Ask Kelly Rae: What Inspires You (cowgirl art camp included!)

Oct 29, 2012 | Entrepreneurship, Life in Progress

YOU ASK. I SHARE. WE TALK.

Ask Kelly Rae is your chance to prompt me with your thoughtful, soulful & beautifully complex questions about just about anything! Art, love, relationships, friendships, business, creativity, home decor, where I got my cowgirl boots — the doors are wiiiide open. 

Click here to submit a question for a future post. And enjoy today’s conversation . . .

Q: What is your greatest inspiration?

My greatest creative inspiration comes from finding connections inside everyday conversations. It’s exploring the small moments in life that hold all the deep meaning. It’s finding, then releasing, my very own possibility into the world with the hope that it will do good work out there, perhaps inspire someone else, and maybe come back to me in some other moment or shift. It’s the stories of the women in my life – all the courage and tenderness and strength. I find myself (often) inside a wonderful conversation with a friend and thinking about all the ways I want to express the soul of that conversation in a painting. I am so grateful for the women who walk with me, in flesh, and in paint, on my journey into life, love, and art.

So, yes, I would say that it’s our stories that inspire me the most. It’s how we learn from one another. How we unearth treasures and wisdom inside ourselves. It’s how we connect to the joys and hurts of the human spirit. I like to think that each of my paintings express a piece of my own story, or the stories I catch from my friends, from my community, and all the women that have come before me – the broken pieces and the joyful pieces. It all matters and it all connects us.

I am having such fun at my weekend of cowgirl art camp!

I also find inspiration in doing things that get me outside of my normal routine and life – unique experiences and adventures. Recently, I attended a cowgirl art camp (in celebration of her birthday) where I, along with about 20 other women, gathered for a weekend of creative play out in the great wide open of Washington state.

Spent the night in this adorable trailer. #cowgirlartcamp
(you can read more about cowgirl art camp and see more photos over here)

The retreat was gorgeously styled with vintage couches (in the middle of the field), flowers, candles, and all things rustic and beautiful. I even got to sleep in the most charming pink vintage trailer you ever did see.

I am loving the belt buckle I made at cowgirl art camp last weekend! Thank you Terri brush for the workshop and @tiffanykirchner for the jewels!!!
(the belt buckle I made at cowgirl art camp)

Our host, Terri Brush, led the creative workshops where we made fun cowgirl art projects (think funky, jeweled-up belt buckles, artful canteen sleeves, and more), sat around the fire, told stories, danced, and admired one another’s cowgirl boots and skirts. I heard so many amazing stories of love, heartbreak, courage, and creativity throughout the weekend. Truly, I marveled at the joy I experienced and witnessed in these women.  They were pioneers of their own lives – creating and seeing beauty at every turn, even the messy + complicated ones.

Truly, it was a weekend that filled my well and left me inspired. These kinds of adventures lift me up, give me perspective, and inspire me to tell the story on the canvas.

(New work. Signed/matted prints available here.)
Thank you, cowgirl art camp. Thank you, inspiring women. Thank you, stories. 
I am inspired. 

Click here to submit a question for a future post.
Click here to see all posts in this ongoing project series.

Sending much love,

Show/Hide Comments (3 comments)
3 Comments
  1. Rebecca Renkas

    What a wonderfull and refreshing post. You've reminded me of how important it is to have creative girl time. So glad you could get away and recharge. I just took your last "Flyers"course and you have taught me to soar again and that we are creators of our own lives, thank you.

    Reply
  2. Karen Cannon

    Cowgirl Art Camp sounds like an amazing birthday celebration and girl bonding experience! I so wish that I could make the time to do those art love kinds of things! I'm a psychiatric nurse for a non profit community ACT Team and barely find time to paint on the weekends! I am super jealous of you Kelly Rae!!

    Karen

    Reply

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Hello + welcome!

I’m Kelly Rae Roberts

Before I picked up my first paintbrush at the age of 30, I was a medical social worker. I followed my creative whispers, and today I’m an artist & Possibilitarian. I’m passionate about creating meaningful art and experiences that awaken and inspire our spirits.

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