#2 When It's Scary To Jump: How to move forward and grow as an artist and in your business.

08/23/22 • 24 min

Are you scared to make a decision that will help you move forward? It can be hard to take a leap but sometimes you have to do it if you want to grow into something better.
In today's episode I share my story on how I got to this point in my artistic endeavours and how I'm still learning, growing and making mistakes. I also share 5 key points to help you take action and build confidence.
Remember you're not alone and we all have ups and downs as artists and people.
Here's a glance at this episode:

[6:00] I had a friend who had just the most amazing radio voice.
You can just imagine those movie trailers, his voice fits perfectly into that style of advertising. He introduced me to the local radio station and some of the people there. And I ended up with this summer job at the local radio station. I actually had my own daily live show. It was called, Believe It Or Else and my radio host name was Heather Hope.
[10:00] We all have creativity in us. But I feel as though it's been racing through my veins since I was just a small child. And as far back as I can remember, I've always been in love with art and all forms of it. Now, of course, I haven't always been an artist, obviously.
I've had a number of different roles and responsibilities.
[12:00]I remember sitting down with my husband saying, I need to make a change. I'm very upset. I'm frustrated. And I even went through a small stage of depression. I really felt insignificant. I didn't feel worthy. I kind of felt like I wasn't of benefit to anybody. How was I contributing to my family by not doing anything, which couldn't be anything further from the truth. I was home raising my son being a mother.
[13:00] I decided to take a small little floral design course. And in my mind, I was going to open up this florist retail shop. I was going to find the perfect building, and I just envisioned myself selling these beautiful floral displays. Well, obviously that did not work out. Things fell apart.
[00:14:00] an opportunity presented itself from this company that installs crash mats in school, gymnasiums the manager called and said, Hey, you know, we need somebody to come in and create and paint a mascot on a school gym mat. And you know, this individual has moved. And would you like to come in and just do this for us as this one-off project? And I went in not knowing anything.
[17:00] I do believe there are certain cues or prompts that present themselves. Whether they are ones that come from our inner voice or from something somebody tells us. I think they're light bulb moments that help guide and direct us down the path we're truly meant to take.
[18:00]I learned a lot about running a business and being a solo entrepreneur. But after 10 years, again, the driving really started to wear me down. It fatigued me, getting in my car and spending several hours at a time driving to and from schools.
[19:00] it was 2016, at least that is when I first started my own account on the platform. It wasn't initially as an artist, however, it was more of a fitness type account.
And I really thought I was going to move in that direction and I even attempted to self

Listeners save 20% off any of my available online courses with code CREATE at www.taelife.com/learn
(for a limited time!)
Join the newsletter at www.taelife.com
Join the Fused Harmony Waitlist
Find me on Social:
Instagram @janelovesdesign
Facebook janemonteithart
Pinterest janelovesdesign
YouTube janemonteith

[6:00] I had a friend who had just the most amazing radio voice.
You can just imagine those movie trailers, his voice fits perfectly into that style of advertising. He introduced me to the local radio station and some of the people there. And I ended up with this summer job at the local radio station. I actually had my own daily live show. It was called, Believe It Or Else and my radio host name was Heather Hope.
[10:00] We all have creativity in us. But I feel as though it's been racing through my veins since I was just a small child. And as far back as I can remember, I've always been in love with art and all forms of it. Now, of course, I haven't always been an artist, obviously.
I've had a number of different roles and responsibilities.
[12:00]I remember sitting down with my husband saying, I need to make a change. I'm very upset. I'm frustrated. And I even went through a small stage of depression. I really felt insignificant. I didn't feel worthy. I kind of felt like I wasn't of benefit to anybody. How was I contributing to my family by not doing anything, which couldn't be anything further from the truth. I was home raising my son being a mother.
[13:00] I decided to take a small little floral design course. And in my mind, I was going to open up this florist retail shop. I was going to find the perfect building, and I just envisioned myself selling these beautiful floral displays. Well, obviously that did not work out. Things fell apart.
[00:14:00] an opportunity presented itself from this company that installs crash mats in school, gymnasiums the manager called and said, Hey, you know, we need somebody to come in and create and paint a mascot on a school gym mat. And you know, this individual has moved. And would you like to come in and just do this for us as this one-off project? And I went in not knowing anything.
[17:00] I do believe there are certain cues or prompts that present themselves. Whether they are ones that come from our inner voice or from something somebody tells us. I think they're light bulb moments that help guide and direct us down the path we're truly meant to take.
[18:00]I learned a lot about running a business and being a solo entrepreneur. But after 10 years, again, the driving really started to wear me down. It fatigued me, getting in my car and spending several hours at a time driving to and from schools.
[19:00] it was 2016, at least that is when I first started my own account on the platform. It wasn't initially as an artist, however, it was more of a fitness type account.
And I really thought I was going to move in that direction and I even attempted to self

Previous Episode

The Curious Creator Trailer

Welcome to the official Trailer of The Curious Creator, hosted by Artist, Jane Monteith. Listen in to find out what's in store and how it will become your favourite go-to Podcast for artist growth, support, advise and more!

Next Episode

5 Must Have Artist Books for Self Confidence, Creativity, Self Development and Business Growth

I've dusted off my bookshelf and selected 5 top 'Must Have' reads/resources to help you with artist self confidence, creativity, self development and business growth. No matter where you are in your current journey there's at least one book here to spark interest and intrigue. Scroll to the bottom for the show links to all 12 books.
Episode Highlights:

[5:00] And it's again, one that you go back to over and over again, when you're sort of stuck with things, because there are so many tools, there's lots of things to do as far as practice, process and tasks within the book. So things that you actually work on. And an example of some basic tools within the book are 'morning pages'
[7:15] And over time, this practice will teach you that your mood really doesn't matter. That some of your best creative work gets done on the days where you feel like everything is just going to be plain junk. Now the practice continues on from there. It helps with your ability to stop judging yourself and also to feed your inner artist, child. But this is just an example of one of many tools and practices that every artist should undergo.
[8:50] Which means we shouldn't feel badly about embracing the influence of others. If we think we're creating something unique, we're not. The key however, is to remix those things that we admire in other artists work and re-imagine them in our own so that we can discover our own path.
[9:05] I have a new course coming out in early 2023 called Fused Harmony. And within it, I'm going to be teaching multiple techniques and ways of incorporating resin, encaustic and metal altogether, all in one. Obviously those techniques on their own are nothing unique. Lots of artists create with resin. Lots of artists create within encaustic and many artists create with metal. But the way I'm going to be bringing in all of these techniques together are going to be completely different.
[10:50] because any painting we see on a wall, in a gallery, there's always a reference of another artist within their work. The key is to incorporate multiple ideas and multiple elements into the work and to add that little something extra that differentiates yourself from somebody else.
[12:00] She really dives into vulnerability and that without it, you cannot create. And with vulnerability comes fear, self doubt, comparison, anxiety, and uncertainty. So if you're feeling any of those things that I've just mentioned, you really need to search for this talk. It is going to be one of the best things you've ever watched or listened too.

SHOW NOTES:
12 Book Resources >> Janes Reads List with Bonus Titles
Instagram Account >> @janelovesdesign
Main Website >> taelife.com
If you feel this list can help another fellow artist, please feel free to share this episode with others :)