anna betts : artists who blog

Anna Betts is a delightful young British illustrator and designer who studied at the Cambridge School of Art. She works as a freelance illustrator, at a small creative agency, and at a museum, and she teaches pottery to children. Busy, busy girl!

Anna also has a lovely blog and Etsy shop featuring her handmade jewelry designs, so be sure to have a look! Enjoy :)

Anna's blog: www.colourandsound.blogspot.com

Anna's website: www.annabetts.com
Anna's shop: www.madebyanna.etsy.com


Why did you decide to become an artist and could you imagine doing anything else? If so, what?
I always liked the ideas part of art lessons at school so I suppose Illustration suits me well in that respect. I think that there's something fascinating in translating an idea in writing into something visual. That's still the most rewarding part of any project for me. As a teenager however, I was a keen air cadet. It seems strange now but I seriously considered going into the air force!

Do you still believe “do what you love and the money will come“? 

Yes I think so. I've always propped up my creative work with part-time work that pays the rent, but I have a lot of respect for people that throw everything into their creative endeavour, it's brave and I think often those people make their own luck. 

How has blogging/the Internet influenced your work as an artist?

While I was studying for my degree I was writing my blog and showing bits of work I was making. The feedback I got from my readers was often interesting in being different to what we talked about in class. I think the internet in general has perhaps encouraged me to pursue a more graphic approach to my work, though I don't know if I could explain why. Selling on Etsy is certainly good for my confidence too.

Please name 3 of your favorite blogs and tell us why these blogs are special. (Please provide links!)

rummey bears - I love Anna's photographs of her beautiful family, and the frank way she talks about motherhood. 

sunken treasure - Sophie's blog is just so gorgeously documented it makes me want to move to Scandinavia (she's from Belgium actually but the heart wants what the heart wants!).

aqua-velvet - I love the mixture of vintage typography and design, architecture and illustration that they blog. It's often stuff I haven't seen anywhere else. 

What is your greatest fear and what do you do to overcome it?

Pretty much everything is terrifying in the months after you graduate, but I recently watched this amazing talk by Steve Jobs, 'Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish' which helped: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

I hope I can look back and see how the dots connected in this part of my life.

Who would you like to trade places with for one day? Why? 

That is a really hard question. I'm going to say an olympic athlete. I'm not very sporty and wonder sometimes what it would be like to be world-class fit and muscular. I'd like to be able to run really fast, but then the next day I'd like to go back to eating biscuits! 

What are your secrets for managing your time wisely?

I wouldn't say I've got this quite right yet, but I'm working on it. I currently have four part-time jobs alongside my own creative work so having a diary and smartphone certainly help me organise myself. I'm a chronic list-writer. I've just started having Fridays off as my illustration day - which is lovely and I hope will help me get a bit more of the good stuff done. 

If you could live anywhere in the world – all expenses paid – for one year, where would that be? Why?
 

Cape Town, South Africa. I was born there and haven't been back since we moved to England when I was two. It's really arty and the landscape is stunning. I'd be excited to see how my visual work would change in such different surroundings.

How do you maintain a healthy balance between your professional and private life?

I don't. I think it's really hard to when you work from home as it's there, staring at you as you cook your supper, when you get up in the morning, when you're supposed to be leaving for work but you just want to get this last piece of vintage paper cut and ready for a new set of collages.... You see what I mean. I also have a very patient boyfriend.

What are your top 5 goals that you’d like to accomplish within the next 5 years?
 
1. I currently work 4 days a week for other people and one for myself. In five years I'd like this to be reversed. I'd like to be able to pick and choose to do bits of work for other companies or educational organisations.

2. I'd like to be able to travel a bit.

3. I'd like to be doing illustration work for nationally and internationally recognised newspapers and magazines.

4. Have my work published in a book, preferably a yummy hardback one!

5. I'd like to study for an MA.

What is your advice for someone who would like to turn his or her creative dreams into reality?

Get on with it already! You won't know until you try. Get a blog and see what is going on around you. Saying that, I don't think anyone can survive on blogging alone as a means to keep you motivated, so go to exhibitions and see real stuff. Meet people and ask questions, do a course! Have fingers in a lot of pies. 


Thank you for joining us Anna! Your responses and your lovely illustrations and jewelry are refreshing and inspiring! xo

Creative Courage Soul Sisters: Part II

More shining light from these Creative Courage Soul Sisters today! I'm thrilled that these inspiring women will be sharing their exclusive interviews with us in my Creative Courage e-course, which starts this Monday, January 9th :)

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Kelly Lynn Jones is an artist and curator living in Oakland, California. She received her MFA in May 2010 from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Kelly has shown her work all over the US and in the UK.

Kelly created Little Paper Planes in 2004. After graduating from art school, Jones wanted to create an online platform where she and her friends could sell the pieces they were making to help support their individual art careers. LPP was one of the first online stores offering artist editions.

She has spoken on several panels including the Hello Etsy Summit in San Francisco and she has also given lectures in classes at Parsons The New School, NYC, San Francisco State University and the California College of the Arts in San Francisco.

