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

Tammy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Painting has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was the kid that walked around with papers and colored pencils everywhere. I always knew that I wanted to be an artist.
My family was artistic, but they treated it like a hobby. They did not believe that being an artist was a valid profession. My grandmother was an incredible seamstress and would make lavish Persian carpets, clothing, and so much more. She earned an income and supported her family with her art but still, almost no one in my family valued or respected a creative profession as much as they respected being a teacher, lawyer, or doctor. Even when I went to college, my family constantly asked what degree I was earning in the hopes that I would pursue something else. I learned to trust the voice within and whole-heartedly pursue art as a young adult without thinking or caring at the time what kind of artist I wanted to be. I hoped to go into fine artist or graphic design no matter what. Art and painting was a calling I couldn’t resist.
After I got my degrees in fine arts and graphic design, I realized that I can do so much more by experimenting with the unknown. Today art doesn’t really have roles. When I first started my business, I painted and experimented with whatever I learned at school, selling my art to friends and family and later, when I felt more confident, I started teaching so I could share my knowledge of art with young children and adults.
Only after years of discovering, uncovering, and experimenting I found myself enjoying illustrating and designing patterns, and using my art artwork as a surface designer on products like prints, cell phone covers, t-shirts, tote bags, ornaments, and fabric, which is super fulfilling. Throughout my journey, I kept learning from other mentors and artists who, like me, pursued this career.
The biggest lesson I learned since I started my business and valued my work was the importance of the artist journey.
The career as an artist is a journey and it is not a linear path. As soon as I started my business I learned that time-management and organization were required for success. As a single-person operation, I was painting most days, marketing on a few social media platforms, making cold calls to possible clients, and still needing to be available at home to my family. Later on, after I experienced burnout and had already made the mistake of working some days for 18 hours straight and not sleeping enough to get ready for an art show, before a collection release, or getting a painting for a client commission, I decided to really sit down and build a realistic schedule in order to stay sane and for my business to flourish.

Another important lesson that I learned is that self-care and a healthy mindset are essential for operating any business, otherwise nothing will work out and my clients will feel it, and for sure, I can not be good for anyone if I’m walking around drained and exhausted.

Now, most days, I have a morning routine that I created for myself which involves prayer, meditation, writing in my journal, planning my day, working out, tidying my home and then I go to my studio for a good 6-8 hours. Now I am able to be flexible with my routine because I have a system. I also hired help to clean my home twice a week so I can focus on my business. I do most of the work related to my business because I love what I do. As a small business I, now more than ever, fully understand why shopping small matters so much.
Running a small business is a huge amount of work and everyday brings new challenges. At the same time it is rewarding to see it grow and have clients support and see my art solving someone’s problem, and adding beauty and color to empty walls inspires me to continue.

I learned early on after I set up my website and started creating collections of paintings every few months about the challenges of being a solopreneur. The thing about a solopreneur is that I’m not only an artist, trying to improve my craft and create beautiful work, but I am also a bunch of other things like, a photographer, a copywriter, an editor, a website designer, a product developer, a shipping manager, inventory management, customer service representative, bookkeeper, social media manager and advertiser. I am still in complete gratitude that this is my career/business.
There are so many wonderful benefits of building a community of like minded artists that you can meet and talk to. This community has been very beneficial to me and my business. Knowing that I have a group of supportive friends who also create and walk along the path with me is priceless and I believe that it is a must, especially for artists who often are isolated since they create alone in their studio.

As for the ups and downs, the uncertainty, the unknown and the long hours of creating, sometimes I was not sure what art will sell, who will buy my art, how much money I will make each month etc. The pathways constantly change and evolve. It’s important to be able to see options no matter how uncomfortable or surprising they might be. Every time, in the last few years I was tested and I thought something scary or unexpected was coming my way, it turned out I was ready for change, but not the one I had carefully planned. This is how I learned that the artist’s journey is a non-linear road and yes, it’s still worth it.

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?

Painting has been a part of my life ever since I was a little girl. I always knew that I wanted to be an artist. I was a highly sensitive kid who loved reading, writing and creating stuff with my hands. Art and painting was a calling I couldn’t resist. After I got my degrees in fine arts and graphic design, I realized that I can do so much more by experimenting with the unknown. First, I experimented with whatever I learned at school and later when I felt more confident I started teaching.
I am a seeker of that which is beyond the obvious; the deeper psyche, the mystical reality of who I am in each seemingly ordinary moment. I try to engage with what cannot be immediately seen. My art is a spiritual path. So is my healing and counseling work. Today, I practice art and healing on a daily basis (in my studio in Beverly Hills, CA). Creation and healing through art is a part of everything I do. Personally, I work traditionally with mixed media, pen, water pencil, acrylics, oil. Often creating a few abstract collections each year. I also illustrate and design patterns, and artwork on all kinds of products and fabric.

I love realism and details. My preferred subjects are portraits of women, flowers, abstract and spiritual symbols. I encourage anyone I work with to create in the way that works best for them – their own MAGICAL VISION.

