The Blog

Give us your “Elevator” Speech as to WHO you are and WHAT it is that you do for a “living”. And how should we “know” you?

My name is Leah Piken Kolidas and I’m a mixed-media artist living just outside of Boston, MA with my husband and our four fuzzy cats. I sell my art online and in shops, I blog and lead creativity challenges at CreativeEveryDay.com, and I teach online and in-person workshops. I like to think of myself as an artist/creativity guide.

Tells about your path to getting to where you are with your business today.

My path to where I’m at now is a long and winding one in some way, and in other ways it has been fairly straight-forward. I always knew that I’d make art, whether or not I did it for a living. My mom still has drawings I made when I was two years old. They’re little scribbles of ladies in hats (I’d say I was “drawfing a wady”). I still love drawing the female figure!

I went to art school, but I was wary about trying to make a living as an artist. I knew I liked teaching also, and thought I might teach art history. After school, I did everything from painting murals, to working in a historic house museum, selling art in a gallery, working as a real estate agent, studying massage therapy, and working as a nanny. Everything I did was part of the path that led me to where I am now.

When I started sharing my art online on a blog, about 8 years ago, it was a big help in building up my confidence about showing and selling my work. Being an introverted person, I really appreciate the way the internet allows me to connect with people who like my art. And I love the way it has helped me find an amazingly supportive creative community.

What is your personal “motto” or “mission statement”?

My current motto is my blog’s title: Creative Every Day. I believe that everyone is creative and that there are opportunities for creativity everywhere, if we just look for them.

Besides your business, what are you passionate about?

Besides my business, my art, and the blog (which are all intertwined), I’m also passionate about my snuggly cats, my family, travel, all sorts of books (I’m a little obsessed with the Harry Potter series), and encouraging others to express themselves creatively.

What advice would you give to other women wanting to follow your career path?

Take some time to figure out what you really want. This is an ongoing process. What you want will change over time, so you have to keep checking in. I recommend reading a lot, journaling, taking workshops, and enjoying the path of figuring it all out because it can be fun. This discovering what you really love can be hard to uncover, it can so easily get buried by other people’s wants/needs/stories, so take your time and keep digging until you hit your core.

As far as selling art, I’d say take advantage of the wonderful ways the internet can connect people. Start a blog, share your process, join in creative communities, and support others. It will all help bring your “right people” to you and your work.

Pimp yourself! Where can we find you on the web, in bookstores, at the movies, on TV, etc?

Online: You can find my art for sale at http://BlueTreeArtGallery.com. My blog and creative challenges can be found at http://CreativeEveryDay.com. I’m on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/leah_art.

Recent publications: I had 2 articles and artwork in the 2009 Summer edition of “Artful Blogging,” my art is in Patti Digh’s Life is a Verb, and my writing and art will soon be part of a book to be published by North Light Books.

What question should we have asked, that we didn’t? Now is YOUR opportunity to tell us what we missed!

I’d like to add how important a fabulous support team is to building a business (and life in general.) You may have to go out searching for it or build it from scratch, but it’s worth it. Having good support in place is essential to keeping me moving forward and growing from a strong place.

Posted by Deb in Arts: Books, Music & Movies, Inspiring Women, Women in Business |

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 3:00 am and is filed under Arts: Books, Music & Movies, Inspiring Women, Women in Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.