Have you ever taken a close look at your surroundings and felt inspired? If you live in a culturally diverse community that is full of artistic expression, you are so very fortunate.
Growing up in a small, very rural farming community, there's more industrial, machinery and farmland and not much artistic appeal. As a teen, I would walk around downtown and look at blank, empty walls and envision a place that I could explore and look at in wonder. I dreamed of color and art installations, of creative spaces where people could gather as a community and feel inspired. But I soon left my hometown to go off to college, and that dream became an afterthought.
The yellow pop of color on our local candy store is a welcoming sight!
Start a conversation
Fast forward 20 years. Funny how fast it goes! I moved back home after college, got married and started raising a family. Life got busy. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I felt that pull on my heart, like something was missing. I slowly came to the realization that I hadn't picked up a paintbrush in years. I started drawing, painting and doodling again. I painted canvases, then larger canvases, and then murals on the walls of our home. The bigger the better! I set my sights on bigger projects and the researching began. I started to have conversations with anyone and everyone about bringing more artistic expression to our small town. I called for a meeting to try start a grassroots group. And the consensus was pretty unanimous. We were all craving more. Nothing really happened after that first meeting. I honestly didn't have a clue what I was doing!
Then a trip to Minneapolis, MN inspired me to really dive deep. The colors, the murals, the art installations, the landscaping, I was in awe! So I thought, here we go. We've got a job to do!
So it was time to take these conversations and bring them to life! If you wish to see change, then seek to change it. Don't wait for someday or wish someone would take the reins and make something happen. And it can be as little as starting a conversation. In a recent leadership program I was fortunate enough to attend, their motto was: "You have to do it yourself, but you can't do it alone."
Have you sought change and what did you do to start? Starting is the hardest part. Trying not to get overwhelmed is hard. Putting yourself out there is scary and vulnerable. But we can do hard things. Because when we can't live life one more day doing the same thing and getting the same results, that's when things start happening.
What inspires you? What fuels your soul? I would love to hear your stories! We all need to hear those stories, you never know who might get inspired!
What's next? I don't know for sure, but that's the beauty of it! Exciting things are happening, I can feel it!
XO
~Kelsey
(first posted May 2019)