Today was the last day of a journey I've been on for almost 5 years now. In the fall of 2003 I opened the Bubble Gum Ice Cream Art Studio. I had been teaching
after school art for 3 years and decided that broadening my audience would be a great experience and was needed in our little community. I did tons of Birthday parties, taught
after school everyday, started a Ladies Night out program, and taught some adult painting. After a year on Washington Street I moved the studio to a community called
Summergrove. Quickly I found that a
pricier rent was not a smart move. I'd become friends with one of my students Mommy's, Valerie, over the past year and knew that she had always wanted to own a fun French inspired store front. I called her up one day in October of 2004, and the next week The Vintage-Flea was born! It was not even a year later that we packed it all up again and moved to downtown
Newnan to the
Greenville Street location.
The picture above was the
original space I rented for the art studio.
This is
Mailey and me at Halloween outside the Flea.
So today I packed the art studio up for the third time in five years. It's all in the back of my pick-up truck right now waiting to be transferred to the storage unit. I am a bit sad today, of course this feeling is only natural. I don't think of my leaving the studio behind as a sign of failure because the path I've taken has led me to the most amazing doors that keep opening up! I am so excited about this new journey as full-time artist. I've known now for awhile that being an artist and art teacher was my true calling. I am so happy that I've gotten to be a part of a successful business, especially with Valerie. We've had the most amazing life experiences. And I'll admit, being a studio and store owner is super fun. But now the time has come for me to follow my dream. I found a new quote that I'll end this post with. It is my new inspiration:
"First it begins inside your heart. Something moves, then opens. Then frees itself. And now you feel a rhythm breaking its long silence. This is going to be good. It is here where you must begin to tell you story."
I have very few photos of me actually teaching. Not sure exactly what I was teaching here, but if I remember correctly, it was a Monet project. The little boy on the left occasionally still takes from me in the summer. I think he's 10 now. Here he is 4 years old. Man, time flies!
As I've stated before, I believe that we all travel along a path opening and closing doors we choose. And the past couple of weeks I've considered starting a separate blog about my adventure as an art teacher. Finding this disc today is just one more sign that perhaps it's time, the door has been opened. So, hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the Bubble Gum Ice Cream Art Studio blog up and running with lots of fun art projects you can do on your own with your children, or in your own classroom! 
