Create from the HEart • by Stephanie Ackerman

Personally, I cannot create something that doesn’t have a specific purpose, something that is not me, nor something that I would not welcome into my own home. I have to be authentic when I am creating something because if I am not, it is evident. The same rings true for everyday life, not just the creative life.

Re-Evaluating Why I Create
For many years in the creative industry, I did the very opposite, creating what others wanted me to create and in the process, I completely lost sight of myself. This is a hard thing to admit because I brought it on myself (be careful what you wish for) and at one point, thought I had lost all love for my passion, my hobby, my job, my love creating. I was continually upset, anxious, and at some points even crying over it.

It took getting to that point that I finally realized, I had to stop. COMPLETELY STOP. The same rings true for everyday life, not just the creative life. I had to stop and breathe, refocus, re-evaluate, and redefine the reasons why I create.

By making the choice to stop and get out of the creative pit I had dug myself into, I was able to remember the why’s of what I do, not only as a hobby, but as a career and not only as a career, but for my life. Through the journey, through the frustration, fear, doubt, and anxiety, there was a lesson.

There always is and I probably do not have to say it again but the same rings true for everyday life, not just the creative life.

Defining my Purpose
I was able to define my purpose a little clearer not only by recognizing it but by also saying it out loud: I am an Artist. I have talents and gifts that are GOD-given and my job is to create, share, inspire, and remind others of the things they probably already knew, just forgot to remember.

What I do is “create soulful art” and what that means is I create things from paper, paint, ink, batter, dough, fabric, felt, sticks, rocks, you name it ... whatever my girl-MacGyver mind, trailer park Martha hands, and God-filled heart can get a hold of … and in the process of turning it from one thing into another, I also incorporate a message as reminder to you, and for myself.

Strengthening my Creative Wings
If you find yourself in a pit, whether it be a creative or everyday life pit, do not give up because giving up is not an option. It is never too late to stop, refocus, and restart—the key is to STOP.

While it only took me 38+ years to identify my purpose of sharing, teaching, encouraging, and inspiring through creative arts, I had to learn to recognize, feel, and live the truth of that statement above by standing up, stepping out, and sharing my faith, through those creative arts. I had to be brave, take a leap of faith, and share because HE is the reason for my ART (and why you will always see a heart in my work). When you do what you are supposed to do, it just feels right and you know it in your heart.

I have been given a creative license to create from the heart and this allows me to stay centered, stay focused, and create like I have not created in a long time. I am blessed to do what I love to do for a living and I feel really good to be able to say that. I am finding comfort, peace, and meaning through my art and I want to suggest that if you are in a spot that is not comfortable ... try creating. Many times I just work on getting the base of a project down so that when I am inspired, I can go out and create Heart. As I create and blog, I will continue to strengthen my creative wings:

Through Prayer ... as I pray for INSPIRATION
Through Reminders … to remind you that we are all in this thing called life TOGETHER
Through Examples ... of doing things like spreading JOY
Through Connection ... of our CREATIVE SOULS
Through Art ... that I CREATE & SHARE...
Through Love ... for OTHERS because we are supposed to ...
Through Support ... for EACH OTHER because we are better together.

To learn more about Stephanie Ackerman, visit homegrownhospitality.com.

Living the Life of an Artist • by Monica Sabolla Gruppo

Creating Art in my Childhood
I grew up in a big city in the north of Italy, where I used to feel lost because I couldn’t find cheery faces (flowers), happy voices (birds) and arms that hug (trees) ... just a chaotic, uncomfortable environment made out of asphalt, cement, high suffocating buildings, and noise. For an introvert and nature lover like I am, the city looked like I had landed on an alien planet and was surrounded by the dwellers of that same, unknown, hostile world. My only, comforting, true friends were creativity and ART.

