 “The most sacred place dwells within our heart, where dreams are born and secrets sleep, a mystical refuge of darkness and light, fear and conquest, adventure and discovery, challenge and transformation. Our heart speaks for our soul every moment while we are alive. Listen... as the whispering beat repeats: be...gin, be...gin, be...gin. It's really that simple. Just begin... again.” Royce Addington  My why. I love seeing people push themselves. I love to encourage people to breathe outside their comfort zones. I love making people laugh and relax and forget their worries.  Lush Art is where I truly learned how to just be me. As I am. And I wish that for each of you.  If you need a happy place, if you need a hobby, if you need help finding yourself, if you need a night off of thinking, if you need a community, if you want to support a dream. Come in and paint. Take the day off.  And remember it’s not about the painting, it is about how painting makes you feel. Just begin. I’m still learning. And growing and I want that for you. -Cara 
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When you bring your children to paint. Let them be little. Don't harass them. Don't belittle them. Encourage them. Let them know mistakes happen. Embrace those mistakes. When you're going through their stuff when they graduate or get married 10 or 15 years from now, do you want art they did with their little hands and hearts or art you did for them when you took the brush from them? It is something I see all the time, and this is your friendly reminder that art isn't suppose to be perfect. Starting in August we have quite a few kid classes on the schedule. We would love for your child to join us! We have options from preschool through adult! Don't forget to let yourself play too! #letthembelittle #Lushart #paintwithlushart #lushonmain #perrydise #perryga #perrygeorgia #paintinginperry #heartneedsart #artstudio #robinsregion #robinsafb #houstoncountyliving #artistsofinstagram #artclasses #learntopaint #visitperry #perrypivot #perryproud #artofPerry #artinPerry #lushartwr #explorewarnerrobins The last year has been hard on us, to bring in extra income (and not lose my mind) I am creating a series of intuitive paintings to sell. I like big canvas and I can not lie. Yes, this is me standing behind the canvas. It’s almost as tall as me. I bought some great, big canvas today. I have (2) 30x48, (2) 20x24, and (3)15x30, and some girthy (6)12x12. If you’re looking for statement pieces, there will be some for sale soon. The goal is to have these available at Art in the Park the first weekend of May in Perry. However if you want to preorder and request colors, you can. But the subject will be part of an intuitive series of paintings. Think rainbows and roses and mixed media and layers upon layers. What does intuitive painting mean? Intuitive painting is an opportunity to explore the inner self through the creative process in a safe, critic free environment. ... The main premise of intuitive painting is to tune in to your own unique creative process whilst releasing attachment to meaning, control, expertise or final product. 30x48 $312, preorder 25% off 20x24 $176, preorder 25% off 15x30 $180, preorder 25% off 12x12 $96, preorder 25% off DM me on Instagram @paintwithlushart to claim a preorder. 
 If we wait until we are good to start something, we’d never begin.
Ask what if. Don’t say if only. It’s where creativity thrives. I heard this on A Beautiful Anarchy Podcastsnd it really stuck with me, “The hesitant artist will create hesitantly to the degree if we think we can’t, we won’t.” Begin. Start. Try. Make those your anthem. Not Expert. Master. Perfection. I think often about what my life would be like if I hadn’t picked up a paintbrush 13 years ago. I honestly can’t imagine. I don’t feel like I even relate to the person I was before. Yes, I had a creative outlet in doing hair. But it’s not the same. Doing hair you’re at the mercy of what the client wants. When I get to just paint for the hell of it, without worrying about anything else. That’s where the magic happens. Let us help you find the magic hiding in your life.  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.  Let me break it down. “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 am afraid to come alone.” PLEASE don’t let this stop you. Our regulars all come alone, sure they now have met friends they know and recognize but they still come alone and don’t worry about trying to coordinate with others to do something they love. For the longest time I was the person who had never eaten alone, never went places alone, then I got over it. Why and how? Because I realized it was holding me back. I had a dream for YEARS to go to Italy. At one point I thought my best friend and I would go together. Then she kept having babies and got insanely busy. I thought maybe my husband and I might eventually go. Nah, man. I finally realized he was NEVER going to go, and even if he went we have such different interests I wouldn’t get to see and do the Italy I wanted. So what did I do? I saved and I went. Alone. I found a group that would be painting and traveled by myself. Scared shitless. But I went. And I LOVED IT. That was a few years ago. And I had a hankering to go again. SO I went AGAIN. ALONE. Found a different group, went to a different area of Italy, used credit card points to go and went and lived my best life. Now I have these memories that will last forever or until the dementia sets in and I am so damn happy I went and can’t wait to go again. I am thinking France next. Would l love for someone to go with me? Sure. But will I wait around until I am old(er) and gray(er)? NO. Stop waiting. Please go read my earlier blog post: the-importance-of-being-solo.html  “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.  “I would love to come paint but I am so busy at night and need to do x,y,and z for my family unit to run properly.” Bullshit. Let them miss you for a night. ALL PEOPLE deserve some time to themselves. Sometimes that means having the husband do bath and bedtime. Sometimes that means hiring a sitter if you are a single parent. But you deserve a night off (or come during our daytime Open Studio hours or our Saturday classes), and they deserve to see you take time for yourself. And if you are married, many a husband has come up to me and thanked me. WHY? Because they know after a night off their wife comes home happier, more fulfilled, and often a little friendly because they are relaxed and recharged. Children need to see their parents have a life outside of them so they will be healthy and well rounded as they become adults. Spouses need to see what a night is like without their partner so they are more appreciative of all the things you do. YOU need to see what a night out is like to remember who YOU are.  “I would love to come paint but I will get scared and nervous in my car and can’t come in. I won’t know anyone.” Come in anyway, make a plan anyway, we are a fun and welcoming group. And often the best thing about not knowing anyone is you don’t have to then spend your night out listening to someone’s problems for the 105th time. You can just paint and sip and wine the night away all by yourself (surrounded by other people doing the exact same thing). And if you are truly worried, let us know in the notes section at checkout and we will put you with one of our fabulous Lush Club members who are regulars and know the place almost as well as the staff. No questions are stupid questions. No one is made to feel like we don’t want you there. We are always so happy to see you out there in our seats. We are a group of awkward and anxious introverts who manage to extrovert on stage a few times a month. We see you, we get you.  Lush Art’s goal is to provide a safe space to share our love of creating using step by step instruction, encouragement, passion, and humor in an authentic, nonjudgmental and fun way by creating a community of diverse and curious people. I recently needed to write an updated mission statement for a marketing workshop and that was what I came up with and I feel it truly represents our WHY. What is your fear? What can we do to help you overcome it? Occasionally Lush Art isn’t the answer for someone but often times it is. I have seen it help people through crisis by diverting their attention for a couple of hours. It has helped people through divorce, loss of a parent, loss of a child, loss of a job, moving to a new town, health issues, self esteem issues. What can it do for you? Let’s find out!