Kelly told me she couldn't pinpoint only one creative dream for this year. "I want to just be constantly making work and spend as much time in the studio.  I am working on a one-off clothing line so hopefully I can get that launched in the next month of so.  Art is a way of life and I just try to live it everyday." 

Mati Rose McDonough went back to art school when she was just shy of 30 years old to study painting and illustration at the California College of the Arts. Now at 35, Mati has had over a dozen art shows, taught painting classes around the world, and created illustrations for many top clients. One of her elephant paintings was recently reproduced on a giant Pier 1 billboard on Times Square in NYC!

Mati's book Daring Adventures in Paint will debut in 2012 with Quarry books and she has also illustrated 2 children's books. She is happily represented by the illustrious Lilla Rogers Studio. 

One of Mati's favorite illustration projects was designing a line of t-shirts for Patagonia 

while she visited an olive farm near Florence, Italy.

Mati is inspired by beauty, truth, lies, urban animals perched up in trees, bits of eavesdropped conversation, young imaginations, faded signs, the ocean, patchwork quilts, ornate iron work, ice cream carts and stories of longing. 

Mati's creative dreams for 2012: "To flourish creatively - paint heaps and prosper."

Belinda Kemp, aka Gretchen Mist, is a visual artist living in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and 2 young children. Her mixed media work explores the emotions connected to imagined/remembered landscapes, shared experiences and thought processes. 

Influences on her artwork include; romantic ideals (road trips + life by the ocean + large open spaces) and the shapes, patterns, and colors found in plants and gardens.

Belinda writes, "I've always had a love of art + design, magazines and creating/making things. I feel odd if I don't have some type of design/project on the go or at least brewing in my mind. Although I am drawn mostly to abstract art, I also love decorative and illustrative work. "

Belinda's creative dream for 2012: "I want to fill a sketch book {or many sketch books!} with daily drawings and/or watercolour paintings and see where this takes me by the end of the year."

Amy Ng is the founder and editor of Pikaland, a blog dedicated to art and illustration since 2007.Amy constantly finds new inspirations from artists and illustrators, and she created Pikaland as a place where she could gather them all together. She hopes that Pikaland is a platform that will be able help promote the many artists and illustrators she features.

Amy is based in Malaysia, and she was an editor at a regional architecture and design magazine before realizing that her first love was illustration. She's now happy to be working as a full time blogger, editor, and illustrator.

Amy's latest creation is Camp Pikaland, a collaborative effort in bringing together the best of art, craft, illustration and small-business based online classes to people all over the world.

One of Amy's creative dreams for 2012: "For Pikaland to do more for fellow artists and illustrators in 2012 through various projects and collaborations; as well as dedicating more time to pursue personal projects!"

photo credit: In Her Image

Kate Swoboda is a life coach, speaker, and writer. On her Your Courageous Life website (full of resources), she sounds the call to revolutionize your life from within, through practicing courage.

Since 2006, Kate has worked with coaching clients from around the world, and she completed her counseling/coaching training with the Interchange Counseling Institute after receiving university degrees in Sociology and English.

Kate created The Courageous Living Guide and The Coaching Blueprint, a resource for coaches.

Some of Kate's loves include essential oils, Pema Chodron, tattoos, spending the afternoon thumbing through home decorating books, running road races, hanging out at libraries, lattes from Peet’s, connecting with friends, and that delicious moment of unwrapping and cracking open a brand-new hardcover ruled Moleskine notebook.

Two of Kate's fun creative dreams include: "shadowing Annie Liebovitz on a photo shoot and spending a year traveling."

Amelia Critchlow is an artist, writer and creator of the experimental art e-course and gift grants. She lives and works in London, UK with her two children. She recently authored an e-book called How to Make Money to Do What You Love.

Amelia graduated from Wimbledon School of Art in 2007 with a BA Honours Degree in Fine Art. Since then she has participated in group and solo exhibitions and fairs and is currently studying for an MA in Fine Art.

She also teaches, runs workshops, and undertakes funded projects within her community. Her work is currently represented by ArtDog Gallery, South London.

Amelia's intention is "to start a quiet revolution changing the world into a creative playground where people carve a life they want to live."  She invites you to join the journey: "discover your passion, live creatively, and experiment artistically - we are all artists of our own lives!"

Amelia's creative dream for 2012 is: "to finish my art MA the best I possibly can with it leading to all sorts of amazing art adventures :)"

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I can't wait to start sharing all of these inspiring interviews with you in Creative Courage next week. If you're curious to find out what it's all about, I'd like to invite you to come over and join us here.

Who would you like to see me interview for future sessions of Creative Courage?

Hope you are having a great week!

xoxo

Stephanie

Creative Courage Soul Sisters: Part I

I'm so excited to introduce you to my Creative Courage Soul Sisters series, featuring the brilliant women who are contributing interviews to my e-course which starts this Monday, January 9th.

I'll be posting these spotlights in two parts today. A whopping total of 12 amazing women are joining us to share their ideas and personal stories of how they are living out their dreams of making art, writing books, publishing magazines, teaching e-courses and workshops, and helping other women achieve their own creative goals. I'm so delighted that these gorgeous ladies will be taking part - and I hope you will join us too!