Fortunately, I spent most of my childhood with my maternal grandmother (who loved to sew, cook, and make) and grandfather, an award-winning painter who was completely consumed by his hobby. I often had access to his studio and the remnants of oil colors on his palette. Those hours we spent together drawing, painting, and playing surrounded by lots of interesting and magical tools were pure joy for me.

Unfortunately my Nonno left his material body when I still was little, and couldn’t pass on to a “wiser” me the secrets of his painting techniques. But I can vividly remember his fire while painting; his expression; the way he used to hold the brushes and move them on the canvas; his messy palette; the dark apron my granny had sewn for him and he always wore; the glass Mason jars on his worktable (an old woodworking table, actually) half-filled with trementine; and lots of brushes resting into those jars for a while, before he carefully, slowly, and lovingly cleaned and put them away.

ART has been my constant companion since those early days, and every single day of my school-age years. As soon as I was back from school, you could see me flying to my bedroom to start drawing and painting.

Choosing a Path
When it was time to choose a profession for my future, neither my family nor I, honestly, were used to art as full-time job, so I deliberately ignored that small voice whispering inside my heart and didn’t go to art school. ART could remain my hobby.

As I loved nature, I diligently got my master’s degree in biology with specialization in ecology, but what was obvious, beyond the fact that I had real difficulties with math and statistics (which my active right brain hemisphere definitely refused to understand), was that the highlights of my days were those hours I could spend painting and crafting, which made my studies more bearable and kept me sane and happy. I even managed to take ten watercolor lessons (a gift from my mom) from an elderly painter who lived nearby. Those were the only ones I took that definitely opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me. I can still tenderly remember not only his watercolor lessons, but also those about life and the deep meaning of being an artist. He had surely read between the lines, and understood at first sight that I was an artist myself.

Needless to say, I never became a biologist, but continued to experiment in the arts and crafts, always growing and evolving, and no day of my life has passed by without thinking of or making something creative. ART has saved me again and again, on a daily basis.

Trusting my Inner Voice
After years and years of struggles with my big fears and feelings of inadequacy, always supported by a loving, understanding husband, I finally was able to free myself from the opinion of others about what I should do and how I should live, and trust my inner voice instead, in 2011. I started a career as a licensing artist and photographer with an American agent. What I had heard in the beginning like a gentle whisper in my heart, eventually became a strong, steadfast, powerful “calling” that I was no longer able to ignore.

Being an artist means I can see and feel what others are often not able to see and feel, and that may seem a little daunting and somewhat isolating. Many times in the past I’ve considered this a curse, but I can see clearly now, I am not blind anymore. When I do stop and take a deep breath, as my sweet doggie has taught me, I deeply know that having a strong sensitivity, a soul receptive to beauty and the “essence” of things, and the ability to make them tangible through whatever medium I might want to use, is a great blessing to me. On any given day, I always have something to hang on to, and I am always able to find deep joy in the images that live and dance in my heart and mind. And most of all, I can make them visible and perceivable through my artistic abilities and let others partake of my joy.

So, here I am on my journey—a simple girl who now owns her humble truth, and goes along the less traveled path with a full, happy, open heart, living and crafting the exact life of an artist she was meant to live.

To learn more about Monica Sabolla-Gruppo, visit monicasabollagrupp.com or the-white- bench.blogspot.com.

Art Saves • by Danielle Daniel

Creating to Survive
Creating is the way that I survive. It also makes me feel connected to humanity. It makes me a better person, it keeps me balanced and grounded, and it helps me make sense of the nonsensical. It helps me relax, heal, and grow, all in the same hour.

Art is my philosophy. Like yoga is for others. It is my practice, my fuel, my sustenance. Art is my every day, like prayer and meditation.

Sharing True Stories
I paint stories. Short stories. Actually, I paint and write true stories, the ones I feel compelled to share. I believe our stories connect us and help create bridges from one heart to another. I have only been a painter for a little over three years now, but I have been a storyteller my whole life. Perhaps that is a gift I have been given by my ancestors whose language was passed down orally.

