It's a long story.
But it starts with me being married to an artist. I'm not one, at least I didn't think so. I'm a writer. Always have been. With this belief, I started writing stories about my life married to an artist at MarriedToAnArtist.ca. Exaggerated but often hilarious, these Saturday Morning Stories, in turn, led me to interviewing artists in my weekly Artist Spotlight feature. I had — and continue to have — the privilege of meeting dozens of artists, learning from them, and sharing their stories each Tuesday.
One of the lessons I learned while interviewing those artists at MarriedToAnArtist.ca is that creativity knows no bounds. If you have a skill, then the only hurdle in your way is your own self confidence or lack thereof. You need to have the confidence to put yourself out there, to be vulnerable, and to let others choose to enjoy your creations.
I'm grateful to the many artists I've interviewed — and continue to interview. Because, while I still don't consider myself an artist, I do have a talent to illustrate maps. And without dozens of artists being vulnerable with me and sharing their stories, I would have never found my way to Etsy to sell my creations, my city art maps to lovely people like you.