How I Traded Corporate Life for Creative Freedom

Send us a text

Taking a leap of faith and diving into full-time creative entrepreneurship marks the beginning of this raw, honest conversation about pursuing your passions. After leaving a steady paycheck behind, I've jumped headfirst into running my art studio full-time and launching my very first children's art camps.

The joy of watching toddlers discover art materials for the first time has been nothing short of magical. These little ones arrive each morning bursting with excitement, ready to sculpt self-portraits in air-dry clay, adding new elements daily from facial features to personal touches reflecting their interests. Though smaller than anticipated, this intimate group has created the perfect environment for genuine creative exploration. The ripple effects extend beyond our studio sessions, with parents reporting hours of continued artistic play at home.

What's truly surprised me is how far people will travel for authentic creative experiences. Students drive from counties away to participate in workshops, families plan special trips centered around visiting the studio, and social media connections bring in new creatives seeking community. This widespread interest has validated my decision in unexpected ways, as has being selected as an animator for Toronto's Winter Wonderland exhibit and being invited to speak about establishing yourself as an artist. These opportunities simply weren't possible when my energy was divided.

The transition hasn't been without challenges - it's simultaneously "scary and exhilarating and demanding and stressful" - but the fulfillment outweighs the fear. If you've been hesitating to pursue your own creative calling, consider this your sign to take that first step. Even dedicating just a few minutes daily to what you love can nurture that passion and potentially transform your life. Life truly is too short to postpone joy. Follow along on social media to see our studio adventures and perhaps find the inspiration for your own creative journey.

Support the show

Catch the doodles on YouTube

My socials:
Sign up for my monthly newsletter
Portfolio website: Brewtifully.com
Instagram: /Brewtifully
Facebook: /brewtifully
TikTok: GettingSmallwithGrandma
LinkedIn: Tracy Dawn Brewer

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:06):
Welcome back to a new episode.
I am so excited to be back withBrutally Made.
I am in full artist mode.
I have retired, we went throughthe 4th of July holiday and
this is my first full week ofkids camps and running my art

(00:28):
studio during the day, so it hasbeen an amazing transition.
So thanks for bearing with methrough some little time changes
and differences, because I havebeen doing so much.
I absolutely love it.
So this week I wanted to talkabout just expecting the

(00:50):
unexpected.
And you have the best plans putin place, but you never know
what's going to happen, and Ihave never had art camps before.
So I'm going to be sharing onthe YouTube channel some of the
pictures from the toddlers thisweek.
They have been hilarious, sostinking cute and I didn't know

(01:13):
like what I would have goingwith, how many would sign up.
I have all boys and they arethe sweetest and I wasn't sure
if they would even like some ofthe activities I had planned,
and they love them and they arejust so curious and trying new
things.

(01:33):
Everything that we have donehas been something new.
They had never tried it before.
So I love that.
And one comes with his grandmaand one comes with his mom, and
I have two and I had a minimumor I'm sorry, I had a request
for at least 10.
But two were fine because Iwill take.

(01:54):
I didn't, I didn't care if weonly got one sign up, I just
wanted to be able to offer thatage group and it is just so.
I mean fulfilling for me,because they are just so sweet
and they love playing andlearning and exploring and every
morning when they come in it'slike they're so excited and then

(02:17):
they take things home to workon.
And you know, jill, one of themoms, comes back and she's like
she played with this for liketwo hours and it's just so sweet
.
So I love it.
I love that they're exploringand I love that they're learning
to do new things and trying newthings.
We have this progressive selfportrait that they're working on

(02:37):
.
So every day they have a craftthat they get to work on and
take home.
But there's one that they'vebeen working on and it stays at
the studio every day and theyadd to it.
And so today's the last day,friday, and they'll be adding
their hair to it.
So their self-portrait's on acanvas and it's in air dry clay
and every day they've beensculpting their face, their ears

(03:01):
, their neck.
That was the first day.
And then they added their eyesand their eyelids and eyebrows
and their eyes and their pupils.
That was the second day.
The third day they got to addtheir little noses and add
everything around their headthat they liked.
So if they like certain toys orcertain foods, or they get to

(03:23):
paint around it and draw aroundit and just decorate it.
And then yesterday they got toadd their little mouths and
teeth and tongue.
It's just the sweetest.
And so today they'll get tofinally get the hair added on
and they'll take it home today.
And I have a shirt and bandananature project that we're
working on.