The Algonkin people shared their stories from one mouth to the other, one generation to the next. I am lucky to be able to share my stories through my painted words, on canvas and on the page.

Honoring Experiences
Our stories do not define us, but I believe they live within us until we learn to accept them, feel them wholeheartedly, and set them free. Each portrait I create is a way for me to honor my experiences. When I paint, I sit in this space and linger. Sometimes I paint the same story, because I need to. Maybe some of them will always want to be painted.

By selling my work and literally sending it away, I am able to detach myself from these stories, one canvas at a time. I’m also learning that I am able to give voice to someone else’s story. And together our stories are woven, our hearts are gently intertwined. This part has been the most rewarding as an artist and as a human. We all want our work to matter and this part gives my work purpose, and I am so grateful for this exchange.

Making Room for New Narratives
My portraits have been described as melancholy, pensive, and dare I say, even sad. I’m learning that many people are not comfortable with seeing faces that do not have smiles painted across its mouths. I am OK with it. I am comfortable here. I am slowly learning that this is not something that needs fixing. It just is.

Perhaps by painting and writing so many layers of my story, I will be able to make room for new narratives, those that are waiting to be experienced, painted, and scattered across the globe connecting us all, one by one.

Art is my necessity and without it, I would wither and die. Like breathing, like water, like sun. It goes where I go.

To learn more about Danielle Daniel, visit danielledaniel.com.

Art: Proving Amazing Things are Possible • by Jessica Swift

A Defining Moment
Memorial Day Weekend 2004 was a defining moment in my life. I was 23 years old, and I had a booth at my very first juried art festival. I’d applied to the show on a whim and was shocked to receive an acceptance letter. I’d graduated from college a year and a half earlier, and I was working in a restaurant. I didn’t know that I wanted to be an artist for a living, even though I’d just graduated with a painting degree—for some reason it never occurred to me that I could actually make a career of being a working artist. Art was something I always enjoyed and that came naturally to me, but I never really thought about it beyond being a hobby. I entered the show because it sounded fun and I wanted an excuse to paint more (I’d have to paint enough to fill up an entire booth!), and I thought it’d be cool to hopefully make a bit of extra money. My job as a waitress wasn’t great, and I knew I didn’t want to work there for much longer, but I had no plan whatsoever. I was aimless.

Fast-forward to the weekend of the show: it was a giant success. I sold dozens of paintings, and I was surrounded by other artists for the entire weekend who traveled around the country selling their work at festivals. They were in charge of their own careers and schedules, and they were making a living doing what they loved. I became aware of an entire new and exciting world that I never knew existed, and I was thrust right into the middle of it! And more importantly, I’d made more money that weekend selling my paintings than I would’ve made in several months at my restaurant job, so I also became aware of the fact that I could actually, quite possibly, make a living selling my paintings. It was the best feeling in the world. So much possibility existed.

A Leap of Faith
So what did I do? I leaped. I quit my job. I painted and painted. I exhibited at more shows, I got a studio in a building with other artists and sold work out of it, and I made my living as a young, working artist. I was inspired! I had purpose!

Quite simply, art saved me from the aimless path I was on after graduating from college. My early success gave me the courage to pursue this as a career path and has helped me to remain optimistic, focused, and determined, through all the ups and downs that being an artist brings—emotional highs and lows, financial highs and lows, so much uncertainty and self-doubt, great successes to celebrate...

A Guiding Force
Art showed me that you can create your own dream career and design your life however you want. All it takes is passion, focused work, dedication, and a willingness to learn and take risks.

Art has been a guiding force in helping me to believe that amazing things are possible for me in my life.

Art presented me with a way of living that I didn’t even know I wanted until I started living it. Thank goodness I listened and let it guide me. For that I am grateful each and every day.

To learn more about Jessica Swift, visit jessicaswift.com/_blog/treasuring.

