April 2020, I joined the 317 Art Collective in Rockford. A group of artists, sharing space, making all kinds of art and magic. As this was at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic stay at home orders, I didn’t spend much time there at all, moved enough supplies in to make my box really heavy. But not enough that I couldn’t still work at home. This was a VERY scattered time in my art adventure. I started spending more time working in the studio around my birthday in July.

When a private space opened up, I admittedly wavered. I wasn’t sure I could afford it, and sent myself on a solid negative spiral featuring my classically terrible relationship with money.

Enter the book, You’re a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero, Youtuber Jordan Cheyenne, and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

And all the work I’d done academically about mindset, neural networks, self-esteem, resiliency, motivation…it all came crashing back at me in a completely different way.

I found a way, and in September 2020, I moved into my own private studio at the Collective.

This is my space. In February/March 2021 we put up a solid wall separating the two shared spaces in the room. And since then I’ve been trying to figure out organization and flow. Granted, I do work in several mediums that have no overlap in terms of space and supplies.

Next on the list is finishing the wall and creating a mural to brighten up the space.

I’ll keep you posted on that journey on my Instagram, so make sure you’re following me 🤗