We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amy Stone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

My journey to being a full time, working artist has not been straight forward. I’ve never had a formal art class in my life, but my education at home and at school was ripe with creative instruction. I grew up dancing, singing, acting, and writing. In undergrad, I studied English and Spanish. I studied abroad and learned about art history. So creative self expression has always been a part of my story.

Right after graduation from college, I started working as an editorial assistant for a small publishing company. The prop stylist for the magazine I worked for was pregnant, and I often would come down to set to help her move props around. My love for visual arts was ignited, learning how to tell a story through color, shape and texture. I became the prop stylist for that magazine just a year later, and then started freelancing as a prop stylist not long after that.

I started painting alongside my prop styling work and then moved to painting full time. All of this to say—I do wonder about a job that would just be a “job,” sometimes. I asked my husband last summer if I should go to law school—ha! There are many cons to being a working artist as well as many pros. My mind always circles back to creative work because I believe I’m truly made to work in this way. It makes me a better human, a better mom, wife, and friend. However I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it every now and then.

Amy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Like I said, my road to being a full time, professional artist is windy. I never envisioned myself as an artist, but I am so beyond grateful that I get to do what I do. I paint for a living, working with galleries and clients across the country to create unique, meaningful, and soulful pieces that reflect on themes of hummanness in a broken world. I work out alot of my personal journey with womanhood and motherhood in my work.

I’m really honest about my faith being a big influence in my work, and I do a lot of writing alongside my work (hello, English major) my hope is that my work brings my clients a sense of being known—that we are never alone—and that my pieces feel genuine and real. I think that’s what sets me apart—my work comes from my heart, and I think there are people who can see the brokenness and the hope that are tied up together in my work.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think I’ve always been an achiever—I always loved school, I loved getting good grades. I loved and still love learning. I had to unlearn that everything gets a grade. Art has been so hard for me in that way. I didn’t go to art school, so I didn’t have the critiques and/or praise from classmates and professors. Art is really subjective, and what really matters is how I feel in my heart about my work. There are no report cards when you work for yourself.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The journey is what’s most rewarding. I’ve learned so much about myself and art from the simple practice of showing up in my studio. I’ve learned so much about my own resilience, my own mind, as well as the practice of making art as a whole. The process is where the good stuff is—and I think it would’ve taken me a lot longer to know and enjoy the process if I wasn’t an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: Amyhstone.com
• Instagram: @amyhstone