Saving Lives, Not Bodies • by Beth Livesay

Writing & Breathing
One of my favorite writing professors used to remind us that “writing saves lives, not bodies.” That is how I have always felt about my craft, since I began writing at the age of 7. And ever since I have been reading, this is a truth I very much understand.

Throughout school I wrote to win competitions. In high school I wrote for the school newspaper and to best everyone in my English classes. At Pitzer College writing was like breathing for me—I did it daily and constantly, and sometimes I had to hold my breath and really take things in before going back for more.

Charting my Course
After graduation I realized that the real world is often a hard one to breathe in. I wrote fashion pieces for an internship and a freelance gig here and there. But it was not the kind of writing I yearned to do. I began charting the course to become a high school English teacher. I planned on writing in the summer and sharing my favorite books with my students all year long. I believe writing saved a couple lives when I worked at the high school. I enjoyed seeing students connect with F. Scott Fitzgerald and ask questions about T.S. Eliot. I lent out my copies of The Bell Jar and The Grapes of Wrath. Students shared poems with me and e-mailed me their essays. And even though I will always cherish my time in education, I could feel that it wasn’t the best fit for me.

I gave up my teaching aspirations and traded them in for a job on the other side of the page: that of editor. While working at Stampington & Company I got to read many Art Saves stories. I read the same narrative almost daily about someone who had a 9– 5 job in an office and never felt satisfied until they went home and crafted something. Eventually that person would quit their job to pursue their art full-time. We would publish their work and their story would inspire other people to do the same. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, since I financially was not in a position to quit my job and write full-time.

Honing my Craft
So instead I set up a blog (www.coutureovercoffee.blogspot.com) and began using that space as my creative outlet. It was there that I could write about all the subjects I was interested in and really hone my craft again. My blog gave me incentive to write often and connect with others in a way that was more personal. Readers would be able to get to know me the writer, not just me the editor. Once I started my blog I was able to have more writing to show and contribute elsewhere. I started taking on freelance writing gigs again to keep busy and keep writing. While it makes for a busy schedule, it ultimately makes me happy to have so many outlets to share those stories that are interesting to me.

My blog paid off in a big way recently when it helped me get a new job. I was so grateful that my new boss and colleagues had checked out the writing that was on my blog and liked it enough to factor it into their decision to hire me. At my new position I am taking on a lot of blogging responsibilities and I am really excited to contribute content to so many different spaces in the beauty industry. Currently, I contribute to these blogs: blogs.nailsmag.com/365nailart/, blogs.nailsmag.com/editor/ with more to follow.

Saving Each Other
I learn a lot about writing from being an editor. I learn that I am not alone in my desire to dream big and take a chance on my craft. I learned in developing my personal blog that I have a passion for style and the stories behind clothes and jewelry are sometimes the most powerful ones. Since a big part of my work involves reading other people’s blogs constantly, I am delighted to find that so many have discovered what speaks to them, be it interiors, crafting, nail polish, or baking, and they write no matter how many people are reading. I like to think that writing not only saves us, but it helps us save each other. And that doesn’t necessarily have to be a blog post. Every month I get at least one letter of gratitude from a blogger who contributed to the Romantic Homes column I work on. Those brief e-mails save me month after month and help me keep going. Writing is a selfless act. It is a solitary one, but one that can bridge many great divides. It is the desire to be more selfless that motivates every sentence I compose.

Writing saved my life so very long ago. It gave me a voice that was louder than others around me, a place to go when I wanted to escape; it has cemented the many great connections I have in this life with family, friends, my faith, and colleagues. Since most great stories come with a dedication, I would like to dedicate this one to all my fellow writers who save me day in and day out with a blog post, an e-mail, an article, or a comment. Every day is the opportunity to start a new chapter, and I don’t think I would have dared to start over had it not been for the written support and encouragement I have received over the years. I still have a 9–5 job in an office, but I no longer feel I need to be saved from it. I feel like I am finally getting to tell my story to new people and in return hear those of others for the first time. I hope you join me at Nail Art Gallery Magazine and in challenging yourself to save a life every day through your art.