Andrea Scher is a photographer, life coach, creative entrepreneur, writer, and mama living in Berkeley, California. Through her e-course Mondo Beyondo and award-winning blog Superhero Journal, Andrea inspires other creative souls to live authentic, colorful and extraordinary lives. You can also find Andrea over at Superhero Photo, an inspiring e-course that lives in that sweet spot where creativity and personal growth intersect. 

She is also the co-author of the book Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters’ Guide to Shooting from the Heart. She lives with her husband Matt and her two boys Ben and Nico. You can often find her sitting on the kitchen floor with her four-year-old, asking him to leap so she can take a superhero portrait.

One of Andrea's creative dreams is to "Publish a beautiful, best-selling book."

Jill Bliss is an artist, designer, teacher, and naturalist now based in Portland, Oregon. She studied illustration in New York City at Parsons, and design at the California College of the Arts, then established her own company - blissen.com - in San Francisco before moving to Portland.

Jill's art is inspired through her relationship with the natural world. She studies the plants, animals and ecosystems in the area where she lives as well as on her travels, and these studies serve as a basis for many of her illustrations and artwork series.

Jill eloquently writes, "Our everyday world consists of both human-made and natural environments that co-exist, which is something we all have to find ways to recognize and come to terms with – whether it be planning, speaking, drawing, photography, writing, what have you. We all have the potential to be thoughtful, creative cultural producers AND consumers everyday!"

When asked about her creative dreams for 2012, Jill said, "It would be awesome to travel to a new part of the world each year so I could intensely study and draw plants and animals worldwide, and learn the differences and similarities of all."

Heather Smith Jones is an artist, author, and instructor working in mixed media on paper, painting, and letterpress. She owns and operates her letterpress business Blue Sparrow Press and in January 2011, her book Water Paper Paint, Exploring Creativity with Watercolor and Mixed Media was published. For the past eight years she has been teaching young artists in the Arts-Based Preschool at The Lawrence Arts Center.

Heather's paintings and drawings are represented in several galleries in the Midwest and on the East coast. In 2001 Smith Jones earned her MFA from The University of Kansas and her BFA in Painting from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC in 1996. Born in the mountains of Tennessee she now lives in downtown Lawrence, Kansas in a little house with her husband and their three cats.

Heather shared with me, "My creative goals include working in new media and I am starting a few personal projects which I intend to work on throughout the year."

Janine Vangool runs UPPERCASE publishing inc., which is based in Calgary, Canada. She publishes books and a quarterly magazine inspired by creativity, craft, design, and illustration.

Since opening in 2005, originally as a gallery and retail shop, UPPERCASE has hosted some notable exhibitions of Canadian talent and curated numerous thematic and group shows featuring international artists such as Camilla Engman, Christopher Silas Neal, Lisa Congdon, Ryan Heshka, and Hatch Show Print. She also ran her graphic design business from the space.

After years of freelancing, Janine took the leap to follow her own creative path and retired from working with clients. She closed the retail shop to focus on publishing, editing, and designing the exceptionally beautiful UPPERCASE magazines and books featuring artists and designers from around the world.

Janine's inspiring creative dream is to: "Live abroad for a year! We hope that someday my husband gets a writer-in-residence position in an intriguing location! Other than all the inventory, UPPERCASE is actually very portable."

Michelle Ward has personally helped almost 200 creative people devise the career they think they can’t have – or discover it to begin with! A certified life coach by the International Coach Academy, a musical theater actress with my BFA from NYU/Tisch, and a Corporate America escapee, she's been an expert contributor for Newsweek, Forbes, Psychology Today, Yahoo! and AOL Jobs.  Michelle has also led workshops and seminars at SXSW and the sold-out Etsy Success Symposium. 

She encourages everyone to claim their uniquity via The Declaration of You and you can learn more about Michelle and her unique creative coaching programs on her website whenigrowupcoach.com.

Michelle's creative dream for 2012: "Find a publisher for one of my book proposals (I got two in the hopper!)"

Jen Louden is a personal growth pioneer who helped launch the self-care movement with her first book The Woman’s Comfort Book. She's the author of five more books on well-being and personal wisdom that have inspired more than a million women in 9 languages.

Jen has been a national columnist, radio show host, and she even sat on Oprah's couch.  She believes self-love + world-love = wholeness for all. Together with Susannah Conway and Marianne Elliott, she'll be leading The Creative Joy retreat in the summer of 2012. Learn more about Jen's books, workshops, and retreats on her website: http://JenniferLouden.com.

One of Jen's current creative dreams: "To write and self-publish my novel in 2012."

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I'm blown away by these inspiring women, and I'm so very appreciative of the time and energy they have put into their responses to my many questions about how they've accomplished many of their dreams. 

I can't wait to share their in-depth, exclusive interviews with you in my Creative Courage e-course. There are still a few spaces left, so I hope you'll join us on this Monday, January 9th. Find out how to sign up here.

Creative Courage Soul Sisters: Part II coming up!

xoxo

Stephanie