e were lucky to catch up with Jade Tamaski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jade thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

My story is not a traditional one, I didn’t take the “normal” path to beginning my Art business. There were several hurdles in my way, but I truly believe that God had a plan for me and once I realized that, everything started to fall into place.

I am an Artist, a wife, a mother, a credit analyst, a dedicated church member, and friend. As a full-time working mother, I wear many hats. Sometimes it is tricky balancing everything in my life, but I have a wonderful family that supports me and my goals. Ever since I was young, I can remember going to Art museums and galleries and loved to see the paintings. I always drew and colored as a young kid, and around high school I had an Art teacher that really encouraged me to pursue my Art further.

So, I graduated high school not knowing what I wanted to really do. I was accepted into college and decided to major in Studio Arts at Columbus State University. It was the first time I really had been around other artists and I was a little intimidated by some of the talent. At this time in my life, I was a young single mother, working and going to school. It was a lot for a twenty-year-old, but I really enjoyed my professors and being around the other students.

I had made it to my second term at CSU and finally was able to take Painting I, that was it. I found my niche and my professor was very encouraging and complimentary of my work. He advised me to focus on painting for the remainder of my courses and that’s what I did. I took painting during the May term and another course in the Summer. Then in the Fall, I took an independent study along with another painting course. It was wonderful, but I was also exhausted. I came to my spring term of my junior year and needed a break. I decided to take a semester off and focus on my daughter and work at the time.

During that time away from college I ended up meeting my husband, I had my son and I focused on our family life. I put school on hold with every intention of returning soon. Fast forward about 15 years later, I was working and applying for a promotion and unable to meet the requirements because my degree was not finished. I decided to meet with an administrator at CSU and just see what I needed to finish.

They were all so helpful at CSU, the catalog had changed multiple times and it was not easy plugging in some of the courses I had taken to the new requirements, but it turned out I only needed 2 courses to graduate. I had to do it and with the support of my husband, my kids, and my co-workers at the time I went back to school.

I can’t explain exactly how nervous I was to walk into that class as a 39-year-old college student, but I did it. I mean my daughter was the age of some of my peers. Everyone was so welcoming and genuinely supportive of me being there. The Art department had also changed vastly in the time I was gone from CSU, which was so wonderful to see. Something that the current students, I felt, could not appreciate the way I could, because I saw firsthand the amazing transformation and developments there. I was so blessed to be a part of it now.

We dove into the semester that spring with high hopes and goals, only to be met with a global pandemic three months into our Senior year. We were forced to go virtual and limited on our Senior Exhibition now. But our professor was relentless in supporting our graduation and we were presented with an opportunity to display our work through public art. It was a wonderful way to showcase our work to not only the traditional art goers, family and friends, but the entire community was able to go see my paintings. It was incredible to have my work out there and the responses I received validated my need to continue to create and share my work.

After graduation, I started to make connections in my community and joined several art events and began to sell my work. I truly enjoyed meeting with other artists and vendors and talking to my sweet customers. I began taking commissions and working directly with customers to create paintings specific to their vision.

This year I began selling my work directly from my website and have participated in several painting challenges online. I have several events that I will be attending the remainder of this year and look forward to seeing all my customers in person at these events.

Looking back at my journey now, it has been such a blessing and I believe very purposeful in the timing. I truly believe my art should be shared with others. It brings me such joy and that joy should be given to others. The experiences I have had in my life directly relate to the appreciation I have now for this time I can spend creating and sharing my work.

Without the support of my husband and children there is no way I would have the ability to pursue my art career. They help with my setup at events and make sure I have everything I need to reach my goals.

My advice to any artist starting out, is to believe in yourself first. Trust in your ability and the way to success will unfold right before your eyes with faith and determination.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have talked about my journey already, so I will focus on the things I am most proud of. My family.

My kids are amazing, and I know every mother says that, but they truly are exceptional. My daughter has had so much to overcome, and she remains strong and independent. I am forever in awe of her courage. My son is literally the most mature teenager I have ever known. He is responsible and levelheaded, smarter than us all. He keeps me in check sometimes and I am super proud of the man he is becoming each day.

My husband is so supportive, I come up with crazy ideas for my event setups and studio. He just makes them happen for me. He shows up every time and is my biggest supporter. I don’t tell him enough how much it means as an artist to have someone in your corner.

The biggest goal I have as an artist is to bring joy to others. I want people to stop and see my paintings and feel something, talk about it and tell me. My art is my voice and my gift, and I want people to be inspired by my paintings. I have an incredible urge inside me to create something. If only one person can understand it and appreciate it, then it’s worth it to me!

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

Sharing my work and listening to a person speak about their appreciation of art is the best reward. I love having conversations with my customers. Listening to what they see and feel about art sparks my energy to create even more. Regardless of a persons’ religion, race, background, economic status, they can see something that I may never see. We can have a conversation about the same love of a painting, that may be the only thing we have in common. Art is the ultimate way of communication and can break down barriers, giving a voice to the artist that only a painting or work of art can express.

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

Show up! It is so important to attend art events, festivals, exhibitions in your community. You don’t have to buy things, just go and be there. Show artists that you appreciate their efforts and spread the word to others. Take someone that has never been to an art show before, or someone that has been to a hundred. Young, old, black, white, male, female, everyone can be an advocate to the arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jadetamaski.com/
• Instagram: jadetamaskiart
• Facebook: jadetamaskiart

Image Credits
All my photos :)