To learn more about Beth Livesay, visit coutureovercoffee.blogspot.com.

I Am a Maker • by Mimi Kirchner

Art saves—oh yes! It saves my nearest and dearest from having to deal with a crazy lady every day!

Creatively Coping
I am a maker. If I’m not making, I am not me. There are always the stresses—the kids are small and then they are teenagers and then young adults! I’m not sure which age is tougher. There are illnesses and elderly parents to deal with. There are money struggles and unemployment. If I can spend time in my studio, I can cope. My creative time is like meditation. My focus is entirely on my work. I am solving problems as they arise and getting into a rhythm of working. Then the cares and stresses of the world fall away. My studio is my sanctuary.

The hardest times for me are when my creative brain is in a slump. If I’m not feeling inspired by my work, if I’m not having fun in the studio … groan. I am so cranky. Luckily I have only had a very few times in my life where I’ve had to do a serious change of direction. Mostly over the years I’ve discovered a number of ways to get myself past the dry periods and back on a creative path and feeling sane and centered again.

Embracing Identity
I have always been a maker but it took me many years to embrace my identity as an artist. I had to get rid of the critical voice in my head that was my own worst enemy in my twenties and thirties. Somehow, turning 40 was a time for me to re-evaluate lots of things, one of which was, Who am I trying to impress anyway?! When I stopped worrying if what I was doing was ART enough, I felt more comfortable in my identity as an artist and my work got a lot better—funny thing about that!

To learn more about Mimi Kirchner, visit mimikirchner.com/blog.

Art Saves • by Eileen Hull

Like many people, I started out creating. I was the oldest of six and there were four girls in five years—my poor mother! We played paper dolls every day after school and learned to embroider. Life was one big art project.

But somehow that side of me got buried for a while. I didn’t rediscover the joy of creating until I had kids of my own.

Appreciating the Life I Have
Two years ago, my husband’s 93-year-old step-dad moved in with us, right as our fourth daughter graduated from college and moved out. The stay was supposed to be temporary but turned into a year and a half. We had to put a lot of things on hold while Ray was with us because we couldn’t leave him alone in the house. But that experience taught me many things. One of them was patience. Another really beautiful thing I saw was how considerately my husband treated him—what a lucky person I am to have a guy like that. Having Ray here was like having a toddler again—maybe God was giving me another chance?

I would care for Ray during the day and my husband would take over at night. It was then I would come downstairs to my studio and let the joy of creating take over and let the cares of the day melt away.

Some days were funny, some were sad, frustrating, and there was a stretch where I just thought I would go crazy having to repeat everything a million times, but overall, it made me appreciate the life that I have. I am blessed that I am able to pursue a career doing what I love— creating three-dimensional art.

Pursuing a Career I Love
In 2008, I wrote two books, Matboard Magic and Foamboard Magic. As a result of authoring those books, I was able to meet with Sizzix at CHA and propose my idea for a new product line. The deal was made and I developed a line of dies designed to cut and score thick materials like matboard. These dies are called ScoreBoards and they are unique—no other die company has this technology.

In Las Vegas this summer, my ninth collection will be released at CHAS 13. You can see my latest release, From The Heart, here: www.sizzix.com/catalog#facets=exclusive~from- the-heart-2013. And here’s a link to all the other dies that are available: www.sizzix.com/catalog#q=eileen+hull&per_page=72&page=1. Some new products are in the works too! So life is good ... Thanks so much for stopping by and getting to know me a little.

To learn more about Eileen Hull, visit eileenhull.blogspot.com.

Art Saves • by Michele Lynch

I have always created. It seems to be a part of me as much as breathing. I grew up as an only child, with an over-active imagination. Art was something I did in my spare time, filling the days when I couldn’t be with friends. Later after I got married and had children, I found myself craving some type of expression aside from toys, diapers, and children’s TV shows. I began creating again during nap times and after they were asleep. After my kids went to school, I went back to work, once again doing art only in spare time, never dreaming that it would become a career.

