was too expensive. So I made the decisions to sort of be in a more affordable place, which it was at that time. And
00:45:01
Speaker
downsize and be in this place. I have a friend here who already is an artist. So I knew from 10 women in Venice. Yeah. That really helped just to have a friend. But I made this little schedule for myself. And I had one day where I could go explore Asheville. You know, I'd be like where I live. I can actually see it in the rest of the time. I was like, you're going to be painting or you're going to be selling or you're going to be marketing. And I had this whole schedule. like I would follow it. And it was not a lot of money in the beginning. It was just like, okay, kids, we're gonna make it through, we really are. But it started to turn around for me when I changed my medium, this is so weird, during the pandemic. And I was doing, yeah, I was doing encaustic paintings.
00:45:54
Speaker
was oh wow And the problem with encaustic, well, I didn't want to do it anymore because I i don't want to wear a wear mask. I'm not, you know, sure I wear one outside, but I didn't want to wear one inside too. It was just like so confining and I'm like, you know what, I want to be free. I don't want this encumbrance. I don't want these fumes. yeah I just want to, I started painting in a totally different way. Like a free way and expressive way without being afraid. I started to allow myself to make a mess and see what happened.
00:46:26
Speaker
And I would do these videos on Instagram with me like dancing and painting. Because that's what I was actually doing. I would put music on a dance around and paint this like weird, I called it free painting. I didn't, it was like, it went back to my days at college when we called the writing free writing. So like yeah English education, where you would just make a mess, make a mess, make a mess. And yeah holers and then, and then I started cutting it up. I would cut it all up. And then I would reassemble it and then I would paint on top of it. So I changed the whole method and people really liked that and they were really interested in it. And so was I, so it was a good combination. That kind of made things take off a little bit.
00:47:09
Speaker
ah Well, and first of all, your artwork is beautiful. So and we will have all the links for everybody to see it and you will see the beautiful color. And I love that, Kathy, because, you know, it it's it's as Laurie said, it's sort of like all of your world's combining at once. You have the teacher part of you. So even though you're on social media, and I always like to say you need to inform, educate, or entertain. And it was like you were educating people about what you were doing, but you were entertaining them too by dancing around, but also informing them about the type of medium that you were using. So you're kind of, and you're pulling your PR, you're pulling your teaching, you're pulling your art. And it was almost like the perfect storm coming together.
00:47:55
Speaker
right after the pandemic. and And yeah, you pivot it. I mean, the your work is... beautiful, beautiful, colorful. And Lori, what were you gonna say? Well, we just had a conversation about like diving deep into a certain look or style or signature. And I feel like you do have a very signature style. Do you feel like focusing on that and really honing your skills on that look and feel and the way you're in your process has really helped you?
00:48:28
Speaker
Oh, yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. um Yeah. Just focusing on one style and even one subject. And then yeah doing i I thought, okay, I'm really, I just want to paint flowers. That was another thing that was really interesting. I had never painted a flower before that started. I've hit at people. I had all these paintings, like people, small people, encaustic people, but I hadn't painted flowers. And then I started doing the flower paintings in this new style. And I'm like, geez, can I just really do another flower painting? No. Oh, but I will. So I kept doing it. Well, it's a flower photographer. I'm like, why not? Of course you're going to paint. There's so many flowers. Yeah, the inspiration is endless. Yeah. Endless.
00:49:20
Speaker
That diving in was so interesting too, just like he said, at first I just thought flowers were like a generic thing. There's flowers, I could kind of recognize there's a daisy, there's a rose, but once I started to really focus on them, I saw so many different kinds of flowers. Oh my God, I can so relate to this because I was never a gardener. I have kind of a black thumb and my mom was never, but now Like I've just been, because I've been focusing more on florals and birds, I'm just awakened to all the different shapes and sizes and textures and patterns and it's endless. And we were just chatting, as as Laurie said, with someone about about the seasons.
00:50:02
Speaker
and even the seasons and the seasons of the flora and the seasons of nature. And there's just so much beauty that's out there. And just to share that in paintings or photography, and my whole world, I mean, I shoot flowers seasonally and I'm just leaving peonies. I don't want to leave peonies, but I love peonies. I have to let them go. There are other flowers out there that deserve some attention. But um There are so many beautiful ones out there that are just gorgeous shapes and colors and everything that just deserve to be celebrated. Yeah, absolutely. It's so funny you mentioned the seasons because that's what I'm obsessed with right now. It's seasonal color palettes. Yeah. So I'm working on a whole series of seasonal color personality palettes and I'm doing a series of paintings like I'm starting with the summer palette and then there'll be
00:50:58
Speaker
aut them I'm trying to remember how they go. Yeah. And then winter and then spring and and changing the colors for each season, but still focusing on the florals. So I'll be going through the seasons. And that's incredible. Which is really fun. So you you have pivoted and pivoted and pivoted and been brave. And right now, you have rebloomed into a massive artist. I mean, you are not only on the business card, you are huge. You are teaching, you are a living your dream. Talk to us about where you are right now. I mean, what's going on with your world right now? It's it's amazing and beautiful.
