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

Alyssa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I was raised to be independent, involved, and creative.

I remember on more than one occasion when I was home alone and bored, I would completely rearrange the furniture in my bedroom. I had one of those full-sized bed frames with drawers underneath, so I couldn’t exactly slide it across the floor to try out a new spot. Nope, instead, I had to drag the mattress off and put that in the hall, then the box spring, and then finally I could piece by piece move the wooden frame and drawers to where I wanted them to be. Then I would bring back the box spring and mattress. My parents would come home and proudly admire my new arrangement and my ability to do it on my own. That sort of thing was encouraged along with other ways where I took situations into my own hands to find a solution or answer. I think my current mindset comes from those early experiences where I learned to just go for it if I wanted to try something. This lack of prior planning can definitely confound my husband, but we balance each other out.

Our family was always involved in church growing up. I went to kids community and youth group both Sunday mornings and Wednesdays, and as a teen even Sunday nights. I volunteered in classes with the younger kids and also helped my mom in the cafe. My dad did a lot of the drama for the kids’ community so I jumped in with him sometimes too. Besides church, we found fun communities to be a part of in school and our neighborhood. I definitely learned the joy of saying yes to as much as possible. I’d say that only more recently have I realized the downside as well. I am a people pleaser through and through and I love it. But it does drain me. I sincerely enjoy getting to do as many different things as I can and meet amazing people through those opportunities. Even so, I’m trying to find a better balance as I realize I can’t always do everything to the quality it deserves if I do everything at the same time.

I have one brother who is older but we are very different in nearly every way. Those differences were encouraged and celebrated by our parents. He is more mathematical and analytical while I am more social and creative. I had a large cupboard near our dining room stuffed full of craft supplies and project kits I often got as gifts. I remember coming up with any excuse to draw or paint something, including challenging my friends to drawing contests that they didn’t always want to do. I tried to make my mom choose a winner but she was too kind so we always tied. At the end of elementary school, I even got my very own “art studio” behind a partition in our four-season porch with a desk made by my grandpa. To use it, I had to go turn on the separate heat dial by the door and wait 30 minutes for the baseboard heating to work before I dared go in and sit down for some art-making time.

My parents had a huge impact on who I am today.

Alyssa, 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?

In high school, I had my first opportunity to sell at a craft fair. To do that, I needed a business ID # from the state. So at 17 I registered my very own business, Created Anew 210, and sold my art at my first craft fair. After that, I went off to college to study art education and get my teaching license. Now here I am in 2022 starting my 4th year as an elementary art teacher.

Flashback to 2020 in the pandemic when everyone was out walking about enjoying the fresh air. I was stuck at home at my desk with undiagnosed back pain that limited my mobile ability. All through college I had favored acrylic paint but a friend had recently passed along her watercolor paint to me, so I decided to give it a try. I started by drawing some places I loved to go but couldn’t at the time. Once I had the nice neat lines in pen, I added the watercolor. One by one I began drawing places across Minnesota.

I became addicted. By fall I had even figured out the joy of drawing and painting someone’s house as a custom painting. That continues to be my most popular custom painting request. The following summer I was healthier and ready to conquer the art fair scene once again. I did a few small shows and discovered how much I enjoyed meeting people and connecting with them about the familiar places I painted. So many people recognized the locations and had specific memories attached there. Nostalgic conversations filled my time with shoppers.

When the school year was in swing I had much less time to paint but once spring came around in 2022, I jumped into the art scene again. I decided to do more research into the world of small business and selling my art. To share what I was learning myself, I even started a blog. I bought a domain which felt crazy, and started writing some posts about how to sell at craft fairs. I now had a purpose for admiring the other makers around me and learning from fellow vendors. I got better at selling my own stuff and then got to share what I learned with the world around me through The Fair Share Blog.

I think this past summer was a prime example of how I say yes to everything I can. I did over 20 craft fairs, started a blog, did my first live TV interview, put my art in multiple storefronts, and grew my Instagram accounts, all while continuing to make the art that started it.

I thrive on the connections I make with others, whether that is because we know the same place and we enjoy seeing it rendered in pen and paint, or because we have something to learn from each other. I can’t wait to see what I get to do next.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

If society wants to support artists, creatives, and a thriving creative ecosystem we need to make a bigger deal out of shopping small. There are so many craft fairs and art markets where small business owners sell their goods and yet what we talk about are the deals at big box stores. Let’s share and celebrate the artists and makers who put so much work and effort into their business. I wish there were more local stories shown on the news and shared online so we can support them.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part is meeting people. I especially love meeting makers at markets and fairs. I love how many amazingly creative people there are in the world and how we can learn so much from each other. I thrive off the relationships I form with the people around me, as well as the people who come to shop. Ever person I meet has a unique life or back story. It is so rewarding to get to meet these people and bond over the art I have created. I love making art of familiar places so there is often a story behind the recognition of one of my paintings. We dive into nostalgia and feel the warm and fuzzies it brings.

Contact Info:

• Website: alyssawhetstoneart.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/alyssawhetstoneart
• Facebook: facebook.com/createdanew210
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo_n4YpLUFcsmVrF1DH64GA
• Other: Online Shop etsy.com/shop/createdanew210