I am a mixed media artist living in North Carolina, USA, with my husband, our son, and our beloved animals—two dogs, two cats, a leopard gecko, and several fish. By day, I work as a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist in early intervention, but when I’m not working or painting, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, watching movies, and connecting with nature.

In my art, I focus on creating minimal abstracts with handmade and vintage collage elements, often incorporating texture, personal mark-making and a neutral color palette that emphasizes the quiet beauty and struggle of everyday moments.

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What does Art is Magic mean to you?

Art is a vessel that allows me to dialogue with the energy of the universe and the spiritual world. It inspires wonder and gives me a means of exploring the unknown or the small, but meaningful details in life that can be often missed. Creating art helps me find my way into a meditative state where I can create much needed space and stillness for myself. These guiding and transformative powers of the creative process are why I consider art to be a form of magic.

What does your creative practice look like?

My creative pactice ebbs and flows. I have times where I rest and observe more. During these times, I read books about creativity, I practice yoga and meditation more consistently, I explore other artists' works for inspiration, I keep my hand moving by scribbling and doodling, I spend more time in nature, and I try to notice the details in everyday life. I consider all of these things very valuable and meaningful parts of my creative practice, even though I am not necessarily spending lots of time creating finished products. I need these down times to refill the well.

Other times, I paint quite frequently. Each painting is different. Some paintings pull themselves together within a couple of days. Some paintings take time to unfold over a couple of weeks. And some paintings, I put to the side for several months with the intention to return to later when the time feels right.

What sort of creative walls do you hit?

Often I feel quite unmotivated and it's hard to get started. During those times, I paint in short spurts. I'll paint for 20 minutes, then take a break to do something else for a few minutes, come back to the painting for a bit, and so forth. Easing in and not putting the pressure on myself that I need to paint for hours at the time and I need to churn out a finished piece usually helps me get into the flow. And I often end up getting excited about and getting further along into a painting than I would have initially expected, given how unmotivated I may have started out feeling.

At other times, if I just can't get into the flow, I give myself permission to accept feeling unmotivated. And I know that my mood and feelings and desire to create can and will shift. I know that if I keep showing up, just as I am, the muse will return.

Hollys's Workshop on Art is Magic:
☆  Emerge  ☆ Whispers ☆ Echoes