Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly Angelovic. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kelly, 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?

For more than a decade now, I’ve been a working artist. My art has been featured on products sold all over the world: greeting cards, fabric collections, ceramics and dishware, calendars, puzzles, day planners, and more. I’ve worked with lots of big (and not so big) name companies. As any artist will tell you though, the creative life is full of ups and downs (we’re not in it for the stability). So of course, from time to time, I do wonder what it would be like to throw in the towel and get a job with a reliable paycheck and stellar health insurance. There is an element of self-masochism to being an artist too. It’s right there in the job description, that I will need to tap into the most authentic (tender) parts of myself (because that’s where my best work will come from), and then offer my creations up to the world for judgment.

{Look, I made this. What do you think?}

And yet, I can’t imagine doing anything else. Creativity flows in my blood and lives deep in my bones. I work with fellow artists as a coach too, and I often wish that I had a wand I could wave to grant ‘success’ to all who identify as ‘creative.’ Artists are idealists. We believe in the good of the world, that magic is real, and we just want to make things better and more beautiful. When I consider the many difficulties our world is facing (that my children are facing), I believe it’s the creative thinkers with empathetic hearts who will get us out of this mess.

The world needs more artists, not less. Plus, we’re color aficionados. Chartreuse. Ochre. Vermillion. The world will not only be better for it, but color coordinated too.

Kelly, 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?

Of course. I’m an artist and creativity coach hailing from Boulder, Colorado where I live with my husband, our two kids (ages 9 & 11), a dog named Rooster, and a hamster named Tiger. Specializing in painting, hand-lettering and surface design, I also play with editorial work and book illustration.

When I’m not painting or drawing, I get to work with my fellow artists as a coach. Helping creatives thrive, by tapping into their own authentic power is some of the most rewarding work I do.

Back at the beginning, I majored in business at the University of Colorado. A few years after graduating, my husband and I moved from Colorado to Seattle where I went back to school to study Graphic Design (at the School of Visual Concepts).

In 2008, I established my creative studio and I haven’t looked back. My client list includes Scholastic, Studio Oh!, Papyrus, Hallmark, Penguin Random House Publishing, Calypso Cards, American Greetings, Pier 1, Tag Ltd., Workman Publishing, Amber Lotus Publishing, Better Homes & Gardens, Windham Fabrics, Cost Plus World Market, Design House Greetings, and many more.

I am grateful every day (even the hard ones) to have the opportunity to follow the whispers (and bellows) of my heart and soul. When I’m not playing in my studio, I can usually be found out in the mountains, adventuring with family and friends.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Being an artist is a deeply fulfilling way to live a life but it can also be very isolating. Don’t go it alone. Find a group of fellow writers to meet with once a month, to share your work and keep you accountable. Start your own abstract painters club so you have people to celebrate with when you sell your first painting (and to commiserate with when you get yet another rejection letter). Marinate in the seasoned wisdom of a mentor. Hire a coach to help you find clarity and direction. Share your work with other artists artists–and not just the shiny polished version, but the messy in-progress work too. You will feel less alone, be more accountable, and your work will be better for it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The interesting thing about being an artist is that many of the opportunities for growth and healing that we face in our everyday lives show up in our creative work. Choosing the life of an artist is often choosing to come head-to-head with our deepest limiting beliefs. Talk about resilience. One that has been popping up lately for me, is ‘No one is going to notice anyway.’ It is insidiously automated and I barely notice when it’s looping in the background.

There is a book project that I have been working on for the past six months or so, and lately my progress has been… sluggish. So I decided to take a closer look. First step, with heaps of compassion and self-awareness, I focused on ‘noticing.’ I observed my thoughts and feelings whenever I thought about, or talked about, or sat down to work on this book project. Often, it happened so quickly that it was actually the resulting feeling that I was able to recognize first–the dejection that would immediately follow this limiting belief that…’no one is going to notice anyway.’

Turns out, this thought was running through my head waaay more often than I realized. Every time I recognized the feeling though (and the associated limiting belief), I had the opportunity to reframe my thoughts. I would ask myself, “But why NOT me?”

Yes, I could have gone with: “I’m amazing, and everyone is going to love this book!!!!!!” I needed something more accessible though, something that wasn’t such a stretch–an opening with the implied thrill that anything is possible.

“But why NOT me?”

Every time I use this reframe, I feel an expansion, a shift out of frustration and into possibility. The thing about limiting beliefs is that they are patterned responses that we picked up somewhere along the way–and they aren’t true. Left unattended and looping in the background though, they will affect our actions and energy, and eventually they can (will) become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Resilience to me is committing to showing up and doing the work, come what may. So here I am. Showing up. Doing the work. And (hopefully) becoming a truer, more whole version of myself with every step.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kellyangelovic.com
• Instagram: @kellyangelovic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyAngelovicIllustration

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