Now that we are almost a half a year in to having downsized to just the smaller Perry studio, I can say, without a doubt, this was the right decision.  

When you start a business, the goal is always to do more, get better, get bigger, grow, hustle.  Then, perhaps after several years of that a global catastrophy happens.  Perspectives change, debt develops to keep everything afloat, stress reaches a level of unknown preportions.  

I LOVE the service we provide, I HATED 2020 and 2021.  The excrutiating pain of running the business was overwhelming and likely permanantly damaging due to the trauma of it all.  

I am so happy to be out of the lease in Warner Robins, and at home at our smaller, cozy studio.  I feel like this studio is just exactly what I pictured for Lush Art from the beginning.  But then life happened, and got in the grind of becoming "more".

Were those sold out nights in Warner Robins with 42 painters profitable?  Hell yes.  But were they often enough?  No.  And could we do those the last couple years?  No.  

Now we top out at 15 and I like it.  I like that I have time to connect with everyone in class.  I like that keeping up with inventory is easier.  I like that keeping up with classes at one location is easier.  I like that life is easier.  I like that classes sell out more regularly.  I like that it is more consistent and stable.  I like this life of less hustle and more creating.  Less noise and more creativity.  Less bills, and more debt pay down.  And by the end of the year we should be back to being in the black.  

So if you have worried about the changes that Covid made in your business or life, but shockingly figured out some things during that time that surprised you.  Make sure you are making room in your life for the changes you want to see, and not just going back to the grind because it is what is expected.  

While there are benefits to growing and achieving there are also drawbacks.  What makes your heart happy?  Do more of that!  Make room for change.  Allow expectations to change.  Allow less to be more.  

Have you not visited us at our Perry location?  Do it!  It feels like a tree house, like an escape from the world.  It feels like a hug and I swear it has boosted my creativity!

​Cara

​What are you doing for yourself next week? March is all about taking control, marching headfirst into creativity, and allowing art to thrust you into a new way of thinking.

Can you run before you walk?
No. But you can paint before you can paint. Let me say that again. You CAN paint before you can PAINT. Meaning you just have to start. You’ll improve, gain confidence, have room for making it your own, experiment. But first you have to start.

At Lush Art we break a painting one of our artists created down in such a way anyone can follow along. We do this so you can gain skills to develop either a new hobby or a way to destress from your normal day to day. And sometimes both happen. We even had some regulars who went on to join our staff and make money from their creativity.

Don’t forget to take time for you, if you’ve been wanting to take a class. Stop and go look at your calendar. Find a class that can work. Book it. Put it in your calendar because YOU are a priority. YOU deserve time to create.

“The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.”

Norman Rockwell

Are you confused about if there is a difference in Self Care (a word everyone is throwing around) and Self Love?  Self Love is our theme for February.  

Above is a clip from my IGTV, where I talk with Lori Gaylor, MS LPC about this and more.  

I have strong feelings that they are very different.  Self Care to me is getting your hair done, getting a facial, going for a massage, making that doctor appointment you have been putting off.  

Self Love is what comes from within and is what encourages you that you are worth doing the above things for yourself without guilt, or at least with less guilt.  

I also feel like there is a difference in Self Respect and Self Love.  For example, I think someone like Kim Kardashian for sure has self love, does plenty of self care, but I'd question if she has self respect.  I think anyone can have self love, it doesn't require being a good person.  Self respect requires character, which requires awareness and some people either choose to not be aware of their actions or they just don't care.  It is also hard to have self respect if you don't respect others, laws, etc. 

It would be hard for a criminal to possess self respect when they don't respect laws, the people their actions affect, but it is certainly possible for them to love themselves in their unawareness.  

Join me on Thursday, January 11 at 2pm Eastern (or anytime after for the replay) as we continue our discussions on Self Love and this week our topic is Friendships.  I will be talking with my BFF for over 25 years.  

Do you need more self love, self care, or self respect in your life?  You may even need more of all three.  Leave any questions below.  

Cara

Why is a paint place showing me mascara?

This month is about Loving Yourself and I love a good mascara. I’m almost 42 and have probably been wearing mascara for almost 30 years.

It’s taken me this long to accept the fact that I LOVE travel sized mascaras more than full size. And I always feel guilty because by weight, they’re more expensive. I went to Ulta a couple weeks ago and told the girl helping me that I like them better and she said “Me Too!”. I’m not alone!

Then I saw an article, or post, or something in the last week that said it’s much better to buy the travel size because they last about as long as you’re suppose to use a tube of mascara. So they’re cheaper and healthier and I know people think it’s crazy but they work BETTER!

