We were lucky to catch up with Kelly Terrell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

Appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I encourage healthy risk-taking with my young clients and own children regularly, but it took me a solid two years to practice what I preach. The biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving a job that supported our family financially with a steady paycheck, health insurance, and a discount on childcare. On paper, it was crazy to leave, but I was unhappy, broken, and exhausted.

At that time, I was teaching early childhood education art at my children’s preschool and truly making a difference. I wholeheartedly believe that because I put everything I had into those kids and my colleagues. That’s the funny thing about teaching and naturally connecting with children—you give them a part of you. After simultaneously serving at an administrative level through all the COVID decisions and protocols, teaching, and raising a two- and four-year-old, I felt the life draining from my body. But it made sense to stay. It made sense to stay strong and positive for everyone else. It made sense financially. I had taken on my extra “side hustle” in the studio to help support my son’s early autism diagnosis, so I was spread very thin. It’s amazing what a mother can and will do for her family with no awareness of what it’s doing to her.

I was either in denial or terrified about making a decision come July of 2020. I had a child starting kindergarten during COVID—virtual kindergarten. So, I made the decision to leave my steady job to navigate being self-employed and available to do whatever the heck COVID kindergarten meant. Honestly, it took a couple of years to feel confident and validated in my own household. ADHD artists aren’t the first people you trust with major business and life changes… at first. Art is so much of who I am, which sounds cheesy, but it’s the fire that ignited the fight inside me to hustle like a creative entrepreneur. I will be successful. I will make an impact. But this time, I will focus on myself first to inspire those around me. I fought the pressure to “just get a job,” follow the right algorithm, and create what sells. What I’ve learned from taking major risks as a creative is that if I mess up, it’s usually an opportunity to re-create or re-work it into something innovative.

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

I graduated with a BA in Fine Arts with a concentration in sculpture from Auburn University and studied in Florence, Italy. In college, I was Vice President of my sorority for two years and created the Association of Visual Arts at Auburn, so I’ve always had public programming and creative collaboration in my blood. From gallery assistant and docent to intern and teaching assistant, I fell in love with art museum programming immediately. The Frist Center was my first part-time job out of college, but I’ll never forget the feeling of accepting a full-time job in Cheekwood’s Education Department. I drove to a botanical garden and art museum to create classes and programming for temporary and permanent art and garden exhibitions. It didn’t feel real. I loved that we were working on something new all the time. The non-profit world will definitely teach you some things. After eight years at Cheekwood, I negotiated my way into a teaching job at Belle Meade Children’s Center and got my daughter into the school I had no chance of getting off a waitlist. I knew it was the right move when my boss said, “I don’t know how to do what you do, so I’m not going to micromanage you. I will support and trust you, so don’t let us down.” Challenge accepted.

I learned more about myself as an artist, teacher, person, and mother while working that job for five years. I figured out how to be a new mother there, really connected to those kids like they were my own, and became a mom of two during that time. That’s core memory stuff right there. I also discovered the world of autism then, and those colleagues/teachers recognized, supported, and were there for us as we figured out what the heck to do with that diagnosis. Neurodiversity is a huge part of our lives and my studio, so it must be celebrated in the chapters of Kelly Terrell Art. After leaving BMCC, I worked my tail off getting families into that empty studio to make a business out of a natural gift and purpose. (No pressure—making a livelihood and job out of a natural talent is a different kind of stress level.) The stress has melted away, I am energized by my work and clients, and I can really connect with these young artists.

My cozy studio has hosted almost 8 years of creating custom, core memory canvases I call “Kid Art Commissions”, and I am so proud of it. I’m so proud of the families who show up, trust me, and pour into their kiddos regularly to see their creativity and temperaments unfold on the canvases. It’s a special community and safe space.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Honestly, being a person. Not like, “just be you!” That’s also true, but remember the power of human interaction, face-to-face conversations and tangible visuals. I love learning new things. The more random, the better. My “Special Skills List” is epic, but after my year-and-a-half deep dive into all things algorithms, platforms, and monetizing, I’ve drawn a hard line in the sand. While it is available and mostly extremely effective, I don’t like it. It doesn’t bring me joy- haha! Why would I create a job for myself that I don’t like doing?

I’m channeling the coffee meetings, collaborating with others in real life, volunteering, and pop-ups to support local businesses. Recommendations from a mom text chain or friend have a greater impact than a social media post I scheduled three months ago. So, if there’s one thing you take away from this: share and support the small businesses you love with your friends. The more grassroots, the better.

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

As a family with invisible disabilities, resilience is a daily practice. I don’t say this for pity but to advocate for parents walking similar paths. It’s crucial to acknowledge the physical, emotional, and mental demands this journey places on parents and siblings. It’s not fair to just smile through the struggle and try not to inconvenience the neurotypical majority. The weight of navigating these complexities is hard to put into words, so I’m finding Kid Art Commissions serve as their own version of art therapy (for me , the kids creating, and their parents watching.)

Resilience, for me, means learning to recognize my strengths and build up my weaknesses. It means finding the right people to support me and my business. Hiring my studio manager, Olivia, was the best personal and professional decision I’ve made for Kelly Terrell Art. Bringing Iris Financial on board to handle and teach me the bookkeeping and reporting side of the business has been worth every penny. I’m proud to work with them and support other mothers. The same applies to collaborating with my children’s therapists. Shifting my perspective from “resilience” to “impact” has been powerful and makes me better at my job. It’s not just about surviving the hard days—it’s about creating a collaborative, thriving village around us and teaching each other. I’m building something impactful for my family, my clients, and myself. That’s how I’m moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kellyterrellart.com
• Instagram: @kellyterrellart
• Facebook: @kellyterrellart

Image Credits

Chelsea Roc | chelsearochelle.com
Molly Wantland | simplymphotography.com