00:51:37
Speaker
Oh my goodness, well, I am doing the seasonal color palettes and yeah I really, I am and have been for the last year and a half, like totally obsessed with color and color theory, color mixing, color and emotion, color and color psychology. And I think this goes back to the fact that I didn't go to art school. And I always look at the paintings that I love and I'm like, that person knows what to do with color. I need to, I've always thought this. They know, they have some magic. this There's some scientific magic going on that they know what to do. And so I wanted to educate myself so I could understand that.
00:52:14
Speaker
And so I just did, I really focused on it and did a deep dive into understanding color, color theory. And so that's been something I'm really, I'm really into this year with my joy painting club. We're talking about it's the year of color. So I'm teaching other artists how to mix colors based on only six core paint tubes. So it's the co-primer palette. her I found the whole thing just mind blowing. And I love teaching this to other artists because I feel like it's a real gap if you're self taught. You don't get to to learn the science and the theory and you're going intuitively, which takes you very, very far. But it also doesn't give you those extra skills that you need. So I'm going to kind of obsessed with that and interested in it right now. It's amazing.
00:53:04
Speaker
And I'm i'm but thrilled to hear you say too, I'm self-taught. I'm a self-taught photographer. I think that we need to all hold our our heads up high too. It's cool to be self-taught because you know what you're constantly doing? You're constantly learning and growing. We may not have had the formal education, but yet just as you said, you're diving deep into literature or you're diving deep into um classes. And I've continued to do that along the way. People said, you know, how do you get a lot of hard work, a lot of classes, a lot of I mean, I knew what I was missing and you have to fill in those pieces. But I've been taking photos my whole life. I've been doing it my whole life. You've been drawing your whole life wow and you've got the talent in your soul. But it's understanding
00:53:52
Speaker
the theory and and Lori has been trained as an artist and she may have she well I know she does she has those those principles and those theories which I wish that I had they're amazing but I would you know I think it really comes down to be the passion like I Yeah. Whether you go to college or, I don't know, sometime, well, again, the call we just talked about, there's something beautiful too about naivete and like just diving in because you love it and then, you know, learning as you go along the way.
00:54:27
Speaker
like I took a quilting class from an art quilter and I at one point said I probably should know the right way to do this and she's like you know maybe not because then it's going to take away um some of the spontaneity and the the uniqueness of what you're making so you know I think that label of being self-taught or not is another thing that gets in the way of people like yeah calling themselves an artist or calling themselves a whatever because they think they have to have some highfalutin degree and I don't believe that's the case at all. um Yeah. Yes. I was going to say it's really helpful to be naive at first, I think, so that you can tap into your passion and your intuition for creating and
00:55:19
Speaker
I wouldn't want to go and take classes too soon because like Jamie was saying too, like you need to know what gaps to fill in. And you only kind of learn that it if you first try, you know, try to figure it out, try to draw or paint from your heart, I guess. Yeah. And what from what interests you, like if you have to make people dress up like birds and take pictures of them. and Yeah. yeah's Go for it. If that's what floats your boat, right something's calling to you. So I would definitely say like follow what you're really interested in to the point until you know you need help and then fill in those parts.
00:55:56
Speaker
I'm sorry, telling my one little advice here, but... No, that's and you know that that is a perfect that's perfect advice, and that's a brilliant way, almost even for us to kind of end, because I'm also thinking back, Kathy, to when you were talking, ah I'm seeing that little girl sitting at the kitchen table. just drawing because her heart told her to and that is where you've come full circle and you're now ah this lovely artist who's drawing with your heart again and creating with your heart and that's the most beautiful thing
00:56:28
Speaker
that I think any of us can do and you've continued that you have that continuity through everything that you've done and whether you've said yes or no or quit jobs but you followed your heart and I think if we all follow our child that that that child that place when we're children when we're like this is what I want to do then you Create beautiful work. Beautiful. Oh, Kathy. Kathy, you are, you are a delight. You are a joy. You are incredible. I need to put a little Asheville in paint with you now. Okay. You do. I love Asheville. I love it. I love Asheville. I know. I've been, we, okay, road trip, Lori and I are road tripping a lot. We're going to have to take the Rebloom show on the road. Exactly. Please.
