We recently connected with Courtnie May and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Courtnie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Sea The Spirit Studios really began in 2018, during one of the hardest seasons of my life. I was experiencing deep loss, grief, and family hardships. I was at a crossroads—either I could let those circumstances shut me down, or I could choose to transform. At the time, I felt myself slipping into what society often expects of us: working just to survive, numbing emotions, and repeating toxic cycles. And I knew I could not live my life as just another cog in the machine.
Art became my lifeline. It gave me a way to communicate when I didn’t have the words. It gave me a place to release grief, to remember who I was, and to reconnect with my spirit and my cultural roots. Every brushstroke felt like I was rebuilding myself. And in that process, I realized that art doesn’t just decorate space—it heals it.

As I began sharing my work publicly, people would respond not just to the colors or imagery, but to the emotion and memory within it. People cried, opened up, shared their own stories. That’s when I understood: this wasn’t just my healing. This was a pathway for others, too.

Sea The Spirit Studios was born from that realization. I didn’t want to create just an art business; I wanted to create a space for community, collaboration, culture, healing, and storytelling. I wanted other artists to have a platform, a family, a place to be seen. And I wanted people who encounter my art to feel less alone in whatever they’re going through.

So when people ask how I came up with the idea, I tell them: I didn’t. The idea came through me—when I finally allowed myself to live aligned with purpose instead of survival. Art saved me. And now my mission is to support anyone who wants to follow their dreams.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Courtnie “Sea The Spirit” May

— I am a visionary artist, creative director, muralist, fire performer, and the author of the published poetry book Ancestral Visions. I am also the founder of Sea The Spirit Studios LLC, a creative sanctuary rooted in healing, cultural remembrance, and soul expression.
My work is influenced by my cultural heritages, my philosophical and spiritual studies, and my commitment to exploring the relationship between the physical world and the unseen.

Everything I create — whether it is art, movement, poetry, or community experiences — comes from the intention to reconnect people to themselves, their stories, and their spirit.
🖤
My journey truly began in 2018, during a time of deep grief and family hardship. I was facing overwhelming emotional loss and the pressure to abandon my dreams in exchange for survival and self-numbing. Art became my lifeline. It allowed me to communicate without speaking, to heal without breaking, and to rise into my own identity and purpose.

From that personal transformation, Sea The Spirit Studios was born — not as a typical art business, but as a living ecosystem of creativity, community, healing, and spiritual embodiment.

🪶What I Do🪶

Through Sea The Spirit Studios, I offer:

Original Fine Art & Large Canvas Paintings
Custom Murals & Public Art Installations
Limited Edition Canvas Prints & Collectible Art
Live Painting & Visual Performance Art
Fire Performance as Ritual Movement & Storytelling
Poetry & Creative Writing (including Ancestral Visions)
Healing-Centered Art Workshops & Community Gatherings
Vendor Coordination & Support for Emerging Artists
Creative Direction for Art-Based Events and Cultural Spaces
Fire Performances— it is ceremony.

It is the embodiment of transformation, breath, ancestral memory, and prayer in motion.
Through fire, I honor release, rebirth, and the sacred cycles of creation.

🪶What Sets Me Apart🪶
I don’t create art to simply be viewed —
I create art to be felt.
My work is:
Emotionally honest
Culturally rooted
Spirit-led
Intentionally transformational
People come to my art not just to decorate space, but to experience meaning — to feel seen, connected, and understood.

🪶What I Am Most Proud Of🪶

I am most proud of the way I show up for others.
My greatest honor is giving each person I meet the gift of full support. I see the divinity in everyone — no matter where they are on their journey. I uplift others until they find their own voice, their own power, and their own path.
I could not exist as an artist without uplifting other artists.
Community is not a concept for me — it is a practice.
Whether someone is stepping into their first event or reclaiming their identity through art, I offer space, resources, encouragement, and breath.

Their story is mine, reflected — over and over again.

Sea The Spirit is not just my journey — it is ours.

We rise together.

🪶What I Want You To Know🪶

Sea The Spirit Studios is more than art.
It is healing.
It is remembrance.
It is expression.
It is home for the soul.
Art saved me.