(03:43):
So it's been so hot and sunny Iwas really counting on it to be
nice today, so I'm hoping itwill.
So we get to decorate thoset-shirts and those bandanas like
I want to.
But I've got some backup plansand I think they're going to
roll with the punches just fineand just.
You know, I just am veryexcited about having that

(04:05):
opportunity for the kids in ourcommunity.
Next week I have almost anentirely full class for primary
kids that's my biggest one soI'm very excited about getting
to craft with them all week longand then after that I have
middle school and then afterthat I have teenagers.
So the entire month of Januarylisten to me of July is kids

(04:30):
camps in the mornings, before Ieven open the store studio, and
I have also been blown away bypeople stopping in to craft
during the day and some of themtravel quite far.
I have a student that will beback today for our air dry clay
watercolor palette.
We have a sculpture class goingon and striving from.

(04:51):
You know Ravenna.
That's amazing to me.
I had a family come in fromAkron, from Summit County.
You know they're traveling tovisit the studio and take a
class or an explore.
You know creativity and I lovethat.
That is just blowing my mindhow, outside of the local area,

(05:12):
people are craving to have acommunity, to make something,
enjoy some time together, thinkoutside the box, and that's what
I absolutely love.
People are coming in sayingthey're finding me on social
media and you know craftingalong.
I had a great opening exhibitthis month.

(05:33):
I am the exhibiting artist.
I have my work on the walls Ipainted live during my exhibit
open reception and one of thetoddlers wanted to see the
painting come to life so earlythis morning I animated that.
So when he comes in today I canshow him that experience,
because he got to see some ofthe work on the wall and watch

(05:56):
it come to life and was justlike blown away.
And so I again.
That's one of the reasons Ilove doing that, because it gets
the kids so engaged with artand he's putting his little
hands in the pictures and, justyou know, fascinated by it.
And then I found out this week Iwas awarded as one of the
animators for Toronto, canada'sWinter Wonderland exhibit at

(06:21):
Toronto Junction.
I am so excited for that.
I am literally going to get mypassport so I can go.
I was in Toronto over 20 yearsago and I want to go back.
I want to go back with myhusband.
I want to explore the muralfestival in the winter.
I just am so excited aboutgetting to participate in that.

(06:43):
And so I get to use those, Iguess, talents.
I always have a hard time.
I'm always encouraging othersto be like, yes, you're an
artist, yes, you're talented,yes, but I still, to this day,
it's hard for me to be like,yeah, I have this interest and
you know, yeah, I do this.
I got to practice what I preachright.

(07:06):
It's really hard, but I amreally really excited about that
.
And then on the 24th of July, Iwill be speaking in the Foundry
about establishing yourself asan artist and embracing the
local environment, and how youcan use print on demand to give
a lot of options so people canexperience your work.

(07:29):
So I'm very excited and verythankful for Margot Tantow to
ask me to speak in that amazinggroup.
I love being part of theFoundry, so I'm very honored and
humbled to have been asked,because there are a lot of
amazing artists there that Ilove learning from and I'm just

(07:50):
trying to like find the rightyou know cadence where I can
attend these.
Now, with the store being open,I tried to come to one of the
open quarterly events and we hadthe store open and I got people
coming in.
So I had to like close out andI felt so bad, but it's a good
problem to have, I think.
And so I had to like close outand I felt so bad, but it's a
good problem to have, I think,and so I just am very excited

(08:14):
about everything going on.
It was such a huge leap to quita full-time, steady paycheck
job and rely heavily on myselfand just my husband working and
the store.
So yeah, it's scary andexhilarating and demanding and

(08:38):
stressful, but I am still superexcited about it all.
So I'm just here to encourageyou to do anything that your
heart is telling you to do, anddon't let the negativity and the
doubt overcome the littlepositive voice in your head.

(09:00):
Keep that alive.
Keep pursuing what you love todo and doing what you love, and
find ways to make it work, evenif it's just for a few minutes a
day, and let that grow.
Don't let it, you know, slipaway.
That's, that's my message fortoday.
Keep your dreams alive.

(09:21):
Life is too short and you'vegot to find ways to um, find
ways to to make yourself,yourself, happy with what doing
what you love.
That's what's most important.
So, getting ready to go withthose toddlers I can't wait for
today's event.
So follow me on social mediaand check out what we've been

(09:43):
doing.
It is a small but mighty group.
It's been a lot of fun.
So this is your weeklyencouragement and a reminder
that I'm back.
I just have to, you know, get anew schedule in order, and July
has got a lot in store.
So I, oh, and I'm talking onSunday at the Akron Zoo.

(10:05):
So if you are local and youwant to go to the zoo, find me,
and Brian's going to be with meat the tiger exhibit and my
friend Rachel is going to takeover the store for me, so I
didn't have to close.
So thank you, rach, Iappreciate that.
Okay, a lot going on and a lotmore coming up, so I will talk
to you all later.

(10:25):
Take care, have a wonderfulweekend.
Bye.