All About the Bottom Line
I took a position as a manager of a corporation, immediately regretting it. It was high pressure. Upper management sucked the joy out of what should have been a very creative job. Like a lot of businesses it became all about numbers. Not about the people that work there, not about the quality of the job well done. It all came down to the bottom line. We were turning in 10% over the year before consistently, which in the economy at the time was a very good increase, but they had a number that they felt we should reach and they pushed and pushed until the sight of the building made me want to whimper. I tried keeping the overwhelming drained feeling from the employees that I managed, but I’m sure they felt it. This particular company chews through managers on an annual basis, so the employees were used to seeing managers come and go. They were used to watching someone new come in full of excitement and ideas and quickly be reduced to a corporation zombie.

I secretly nicknamed the vice president of this company the Soul Sucker. I have never met someone who could walk into a building and you could physically see the change in the employees. He didn’t bring inspiration and leadership, like I’m sure he believes he does. Instead he brought defeat, and the feeling of unending failure. Once again the employees were told how it just wasn’t good enough, they had failed, they were worthless and could be replaced in a minute.

To say it was depressing was an understatement. On the long commute to and from my job everyday I began to invent a story, where an evil Soul Sucker invades a Kingdom of Creativity, taking the princess, prisoner in his castle of corporation, feeding off of the souls creativity and draining them. The song “Uprising” by Muse came on the radio on one of these long commutes and I immediately pictured the Steampunk Souls that escaped from the Soul Sucker and started a rebellion.

Run and Make Art
That night when I got home, I took out a package of Paperclay and made the first steampunk soul Edna, who had escaped the Castle of Corporation and began gathering a small group of rebels. Being able to express my frustration in the form of art was immediate therapy. When the Soul Sucker would come to visit us, I would picture him as I saw him in my imagination, and he never failed to inspire me to create more rebel Steampunk Souls.

I eventually escaped from the castle of corporation, like Edna, and I have been running every since, creating art on a full-time basis. I hope you never meet the Soul Sucker, but if you do, RUN and make art! Art saves!

To learn more about Michele Lynch, michelelynchart.com.

How Art Saved Me • by Catherine Zacchino

Growing Up in an Art-Filled Home
I grew up in a home that allowed me to be creative, inside and outside. I could paint inside and make mud pies outside. There was never any issue about being too messy. My dad drew, painted, and sculpted, but not for a living. He always made space for a studio no matter where we lived. I loved his art space and he was always generous with his art supplies and let me work alongside him. A lot of children only have access to crayons or children’s watercolors growing up, but I got to use artists’ clay and oil paints! I still remember the scent of turpentine in my dad’s studio and it brings back good memories. My mom was creative in other ways, like baking and gardening, and I have fond memories of helping her bake and grow things.

Looking for a Fulfilling Career
So growing up I always created but never thought about making art for a living. In fact I didn’t have too much direction or confidence and didn’t pursue a profession. I just kinda’ floated, and I was not in a fulfilling job that made me want to wake up every day and shout, “Hurray, it’s a new day!”

By my late twenties I knew I had to try something other than what I was doing. I wanted a fun creative job, but didn’t really know what. I drew, painted, and collaged in small amounts but it didn’t feel like it was something I could make a living at. I believed to be an artist you had to be trained.

I decided to pursue a pastry chef career. I liked to bake and I thought this could be a fun and creative job. I had recently just got married and my husband and I decided we would move to Portland, go to school, and work towards careers in food. We were still living in a small southern Oregon town saving our pennies when I found out I was pregnant. So we decided to put off that dream. I had always planned on being a stay-at- home mom and besides, all of our family was in southern Oregon.

