My Quest for a Creative Life
From the time I was a child, I've always been creative - drawing, crafting, embroidering, making. Though I enjoyed creating, the little voice in my head said that wasn't a place to make a career so I went hard left brain into engineering. Though I wouldn't trade the experiences I had in my first career, it wasn't fulfilling my creative side. The little voice told me to follow my dreams to architecture school. I left my job. I moved. I found love. I learned many things in architecture school, but mostly that I needed a life of creativity. Though I didn't become an architect, I've been leading a creative life since.
***Why Smiling Cat Studio?***
A smiling cat is happy and content with the world. My goal is to be as happy and content as a smiling cat and for me, that means releasing my creative expression through art and illustration.
Cats and their fellow members of the animal kingdom are also endlessly fascinating. Their curiosity and personalities provide all sorts of opportunities for humor and whimsy. I hope you'll find this joy in all of my work!
***My Art and Etsy Shop Evolution***
My shop began with black and white linocuts of the Smiling Cat and has evolved from there as I took classes with Creative Bug, Make Art That Sells, Make It In Design, and Skillshare. I love to draw animal faces, and they were the focus of my shop for a while and can be seen in the Let It Snow ornaments and coasters I'm selling now. I also really enjoy making patterns which has led me to try print on demand. You can see some of these patterns in my shop on gift wrap, table runners, and other products as well as in my Smiling Cat Studio Spoonflower shop (link in my Shop Links).
***My Core Values***
CREATIVITY to design, to draw, to print, to paint, to use a needle and thread, to use my hands to explore a variety of different mediums and ways to explore my love of animals.
FREEDOM to use my day as I like: creating and tending to business, or taking a day off if I want to. The freedom of owning my own business means that I can make my own schedule and work on projects that excite me.
INTEGRITY in all aspects of my business and life: my product descriptions and photographs will reflect exactly what you are getting at exactly the price quoted. No substitutions. No unexpected price changes. What you see is what you get. And I will ship on schedule.
***Elsewhere on Etsy***
Also check out my vintage shop, Smiling Cat Vintage (https://www.etsy.com/shop/SmilingCatVintage) where I'm purging family treasures.