We were lucky to catch up with Susan Jefferson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Susan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Goods: My desire to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally began at a young age. As a child, I would get frustrated when my mom took me on shopping trips to buy clothes because I could never find all the colors I liked in one product. We often left with nothing. When I got home, my mission was to find my markers to create the colorful designs I envisioned in my head and transfer it to my clothes. I gradually expanded from coloring my clothes to painting nails, comforters, pillows, and shoes. She never got too upset with me. When I was 19, I decided to get a custom paint job with bubbles, swirls, and glitter in every color. I loved it! At that moment, I knew it was time to figure out how to get my art on products. About 17 years later, I took a deep dive into figuring out how to make one of my dreams a reality.

Services:
Making art has always been my way of releasing and processing my feelings. From childhood, I used art to navigate worlds all in one room. Being an only child living at home was challenging. I had friends and played sports, but I still felt alone surrounded by lots of people. Even now there are many days where I am not able to find words to describe all the feelings I experience. Becoming an abstract artist and using paint to express my thoughts on canvas became my way of exploring, discovering, relaxing, and sitting with my feelings without words. The process of creating revives me. It brings healing and this indescribable joy to me. I realized that this gift God gave me was His way of providing me with a means to stay connected to what’s important.

Making art works for me. In 2014, I began brainstorming ways to share this with people. I took a leap of faith and decided to start offering art workshops for others in my home at no cost once per month. They were successful. Participants young and older were recognizing and expressing the benefits of art and the personal impact it had on them. Even those who weren’t interested in making art had positive feedback on the flow and the feeling of the art gatherings . In 2014, I also started offering my art workshops in schools and organizations in communities and expanded to offering professional development for various groups within school systems. This also led to opportunities to host Art Camps in school districts.

Susan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an abstract artist, creative entrepreneur, space curator and community leader who is dedicated to cultivating spaces where people feel welcomed and loved. Over the course of more than 20 years, my career has involved serving as an educator in various school districts. I also dedicate myself to my roles as a wife to my incredible husband and a mother to our four amazing daughters!

HOW DID YOU GET INTO YOUR BUSINESS/INDUSTRY DISCIPLINE/CRAFT?
Short answer:
– I Embraced my existing skills and knowledge.
– Leveraged what I already knew how to do.
– Recognized areas where I needed help.
– Researched and asked so many questions!
– Found people, technology and resources to help me execute the vision for the business.

Long Answer:
I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur but didn’t have the capital to start a business. As a black woman who didn’t come from monetary inheritance, the reality I faced with navigating all the inequities was extremely discouraging.
I started focusing on blending my passion for art, my love and empathy for people and finding a career that made money. I couldn’t find anything that was interesting or sustainable. It was time to start my own business because my heart for people wouldn’t let me stop. My family and community kept telling me I had something special to share with the people.
I then started sharing the beginning phases of my vision with like-minded people. They told me about an organization called SCORE MN. Finally, I found two business strategists that understood me. They have been walking alongside me for 7 years.
Now, I have a web store with a variety of products with my art designed on them.
Currently, I am directing my efforts toward the next significant phase of my business, which involves expanding the service aspect of providing more personalized and unique art offerings to Minnesota.

WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTS DO I SELL?
I offer a variety of products, including clothing apparel , footwear, home decor, and prints.

WHAT SERVICES DO I PROVIDE?,
– ItSpeaksArt Professional Development for various organizations

– ItSpeaksArt workshops for Churches, community groups, and summer programming for school districts

– ItSpeaksArt Personalized Art Parties

4. WHAT PROBLEMS ARE YOU SOLVING FOR YOUR CLIENTS?
– Providing a set of innovative ways to:
– Revive Communities and Communication
– Diversity: Providing a space that is multi-
generational, multi-faceted and multi-ethnic
-Inclusivity: Providing a space that is inclusive
of all skill levels and abilities
– Meeting People Where They Are: Tailoring creative art experiences that are life-giving and meaningful for people.

WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM OTHERS?

I offer non-traditional practices and approaches to learning and developing meaningful connections with individuals and communities. I emphasize an alternative form of human interaction that is non-judgmental and reduces stress.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

It’s hard for me to say I am proud of something. I’d rather say, I’m grateful that I get to serve my community. I’m grateful that ItSpeaksArt (my art, my products and workshops) has evolved from inspiring me to becoming a source of inspiration and encouragement for others. It is a blessing to be an entrepreneur and have the mission of my business reflect my core values.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU WANT POTENTIAL CLIENTS/FOLLOWERS FANS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BRAND/YOU/YOUR WORK?

ItSpeaksArt is dedicated to making a positive impact on how we think about engaging with each other.
ItSpeaksArt Mission and Vision:
1. Bridging Communities: ItSpeaksArt aims to bring people from diverse backgrounds together, fostering connections and unity within communities through art.
2. Creating Inclusive Spaces: ItSpeaksArt provides comfortable and enjoyable spaces where individuals of all skill levels and abilities can engage in art. This inclusivity promotes creativity and self-expression.
3. Promoting Healing Through Art: ItSpeaksArt recognizes the potential of the creative process and strives to use art as a means of restoration. This approach emphasizes the importance of art in enhancing emotional well-being.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I was raised to be independent and not depend on people for anything because people change. I was taught that if I wanted things to get done, I had to do myself. There is some truth in what I was taught. It took until I was in my late 20’s to realize that there was no way I could move forward as a successful and impactful entrepreneur without doing the work together with other like-minded people. Including the was easy for me. One can’t provide a service to people without listening and including the voices of the people you serve. Partnering with people in business, on the other hand, was not modeled for me. I had to learn how to delegate, trust, and step out of my comfort zone.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I would echo my previous comments about my mission and vision for ItSpeaksArt and make it more personal. I look at my daughters and want to leave a legacy and a platform for them to be able to utilize their gifts and talents. I want to leave a structure and a model for them that they can use without inequitable barriers to reach and empower people no matter what career path they choose. I also don’t want my children to trailblaze new paths they should already have access to. It is my job to do my best to make sure they have unrestricted access to education and financial wealth for generations to come.
It is my responsibility as their mother to model self-care and teach them how to give permission to themselves and others to feel in a world that has normalized human disengagement.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://itspeaksart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itspeaksart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itspeaksart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-jefferson-1a056775/

Image Credits
Photograph by Linsey Zell