Finding a Creative Outlet
I now have two daughters, ages 8 and 11. It was when the youngest was 1 year old that I began to realize I needed an outlet, a creative outlet. Being a stay-at-home mom of two young girls was great, yes—I got to raise them. But all I had was housework to keep me busy. I felt bored and frustrated, even depressed. No matter my beautiful girls and wonderful husband, something was lacking. It was at this time I found the online creative world and moms who created and had blogs. This was a happy thing for me. It was something I could, too, from home! It was at this time as well that we had decided to leave this small town for Portland. I felt stifled in the small town. I felt like I was withering away.

Finding so many creative “regular” people on the Internet gave me hope. It was the DIY plush stuffies that caught my eye and made me want to create again! I didn’t know how to sew or use a machine but it was my yearning to create that led me to learn pretty quickly.

From this point on I didn’t stop creating and I eventually put a few of my little simple monster creatures up for sale on Etsy. It was just for fun, no plan for more than that. My monster plush started to sell and it was very encouraging and fulfilling. This only led me to continue to grow and make better dolls. I began to paint, too. I was now filled with a sense of peace.

By making art, a huge hole has been filled in me. I believe it’s because I was meant to create and now that it had found me I was no longer depressed or frustrated at daily life. Art is magic! Art makes everything seem full of possibility, limitless ... I feel very blessed at what art has done for my soul. It has also put me in a position to meet like-minded people, even now teach! Art has opened a whole new world to me, more than I could have imagined. I am so thankful, and I hope I can help others discover the same within themselves.

To learn more about Catherine Zacchino, junkerjane.blogspot.com.

Les Possibilites • by Lori Chandler

The Road Not Taken

Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down as far I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this one day nigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
— Robert Frost

Discovering my True Potential with Creativity
Ah, the beauty of looking back, seeing the paths one went down, the roads taken and not taken, and how all those choices led up to today. There is NO doubt that Art and Artistic Expression saved me from an unfulfilled life of monotonous, dead-end roads, where I never would have discovered my true potential. I’ve always needed to find some form of creative expression within each and every project, and along every road I’ve traveled, those vast creative needs always pushed me to a higher purpose and even greater growth. They are a powerful life force that holds the keys to unlocking dreams and unleashing infinite imagination—and they ultimately charted my course.

Here’s where my journey has taken me…

Road 1: While all my friends took Spanish in junior high, my mother suggested I take French. French classes led to an opportunity for me to study in Paris and my mother championed the cause. She wholeheartedly believed that living in Paris and absorbing its culture would have an enormous effect and influence on me and would set my course for life.

Lesson Learned: She was right, naturellement. Paris had an effect unlike anything I’ve ever known. I became obsessed with anything and everything a la Francais and still am to this day.

Road 2: I decided to pursue an elementary teaching credential mainly because I really liked making elaborate learning centers! (For my final project I staged a puppet show with a cast of 10 that was part Cirque de Soleil and part CATS, the Broadway play.)

Lesson Learned: I had creative needs that had to be expressed and could not be ignored!

Road 3: While substitute teaching I came up with the idea to launch a Bed & Breakfast Inn in a restored Victorian mansion. I decided to furnish the Inn with antiques and accessories that were offered for sale because antiquing and styling were passionate hobbies of mine.

Lesson Learned: The challenges and enormous responsibilities of starting a business, operating and growing it.

Road 4/Final Destination: It was inevitable that I would open an antique shop as buying and selling antiques was always a huge part of my life. What it morphed into has finally brought all of my lifelong passions under one roof. The shop Vignettes is my French-inspired, creative outlet, dream lab—where the furnishings, accessories, and décor all have a unique French twist—Merci Beaucoup Mon Mere! The icing on the gateau is that I’m surrounded with the most creative, talented artisans and designers in the business and being brought together in an inspiring environment has made us all better at what we do. Creative expression and collaboration run rampant, ideas are brainstormed and built on, and the sum total truly is, even greater than its parts.

Lesson Learned: The adage “Let what you love, be what you do” says it all.

To learn more about Lori Chandler, visit vignettesantiques.blogspot.com.