.png)
If you've stumbled upon this blog you might be a person interested in pottery, floral, fibre or the life and process of a young artist becoming a full time entrepreneur. If we haven't met yet, my name is Cheyenne, I am 28 years young, full of passion and almost always eccentric and smiling. I've been building my business and developing my art practice for the last several years. I realized during my visual arts program at Red Deer College that it was possible for me to create a life of my dreams by creating and spreading love through my art practice. I'm going to share an extremely condensed version of my story to introduce myself.
I originally started my visual arts practice as a painter in 2011, staying up all hours of the night experimenting with dollar store paints and textures on cheap canvas through my high school years. Eventually I was brave enough to invest in higher quality paints to create higher quality work and develop a bit more skill. I quickly realized that painting and creating had a huge impact on a positive mental health and a great outlet for peace in the “chaotic” life of a teenager who had no idea what the hell she was doing in life.
In 2015 things became more serious with the enrolment into the Visual Arts Program at Red Deer College , this program opened up a whole new world for me. With the incredible selection of professors and other young artists who were sharing studio spaces, offering critiques, and techniques, I was able to dive into multiple mediums and expand my skill set and knowledge immensely. In my second term of my first year I was introduced to ceramics which I had dreamt of trying for years. I quickly fell in love with ceramics and became addicted to the development of the skill. Admittedly sacrificing drawing time for more time on the wheel. After graduating I didn’t want to be finished learning and ended up back in the RDC studios for a 3rd year of ceramics to further develop my skill and have access to the ceramic kilns and studios.
After graduating I ventured into the real world and was unable to finance my own studio space, so I joined the Ponoka potters guild in 2018. I was able to invest in a wheel in 2019 and started creating in my home studio, transporting greenware, then glazing and firing at the guild. To be quite honest my work at this time was still very unintentional and extremely experimental. After a few life events transpired in 2018, I was given an opportunity to rent out a studio space in downtown Lacombe in 2019. I took the biggest leap of faith in my life and opened up a small art gallery in downtown Lacombe, where I curated and sold twenty five different artists' work. During this time I made amazing connections with lots of talented artists and supportive community members. My ability to navigate through the back end of entrepreneurship, customer service, and marketing quickly advanced with the experience of running the store. Unfortunately the world fell apart when my business was only 9 months old. I knew in my heart regardless of how painful it was that I didn't have the financial stamina or client base to survive the pandemic shut downs.
Fast forward through 2 years of healing and spending a lot of time on the river and outside with my husband and dogs. I took some time away from creating other than collecting and pressing wildflowers until I found my inspiration on a fall day of fishing. I realized that my connection to nature is what I love to mimic most in my work, and I started to truly find my voice and develop my artistic style in my work in 2021. In 2022 I became very intentional with my work, and my business mindset came back to life. More life events transpired which led to my husband and I buying our first home. My Dad and I spent September renovating my garage into a personal ceramic studio and new work began to be produced. As we enter 2023 and the journey continues so will this blog as I aspire to share the ups and downs of being an artist and entrepreneur and all the in-betweens. If there's one thing to take away from this post I hope you remember; you only fail at something if you stop trying, so don’t give up on your dreams and enjoy the journey.
With love and gratitude,
Cheyenne
Comments