00:57:15
Speaker
I know. This has been an and c incredible, incredible session. You are incredible. um Maybe a short piece of advice or something. I mean, you just left us with a little pearl. Anything else you want to leave our listeners with as we say goodbye? Yeah, I think it's more along the same lines of what I was talking about. It's that It's really important to listen to, it's so cheesy, but listen to your ah heart about when you want to create something, allow that emotion to drive you. You don't know.
00:57:49
Speaker
where it's coming from, you don't know what exactly, what shape it will take, and it's not your um place at that moment to know what shape it's going to take. If you knew what shape it was going to take, you would already have done it, right? Journey. Yeah, it's the journey. Yeah, it's a seed of just like that feeling, which is kind of the same feeling I had um on the street when I said I was putting my job, when I was looking at that empty um wall, It's your heart telling you to do something and you can follow that your heart with your own artwork too. Follow it and allow it to come out and then you can edit it, tailor it, whatever, but allow it to come out. You don't have to do what other people are doing. That's not the way to learn. I think the way to learn is to follow whatever you can get out there that
00:58:46
Speaker
You already have the skills to do it first. here My son is a musician. He's a piano player. He's 15. And he sits and plays this music that he just makes up and plays it from his heart. and For a while, like the teachers and I were all like, you've got to practice this etude or Chopin or learn. You have to learn this whole thing. And all of us just kind of gave up on doing that because he was so intent on playing his music.
00:59:17
Speaker
his music. I've given up on that, but i I think it was a really good choice. So we'll have to see what happens with him too. Like what that path. Oh, that's going to be amazing. It's going to be amazing. And it's almost it's funny because now I'm going back to your mother saying you have to sell the bracelet. Yeah. And you're the mother who's saying, OK, now you need to know the classics. But it's interesting because we think we think as we age, we kind of think like that. But it's exactly the advice that we're saying to everyone. just let him be 15. He's 15. Let him play with his heart, although record it because it may be really good stuff. so you know like i know yeah and And that's the kind of stuff. You are incredible. You have rebloomed in the most beautiful ways. You are going to inspire our listeners.
01:00:03
Speaker
in every little pivot you've made. We thank you, thank you for the time that you've spent with us. And you're incredible. Thank you, Kelly. And I'm so glad I finally got to hear your actual voice instead of just commenting back and forth on Instagram. Me too. This has been such a treat, Jamie and Lori. Honestly, I feel like it's hard to say goodbye because I would just let you know. I will. I can walk in with some um cookies with you all and it would be such a treat. and We're coming to Asheville. We're coming to Asheville. We will meet again one day in person. Well, thank you everybody. Thank you for joining us.
01:00:40
Speaker
Lori, another interview that takes my breath away, just takes my breath away. Yeah. What a joyful, wonderful, self-aware person to make the pivots that she made. And I love how she talked about how art was her source of self-love and self-care, not only as a little girl, but throughout her entire life. And I think I really believe that our world would be a much better place, especially these days, if art wasn't leaving schools and and there was more emphasis on creativity and art and music. And because our hearts need it so badly. I mean, there's so many mental health issues in the world. and
01:01:35
Speaker
It is. It is an act of self-love and self-care. It's, you know, it's interesting. I heard a gentleman one time speak and he was in charge of this, the Shakespeare program in Washington, DC, inner city schools. And he said, we're not trying to make better, more actors in the world. so We're trying to make better scientists, better mathematicians, better better humans, because they're looking at the world differently. When they when they have creativity in their life, they big it opens up a whole new world for them. And I love that Kathy, even though she was saying she was shy, and if somebody said no, she wouldn't do it, but her heart always told her yes.
01:02:20
Speaker
And when her heart told her yes, boy, did she have courage because she left jobs and moved across country and started businesses. And that's the thing, when your heart is saying one thing, that's that's the loudest voice that you should listen to, is that your heart. Yeah, that was the other phrase that really struck me was that she said she was in the wrong life. And you just got to wonder how people have that feeling. and are going to work every day and they're doing something that just feels like drudgery. And I know the paycheck people need to make money, they need to make a living. And maybe it's not making a complete life change, a complete career change, but
01:03:09
Speaker
If there are ways for everyone to just plug into something that drives your heart and put a little bit of that into every day. Um, I don't know. I just feel the world would be a better place. And on that note, my friend, that is where we will end because that is so, so true. So until next time, everyone peace, love, and read blue. 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. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode of Rebloom. Until next time, I'm Jamie Jamison. And I'm Lori Siebert. Peace, love, and Rebloom, dear friends.