Why am I sharing this? What do you feel guilty of doing? Maybe it’s time to let that shit go. It may be as simple as a travel mascara or as heavy as major trauma. But it may be time to ease up on yourself a little bit. ​

I often hear people want to come to Lush Art but they don’t because they “don’t know how”, “would suck at it”, or they “haven’t painted since they were kids”.  While all are legitimate excuses, they are all excuses based on fear of trying something new. ​

Allow yourself to be a beginner is such a powerful and true quote.


Trying new things can lead to some amazing discoveries about yourself and the world around you.  Think about those little quizzes that go around and it asks out of these 50 foods how many have you tried.  I am always amazed that some people have tried only a handful of things.  Usually I have tried all but a few of the items.  And my life is fuller because of it.  Do I always like everything?  No, but am I glad I tried it?  Sure.


I am trying to spend this March trying new things.  I have never tried a raw oyster, so that is on my list.  So the nest time I am with friends who are eating them, I will give it a try.  I like them baked, they are ok fried, but to just eat that slimy giant booger?   No. ​

I asked the girls at work for book suggestions since they all read books outside my normal genre which is romance with a tidy happy ending.  I like historical and contemporary romance novels and since I started reading them about 10 years ago, I can’t seem to put them down.   I enjoy a quirky, smart, sarcastic female lead and a strong, interesting male lead.  But I started The Awakening by Kate Chopin.  I tried getting into it, I just couldn’t.  The story just couldn’t
Keep my attention.  So on to something else.  While I am trying new things, I also have very limited free time and I don’t plan to push myself to read an entire book I don’t enjoy.  Life is too short. ​

Now this doesn’t mean I am going to be jumping out of planes or bungee jumping, but I do want to think of things that are outside of my comfort zone and try them.  Say yes to things I might normally say no to.


I joined 2 groups this month.  The Society of Creative Founders and The Web, a coworking space in Macon.  If you know me, I am very outgoing in my space at Lush Art but I am quite introverted in my business and personal life.  I wanted to change that.  I also am in a business coaching program.  I want to grow my connections and feel less alone in this entrepreneur journey and there is only one way of doing that and is by getting out there. ​

I have been thinking on the idea of adding a Paint Splatter room for 2 years.  And finally just pulled the trigger on it this month.  So coming soon you can come in and get your Jackson Pollock on.  It is a great way of loosening up because you have no control over the splatter.  We have the room we are turning into the room cleaned out (whoa that was a task) and we will be installing it soon.  I plan to have date night options, parent child options, and hopefully black light glow options once I talk with an electrician. ​

What else should I try?  What do you want to try?  Is it painting?  If you are worried about coming in, please contact me personally and I will either come and paint with you or find someone to introduce you that I know will be welcoming to help you get over your fear of trying something new. ​

Fear.


Does reading that word make you not want to even read this post? 

I am not talking about BOO horror movie fear, but the kind of fear that holds you back from doing what your heart wants.


Something we hear all the time is “I would love to come paint but… (insert excuse here).  Now, sometimes that excuse is money and I totally get that and it is a legitimate problem.  But most often the excuse is fear.  Fear of coming alone, fear of being bad at painting, fear of judgement, fear that no one will want to come with them, fear of leaving their families at home and doing something for themselves, fear of making a commitment to an event and actually having the gumption to follow through and show up. ​

​“I would love to come paint but I don’t have the money.”  I get it, I really do.  But are you buying material things you don’t need as a way to cope with other things in your life?  Are you going out to eat a bunch?  Are you paying for subscriptions you don’t use?  Are you mindlessly ordering shit on Amazon?  (Yeah, I do that.)  Think of what would make you happier this next month.  Ordering a pair of yoga pants you will put in your drawer or taking an entire evening to do something you want to do.  Experiences are wonderful because even after they are over, you have the memory of the time spent doing something worthwhile.

“I would love to come paint but I will be bad it.  I can’t even draw a stick figure.”  This is the one I hear the most.  As humans and in the society we live in, we expect to be experts at everything.  The media shows perfection, shows people doing it all and doing it well, they ridicule failure.  But what do all people who are good at something have in common?  A beginning.  A beginning where no one knew who they were and they didn’t know what they were doing.  Allow yourself to be a beginner.  Allow yourself to be bad at something so you can improve at it and enjoy the process along the way.  Will you be amazing your first class?  Probably not.  It is like any skill, it takes practice and persistence to improve.  But will you have fun?  YES! ​

“I would love to come paint but someone will judge me.”  Nope.  We are a very supportive group.  We are mostly all self taught artists, who still struggle getting an idea from thought to creation.  You will be surrounded by other people in your same boat.  Everyone is much kinder to those around them, than they are to themselves.  We talk in class about letting go of comparison and perfection.  It is a constant theme.  Don’t let that stop you.  And remember to be kind to yourself. ​