We recently connected with Mara Allison and have shared our conversation below.
Mara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
Though I wish I started earlier as an artist, I can’t ignore the fact that my circumstances for many years dictated my profession. I was a single mom who didn’t get child support for 14 years so I needed steady income to provide for my sons. I had to put their needs over my desires first. I did what I thought was best for my family based on the situation I was in and I have no regrets.
I was an art teacher for several years and initially, I thought that it would be enough to fill the creative void in me. But the longer I stayed teaching in the public school setting, the more I realized that it was actually draining my creativity. I never had time to make art. I had a box full of ideas that stayed in the box. I’ve since remarried and soon after we became empty nesters, we felt that it was the right time for me to pursue a career in art full time.
The path to becoming a full time artist was long and winding and had a lot of ups and downs. In the end, what’s important is that I’m an artist now and I still have many more years left in me to do what I love to do and for that I’m very thankful.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a professional ceramic artist and painter. My art journey began when as a young child in the Philippines, I joined summer art camps and workshops. However art was put on hold when I started a family in my early 20’s. The trauma of divorce and hardships of single motherhood brought me to the brink of despair, yet God remained faithful. God led me to a local church where I found a family of believers that showed me kindness and love. Around that time, my creativity also resurfaced. I explored ceramic workshops that reminded me of my God given gift for art making. Faith and art pulled me back to the path of healing.
I create commissioned and non-commissioned work that would live in homes that need artwork as conversation and statement pieces. When it comes to commissions, my art is one-of-a-kind and meaningful for my clients. I walk them through my process and do an in depth interview of their ideas and needs. Each commissioned piece is carefully made and inspired by concepts that stems from a collaboration with my clients.
I realized early on that my art is not for everybody and that is okay. My faith is a very important part of my everyday life, in my creativity and in my business. I cannot separate them from each other. And so I’m tremendously grateful for the people who support and purchase my work whether or not they align with my values. They see something in my art that speaks to them and that is such a gift.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I’m in an art mentorship business program called “Created To Thrive.” I wish I had found this program in the beginning of my journey as a full time artist. I’ve been in other pricey art business programs before and they all fall short in comparison to the” Created To Thrive” program.
“Created to Thrive” teaches a holistic way of approaching your art business. After I applied the concepts that I learned, I saw growth not only in my faith, my art skills but in the business side as well. My sales improved. I’ve also made lifelong friends who are in different parts of the country and the world. Having a community of creatives is so important to one’s growth as an artist. And just to be clear, I’m not being paid by the program to say positive things about it. I only know how hard it is to start a business as an artist so I often recommend the program to my artist friends because it has worked well for me.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
You have to be resilient when it comes to being an artist and it’s a never ending journey. I’ve paid to participate in expensive art fairs and just had one sale or months would go by where I sold nothing. I’m still here because I believe that I have been given unique abilities in sculpting and painting and it is my duty to share beauty in a world that could be at times very dark and hurtful. God is using my creativity and my art to show love to others. That to me is a worthy calling.
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Image Credits
Headshot by Crystal Patterson