Now I create art — and experiences — that save others too.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

One of my most meaningful marketing moments wasn’t about ads, strategy, or perfect branding. It happened in 2021, when I was working with my art collective, selling my pieces at one of our biggest events of the year. I remember that night so clearly — the music was loud, the crowd was full of movement, laughter, energy. But inside my booth, I wanted to build something different. I intentionally created a space that felt like an exhale — a quiet, welcoming environment where people could feel safe to just be with the art. It wasn’t just about selling; it was about connection and spirit.
During the evening, a man approached my booth with a group of friends. They were guiding him, gently helping him navigate. He was around 95% blind — he could only see color if he touched his nose to something. Immediately, the vibe around us shifted. His friends began describing my artwork to him, and they were genuinely blown away — not just by the art, but by the way I interacted with people. So he asked if he could touch one of my tapestries.
I told him absolutely — art is meant to be felt, not just seen.
As he slowly slid his hands along the piece, he started to make out colors — just patches of light and shadow. And he asked me:
“What is your art? What does it mean to you… in your spirit?”
I took a breath, and in that moment, I wasn’t selling anything. I was sharing my truth. I told him how my art is an extension of the visions I hear and feel — how it’s about remembering who we are, connecting, bringing love back into places where it was forgotten. I explained that each piece isn’t just visual — it’s an expression of spirit, ancestry, and emotional memory.
As he listened — still tracing each thread — he started to cry.
Not out of sadness, but because something in that moment touched him. It wasn’t about seeing the colors — it was about feeling the meaning behind them.
He ended up purchasing one of my pieces that night — but the sale wasn’t the powerful thing. What stayed with me was the realization that my art speaks even when vision is limited. It can be felt even without sight. That was the moment I understood that the story I carry, the love I put into my work, and who I am at my core is what people connect with — not just the canvas itself.
That experience changed how I show up.
It confirmed that my success in art isn’t because I push hard to sell — it’s because I lead with spirit, authenticity, and genuine connection.
And ever since then, I’ve known:
My art is not just seen.
It is experienced.
And that is where the real magic is.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Everyone knows the phrase “starving artist,” but I didn’t just hear it — I lived it. I’m coming up on seven years of building my art career, and it hasn’t been glamorous or easy. There have been seasons when I sold enough to support myself fully, where everything felt aligned… and there have been other times where I struggled just to feed myself and care for my animals. There were moments where I wondered if love was enough to survive on.
But even when money was low, one thing I never did was sell out my vision. I’ve never been interested in mass-producing art just to meet a trend or please “the market.” My work comes from somewhere deeper — from my spirit, my ancestry, my emotional landscape. To betray that would feel like betraying myself.
And that level of commitment has come with sacrifice. I have overworked myself. I have exhausted myself. I’ve tried different revenue paths just to learn how to make this life sustainable — not just artistically, but as a businesswoman, too. Growth has been slow, personal, uncomfortable, and often quiet.
But here is where my resilience truly lives:
It lives in my community.
Over the years, I’ve had so many fellow artists and vendors tell me:
“If you ever gave up… if you shut down your studio… if your voice disappeared… we would lose something we look up to.”
And I feel that deeply.
Because it means my journey — even when I felt invisible — was seen.
There have been countless nights where I wanted to quit, where the exhaustion felt heavier than the hope. But every time I reached that point, something in my spirit said:
You are not just doing this for yourself.
You are doing this for those who are watching you find your way in the dark.
I realized that sometimes, I am the light in someone else’s night — even when mine flickers.
Art saved my life. Truly.
It gave me purpose when I had none.
It gave me language when I had no words for my heart.
It gave me belonging when I felt alone in the world.
So resilience, for me, isn’t about pushing through with brute strength.
It’s about remembering what I carry — and who I carry it for.
I don’t keep going because it’s easy.
I keep going because this is who I am.
And because I know that the light I hold — even when dim — is still enough to guide others home.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.seathespiritcollective.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seathespirit
• Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/seathespirit

Image Credits

Dewolf photography
Alex Thankmanson
Austin Red