Throughout my journey, I kept learning from others mentors and artists to improve and better my skill. Today, I added a healing coaching to my practice which I’m super excited about. I got my Master Practitioner in NLP and Hypnosis in MER stands for Mental and Emotional Release® and is a clinically researched approach to help release stress, anxiety, fear and other negative emotions, reduce the charge and intensity of your past emotional baggage and other unwanted feelings . You will also be able to utilize MER® to overcome procrastination, depression and phobias. MER® was created by applying a therapeutic process to the concept of an internal memory storage system.

In the last few months I have taken friends, clients, and family members through the process and heal from PTSD, depression, trauma, old wounds and phobias. The process encourages the development of new habits that has enabled them to feel happier, relieved and motivated. It was great when they told me that finally they can identify their limiting beliefs that hold them back and learn how to develop new mindfulness habits and move forward to start living life like they always wanted to live.

I can’t tell you in many words how this process changed my life, I can only show you how it is done. If you are feeling stuck and you are seriously ready to let go of all your baggage and limiting beliefs so you can start fresh? If you want to live with a spark for life, to better your relationships, career, and live healthy let me know. I would love to tell you all about it and more. or you can read my blog on my website https://www.tammymachmali.com/blog/how-to-clear-your-mental-and-emotional-baggage-and-heal-yourself

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This year I finally decided to pivot and add a healing component to my creative business. This was something I did on the side without charging. I took all the knowledge that I accumulated from years of learning, creating, teaching and going to therapy myself, and I got my license in Numerology, Master NLP license and MER hypnotherapy licenses to help others heal and clear their mental and emotional baggage. I always felt joy coaching with energy and guiding my clients onto their own healing and growth, something that I didn’t dare to do in the past since I didn’t feel ready. I also finally wrote and illustrated my children’s book which is full of affirmations for young girls, something that I am proud of and can’t wait to self-publish on Amazon soon.
My journey with healing started around 15 years ago when I was burned out from trying to figure out how to heal myself and balance family life and career. I was going from one therapist and coach to another but I couldn’t figure out my OWN mind, or the right paths to take. Despite the fact that I took unlimited courses and read books about self-development, self-help, and psychology, it just led to an overload of information that actually caused more inner confusion and distraction.

This transformation was a process that didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took a few years to understand that what I needed was a path with clear direction to follow. Once I found my own methods for inner comfort and clarity, I developed a simple creative coaching model that I could use to find solutions and move forward in my path on a daily basis.

Over the past year, I have taught many clients the creative healing process and I have seen their lives and attitudes transform from victims to winners, from single to married, from not working to having a thriving career. Helping others heal and transform their lives was always my passion and is something I am so proud to be able to talk about now.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had no idea how powerful the act of listening to my heart and following my dream of becoming an artist was until years later when I had my girls and could be a role model to them as a self supporting independent woman. I began taking the greatest risks in my life to succeed. In the opportunity to build my business and raise my girls I found my voice as a leader. I would not have the confidence to do what I have done if it wasn’t on behalf of my girls and because I wanted to leave my legacy for the generation to come.
The practice of painting and learning how to creatively express myself helped me heal and released me from my own mental “prison” in a way. It rescued me to become a creative healer. I could step into my powers through seeing my daughters and experiencing their growth. I found reasons to persevere and see my own greatness when at moments it felt like I couldn’t go through it and wanted to give up.

I started painting and journaling when I was a little girl. I was very sensitive, I felt too much and I was hungry for learning and understanding things that others in my family had no interest in. I remember writing to God from a very early age and painting whenever I felt lonely or unheard; and lost. There were times when I felt lost going down memory lane unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel because I was different. For years, I painted without knowing that this was my way of expressing my emotions and distress on paper. I feel gratitude for all the hours that I used my journal and my coloring tools to express myself, as a little sensitive girl, instead of going into addictions. I escaped to write whenever I felt deep feelings of injustice, resentment, anger, etc. After a while my writings turned into gratitude and affirmations and my paintings turned into a business. I gained freedom within. Through this source of creativity, I learned that through art and creativity we can unite to find out the essence and fullness of who we really are.

Today, I know that as a result of painting and writing, the loud voices that overwhelmed me as a sensitive empathetic girl/woman and produced paralyzing fears, disappeared.
Moreover, I learned and gained experience through creating art. Painting is a wonderful tool that not only can be fun and relaxing, but can also guide us to figure out what is truly going on with us. Art gives us an outlet to express our inner feelings and helps us integrate them into our life story, offering meaning and some sense of release – letting go. This is where the magic of healing lives.

I was going through photo albums this weekend and it occurred to me that as a young child I drew, painted and created without worrying about my abilities or what others will think about me. Yet as an adult, I stopped for many years since I judged and criticized myself and my work. There were years that I didn’t create to a point that I had anxiety just thinking about showing my work and this overwhelmed and paralyzed me to a point that I didn’t dare to lift a finger. Looking back, I feel extremely grateful for winning this battle and daring to show up and be visible in this world with my art and my work. After all, there is a freedom and joy in painting that has the potential to fuel imagination and offer endless possibilities for learning and creating yourself. In my painting I am often in awe to witness how each piece has the potential to open the heart and mind to see the bigger picture of life through the spirituality in each piece and the symbolism, storytelling, joy, beauty, and so much more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tammymachmali.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammymachmali/

Image Credits
photographer : TIA CAMPBELL PETERSON