welcome home
On a recent trip to The Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach in Florida
Hi, I’m Callie.
Lately, I’ve received heartfelt questions about why I don’t sell more art or take more commissions. I’ve been asked why I don’t still write and share my thoughts and experiences like I did in years past.
The truth is, I’m pretty bad at it. I tend to say yes when I should say no, and I tend to give away 10x the art I sell. I tend to withhold the writing, or write not at all, because I believe people truly aren’t interested these days. Things have shifted, right? The internet is saturated with opinions. Everyone is an “expert.” People just don’t care anymore.
Or do they?
The Light and “goodbye to all that,” as Joan Didion would say…
Recently, I shifted my thinking. Before, my ideas were all about how the work would be received. Is it good enough? Am I good enough? Instead, I thought, I should create this site because this site is about me. It’s about varied pursuits and interests. It’s about a journey of accepting that I’ll never be the person who devotes hours per day to a single hobby or goal. Never be the best in the room or the one who desires to be. Thankfully, those competitive years live somewhere in the distant past. Never (probably) quit my day job in pursuit of a full-time career in the arts. Never lose my identity in or define myself by anything I do.
But that’s okay. Though we live in the time of #hustle culture, monetization and self-promotion, I don’t want the site to be like that. I want it to be a resting place for myself and others searching for a respite from that world. Perhaps an insight into the life and mind of someone they might get along with, a person who despite falling into the categories of single, young professional, and millennial doesn’t neatly fit into anyone’s mold of what she should be doing, looking like, believing or becoming. This blog will be a place for me to share the things I’m thinking about, working on and struggling through.
Well, hey. Since you’ve come this far, here are 7 things about me:
I am a self-taught artist and quite fickle about it. Imposter syndrome and laziness are my enemies.
I probably live in the wrong zip code. I stay because my family is here. I also wouldn’t trust myself in a big city.
I’m an ambivert. Through circumstances unrelated to temperament, I air on the side of introversion.
I enjoy reading, painting, playing the guitar (make me practice), scuba diving, gardening, cooking plant-based meals when I’m feeling like an adult and asking God what it’s all leading to.
I deeply desire to be a morning person. Alas, I’m a night owl. People can change?
I pay bills via my day job at Visit Port Arthur. I’m the Marketing Director. It’s a big job, but it’s a hoot. I’ve been doing it for a decade now.
I recently ordered a skateboard, helmets and pads. I’ll keep you posted.
So, there you go. Thanks for coming along with me. I hope you’ll check back, say hi and perhaps find a piece of art you’d like to hang in your home someday. Ah yes, stay tuned for the shop. Cheers!
Xx, Callie