Cara As we wrap up 2019 I wanted to share each of the instructors favorite classes of 2019. Were you in one of these? Comment below. Was a different class you took your favorite? Comment below! We’d love to hear.  💗Cara: the Pine Tree in January. It was a small class. I loved that half the class were men. Why does that matter?!? Our mainstay will always be providing a safe space for women but I love when men paint. They create stories, they have less hang ups about perfection and just have a great time and enjoy a couple of beers. In this class I had a funny guy cracking jokes who had a great accent, a guy who painted a pond and fisherman in the background, a guy who added Spanish Moss and his tree was in Savannah. It was a lot of fun. I also have that painting in my dining room framed because it’s truly “my style”. (Pic in stories.) 💗Nancy: “My sweet Sloth was my favorite! It is just so dang cute and I love painting animals! It is a HaPpY whimsical painting. Every one of them were amazing and full of personality!” 💗Rhonda: “The wave. It used the spoon for the first time. Love love love trying new techniques.” 💗Heather: “The giraffe. Loved only working with black and white.” 💗Blair: “ Pennywise Oct 15. The little extras we did were great. Red balloons. IT showing up. Everyone was in such a fun mood. I love horror and getting to show that it does mix with paint classes was really fun for me. It’s also just a really fun painting to paint. It has loose parts, lining, shading, all the works. Plus so many people were excited to either take it home or give it to friends and family. Not to mention some folks got creative and inverted one so it made an entire IT face. All around just a good spooky time.” 💗Dawn: “Hands down, the Bull. It was different from what we usually offer, there was immediate excitement about the class, it wound up being just my second class to teach and an abstract, to boot! Everyone's turned out so differently, but very cool! The support I felt from the Lush Club members at this members' only event was incredible!” 💗Mena: “The Santa silhouette taught in December. Because it’s a fun class for all ages and well it’s Christmas related.” 💗Catelyn: “My favorite class to teach was definitely my tree class (lol)! It was so much fun and a perfect “first-time” class.” (She just taught for the first time yesterday!) 💗Sarah: “The Tulips in April. It was my favorite because of the texture technique we used in the tulips and the overall color pallette.” Yes, she’s coming back in January!  But now we look forward to 2020 and all that the future holds for us. We already have our assignments for the first few months. Here are the paintings we are most excited for between now and July. 💗Cara: I love my carnations scheduled for January for the Birth Flower series. They are totally my style. I am most excited to paint a manatee in March because I haven’t painted that subject before. (JAN AND MAR) 💗Nancy: “Pupcasso! He was fun to paint! Love using random colors and just getting kinda messy with him. He reminds me of my artist friends age 5 to ?? When we let ourselves let go and not think too much, our paintings turn out the best!” (JAN) 💗Rhonda: “Probably the Geisha. I’m hoping it won’t scare people off just because it’s a face. Faces aren’t hard when you aren’t trying to capture the essence of someone you know. It’s freeing painting nondescript faces.” (FEB) 💗Heather: “Lettering. It's fun to show people all the different styles and help them find their own.” (JAN) 💗Blair: “I’m excited for my camera. It’s something that isn’t very “me”. But I think it will do well and people will like it!” (FEB) 💗Dawn: “I’d say the irises, which surprises me, because I wasn't looking forward to it, honestly. I was afraid of the assignment. However, once I decided on painting an abstract piece I was at home with it. I'm excited to bring abstract irises to Lush in March! I love doing abstracts and this one will be fun and individualistic like all abstracts!!” (MAR) 💗Mena: “I am most excited to create the masque for Mardi Gras’s. When I was little I used to play pretend that I would attend Masquerades. This painting for me is like walking down memory lane.” (FEB) 💗Catelyn: “I’m working on a genie lamp for February and a mulan inspired fan art piece for March. The genie lamp is awesome because it uses the paper towel technique for the night sky and splatter for the stars and the lamp is shiny so it’s got a lot of the things I have grown to love.” (FEB AND MAR) 💗Sarah: “I am most excited about the feather because it will be in colors that make me feel calm and relaxed and it will be mostly in my comfort zone/style.” (FEB)  We hope you can join us for one of these fun upcoming classes and you will be as excited about them as we are. Happy New Years and Cheers to a FABULOUSLY creative 2020.  Remember you are supporting a small, locally owned independent business and each of these local artists each time you come to Lush Art. We aren't a franchise, we are us! All of our art is created in house by our instructors, we aren't getting them from a headquarters. We are the headquarters. We make art specifically with our customers in mind, taking suggestions and turning them into reality.
Cheers, The Lush Art Team |
CaraRandom musings of things I find interesting. Archives
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