We recently connected with Susan Carmen-Duffy and have shared our conversation below.

Susan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The world can be a very challenging place. According to research negative thoughts, occupy our attention more than positive ones. 95% of our thoughts are repeating. Those statistics are overwhelming!

I consider myself a cheerleader for others. As someone who has been challenged by depression most of my life, I am keenly aware of the struggle that life can be. Negative thinking compounds that struggle.

I have had a project swimming in my head for five years or more. (There are so many it’s hard to prioritize sometimes.) After doing extensive research on how positive thinking and consciously flipping the script can be powerful and effective, I have created an affirmation deck. Each of the 52 cards has an image I have created and a positive sentiment I have written.

As I said, this project has been a hope for at least five years. I have started it 4-5 times and it never felt right. To be transparent I suppose I felt it wasn’t good enough, powerful enough, or just enough. (the irony is not lost here, right?) Then this past autumn, after having lunch with two of my favorite cheerleaders, I felt the need to sit down and work on it. I spent the next four days doing little else. At the end of those four days, in the wee hours of the morning, I sent the deck prepared for printing to my local printer for a test print. I was nervous, excited, and oddly confident. I felt as if I had done really good work. The art on the backgrounds had all been pre-scanned and the positive affirmations just flowed. I almost felt like I had to keep up!

About a week later, my test deck arrived. It was remarkable to see the work in a physical form. Some adjustments were made for the next test deck that arrived a few days later. At that point I was so excited, I doubled my order. I showed the deck to a few trusted friends and the reaction was exhilarating.

I released the deck at an open studio on November 2 of this year. That night I nearly sold out. I ordered another set of decks the next day and within ten days or so, I nearly sold out again. By the end of November, I placed a third order of these decks and quadrupled the original order.

I never anticipated the reaction to this project. Many people who originally purchased a deck or two have come back to purchase multiples. Some carry them with them to share with others, some have given the cards out individually when they feel someone needs an uplifting message. The way they have been received and utilized feels incredibly powerful to me and certainly nothing I could have anticipated. For me, this feels ordained somehow. It feels like I have just been the vessel to create something much larger than I could ever be.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always wanted to be an artist. My fondest and earliest memories have to do with art and writing. I think the about me page for the Create Art 4 Good website is helpful https://createart4good.org/about-the-founder/

I also think that one of the things that sets me apart is my card business. While Create Art 4 Good began 13 years ago, my card business – Greetings 4 Good is about seven years old. My cards serve the usual ways, but also and primarily for support. Birthdays are easy to remember, but remembering someone who just might need a little love or encouragement is more difficult. My website for greeting cards is – Greetings4good.org

The bottom line for me is that I do what I love but also pay it forward. From every sale I make a donation to a charity that I have carefully vetted. I want to help them serve the population that is part of their mission, not pay for a holiday party. There is not anything better than doing what you love and helping a fellow human.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being a creative feels like truly living who and what I am. In the past people have said to me, “You have mistaken that art is who you are as opposed to what you do.” I disagree. Art is who I am, what I do, and how I practice being the best human I can be. I use my creativity as a part of my spirituality, as a way to change the world, as a way to spread positivity.

Authentically being who I am empowers me to do more, and be more. Being able to create, share my work, and pay it forward to others feels like a huge gift.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid shut the world down. I had just moved to a new studio less than two weeks before quarantine. That could be devastating or perhaps an opportunity. It took me a bit to rally, but I did! I think boredom was one of the challenges people had. So one of the things I began doing was painting live on social media. I would set up cameras and begin a piece of art and then each week add to that piece. As a mixed media artist, it was easy to do! I began with a pre-sketch, then added watercolor, then colored pencil, then ink. I shared the entire process. This seemed to be exciting for artists and non-artists alike, Eventually, I offered prints of the piece – it was well received.

I also recognized that in covid celebrations were very difficult. So I offered hand-painted signs to help. I bought a bolt of muslin and then painted signs for birthdays, graduations, get well, all the things. My husband and I would mask up, and go out sometimes at midnight to install a sign in someone’s yard. They would wake up to a fun sign in their yard. It certainly gave a lift to celebrations. I created signs for my local area, but also shipped several even out of state!

Contact Info:

• Website: Createart4good.org Greetings4good.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susan_carmen_duffy_art/ https://www.instagram.com/greetings4good/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SACDArt/ https://www.facebook.com/Cards4Good/ https://www.facebook.com/cr8art4good/

Image Credits
Susan Carmen-Duffy