Finding Her Creative Spark: Featured Client Angie Fletchall

From time to time I love to feature the clients and community here at Jamie Ridler Studios. A while back Angie wrote to me about the major transformation that’s gone on her life – and how it was inspired by Your Creative Spark! I’ll be honest – I still get giddy and teary-eyed when I think about what Angie’s doing. I hope she inspires you to find the courage to step into your dreams, whatever age and stage you’re at.  And by the way, in this month’s newsletter I shared my thoughts on age rebellion – so if this stirs you, please sign up and have a read!

Featured Your Creative Spark Client: Angie Fletchall

Angie’s website: Thalo Blue Sky

What are you creating in the world?

• I am creating the life of my dreams, and through that process, re-creating my own vision of myself as a powerful, unstoppable, creative dynamo!
• I am creating paintings and books that make people smile.
• Right now, though, I am re-creating myself from office cubicle dweller to FULL TIME ART STUDENT!  Mmmmhmmmm!!

How did Your Creative Spark help?

I think it’s pretty impossible to overestimate just how instrumental this collection of interviews has been to the real, life-changing decisions I have made in the last couple of weeks.

For a little background, let me just say that my parents are both accountants.  It’s really a miracle that I started painting at all.  Just last October, my mom and grandma sat me down to tell me that they were worried I was getting too interested in art.  I’m 35 and have been supporting myself full time since the age of 23, and still, they wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to do anything stupid.  Ugh, it’s like I’ve been living in this box of “You can’t, you can’t, you can’t.”   I have been trying with all my might to break free of this box.

Having “Your Creative Spark” on my ipod is like having a tribe of instantly accessible creative big sisters who are shouting “You can!  You can!!  Do it!  Do it!”  I feel like I am not alone, like they believe in me even without having met me.  They already know I can do it, whatever “it” happens to be.  I feel soaked in and surrounded by possibility.

Another thing I love about these interviews is that each woman is in a different stage in her creative career, which makes the idea of starting less intimidating.  So what I learned is that creating my own creative life does not require one single giant step where I either a) leap out into chaos and ramen noodles or b) wait for the exact right perfect moment where everything is perfectly worked out.  It is a collection of small movements in the direction of what calls to me.  It suddenly becomes a journey instead of a waiting game.

By the third listen through, including all the “Creative Living” podcasts, it became less about the actual words they were speaking, and more about the collective energy and momentum of amazing women being creative in the world.  It kind of all just SHIFTED for me.

When I began listening to these interviews, I hadn’t even really let myself begin to dream about art school.  It seemed that remote and completely impossible, not to mention way too late!   Actually, I don’t think I even knew that was my dream.  Thinking about Christine Claire Reed talking about going back to dancing at 40 opened me up to something.

A couple of weeks later now, and something I thought could NEVER happen is not only happening, but actually a done deal.  I’ve spoken to my boss and the president at my company, and they are totally on board with me keeping my job and reducing my hours.  I’ve completed my application to the university and my transcripts are being transferred.  I started a Drawing 101 class at the local community college for transferable credit.  I have 8 months to save and to move to a cheaper living space.  I will be a full time art student at Arizona State University starting Fall 2010.  Hooray!!!

Now I’m listening to the Gremlin episode with Andrea Scher over and over as my fears start to rise up.  “Oh my god, what have you done???” my little voices say.  And now I’m getting scared about my drawing class and taking comfort in Laini Taylor’s experience that you really CAN learn to draw!   I could really go on and on…and on!

What have you learned about yourself?

• I learned that what I am creating is exactly perfect just the way it is, because it comes from my heart.
• I learned that there is room for me at the creative table and that I bring my own unique self and therefore I add something valuable to the pot.

What would you like to celebrate?

• I want to celebrate my awesome self!  HA!  Being able to make this happen has totally changed my idea of who I think I am.  Suddenly I am someone who can make her dreams come true!  It blows my mind.
• I want to celebrate that even though I didn’t know what I was preparing for, I have been preparing for this all along:  I spent two and a half years paying off my credit card debt, and I started seeing a counselor, because I knew I’d need help if I wanted to make major changes in my life.  I am ready for this!
• And most of all I want to celebrate Jamie and these amazing women, a community where I KNOW dreams are coming true every day.  Words cannot express how grateful I am to have found you all.

And I’ll re-quote Laini quoting this Chinese proverb:  The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second best time is now.

When I put together Your Creative Spark, it was truly my hope that it would inspire people, that it would touch their hearts and change their lives. Angie’s story fills my heart with joy. I hope Your Creative Spark will touch you too.

Tagged as: art, inspiration

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