We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Susan Richards. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Susan below.

Susan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Ever want to try something new but fear holds you back? Doubt creeps in? Questions flood your mind. What am I doing? I don’t know how to start? Who am I as an artist? Am I good enough? Etc?

Well that was me a year ago. I have a FULL life as a mom of two, engaged and involved in community and family but found myself with just enough margin in my schedule to add something, preferably life giving. ART! Art has always been an outlet. The fullness of life seasons I am in could use one! But how?

It’s of high value to me to steward my time well and I did not want to start something that would not be profitable to me or others. Thus began the journey to name more clearly some values driving the decision to pursue art professionally in this season of life. As the journey began, many questions, rooted in fear and the unknown, surfaced. As I paid keen attention to the inner dialogue around the forming vision I was aware of the growing temptation to bow down to fear and uncertainty and NOT take the risk to start selling art professionally.

One by one I gave due attention to these thoughts and tackled them transparently with wise counsel by my side. To reach my goal, selling art professionally to a broader audience than my known community, I needed to grow personally as well. I spent time growing through the individual fears and allowing hope, strength and courage to replace them. Step by step I committed to trying new things in good hopes that they would help me reach my goals. It was overwhelming at first! Opening a social for art, developing a website, learning coding (ouch!), sighing up for art events, building relationships with others and learning how to collaborate better towards common goals.

It is a journey just beginning and I hope my art brings a sense of joy, healing and purpose to the lives of those I interact with. I am so glad I took the risk.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a child, I was not an academic. I struggled in a seat with a book! I struggled to learn and understand and had diagnosed learning disabilities. I spent countless hours with tutors and testing centers trying to “help” me process and learn. Introvert book worm I am not! I am a full on extrovert who loves people, adventure and kinesthetic learning.  Because traditional academics were such a struggle for me, I had the opportunity to attend boarding school in Raleigh, NC for high school. It was just the dynamic change and introduction to more independence that I needed to start engaging with life in a new direction.  I took an independent study art class where we had to make a self collage.  It was here I fully let myself go and all that was in poured out..  What I could not express in written or spoken form had a place to be, without judgement. or need of “fixing”.  I felt such a relief that places of pain had somewhere to go, and safely! With this new expression of self much of my inner struggle began to heal. Art was therapeutic and I found that in the privacy of my heart I could express in color what I could not say.

I soon pursued a career in dietetics (nutrition and fitness) where I used this healing expression teaching art therapy classes for clients with mood and eating disorders.

Time ticked on and I started to develop significant health challenges that left me quite disabled in pain. I was no longer able to drive, work, walk or  lift a fork to eat without immense pain. A mysterious illness hijacked my 25 year old body and no one had answered. During this time my husband and I wanted to start a family and had a little girl, Reagan, on the way.  My body, however, was very, very sick. Unexpectedly, our sweet girl died full term at birth and I later found out I was very sick with Lyme disease.  I found myself again in a place of deep pain.

I remembered the feeling of healing through grieving with art and I turned to it once again as I processed my grief.  Along with good pastoral care and counsel, a community of support and the love of a good God I was learning to receive healing through grieving with Hope. Not only was my ache of loss healing but my body was healing as well.  Soon, I regained the ability to stand, drive, brush my hair, work, and much more.

We now have two children who we homeschooled until 2021 when they started a university model school (home 2 days a week).  This allowed me just enough time to pursue something for myself while still being present and intentional with our children.

I believe that many times our pain drives our passion which then spawns our purpose. Out of what I have, I want to give to others. My greatest vision with this art business is to cultivate a joy and Hope filled community through the vehicle of art and create art that brings joy and Hope to those who receive it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Knowing that I am the only one who can create the art I create. Like the finger print on my thumb, no one else can authentically create what only my hand can create. If I don’t bring to the world my works, no one will. Not everyone will like it, that’s OK! I can not be all things to all man.  I am OK with that! But those who do want what I have to offer will receive it and it will matter to them. That matters to me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Two things come to mind:

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @susanrichardsart
• Facebook: Susan Richards Art
• Other: Pinterest – Susan Richards Art