Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Suzi Balamaci. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Suzi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I love this question because it’s one I often ask myself, A LOT. The real answer is I don’t know, and I am not sure I still really know. My mom has always told me that I loved to sit and work with crayons from a young age, even when I was in a high chair. From that point forward my mom saw that I had a propensity for drawing, and she was always encouraging me to practice that skill. She enrolled me in private art classes as early as elementary school and from that point on, art always had a strong hold on me. I can’t ever remember not drawing or being creative in some way to keep myself engaged in the world around me. I excelled in my art classes throughout grade school. This boosted my confidence to practice drawing even more, and people around me were reinforcing that for me. I decided when I went to college that studio art would be my major. I really wanted to major in something that I knew I was good at, and I knew I could spend a lot of time doing. So, learning the craft in college didn’t feel like such a hurdle for me, even though it felt different and more serious than what I had been doing up until that point. There is so much noise out in the world about doing what your passionate about, and I understand that message. But doing what your good at, tapping into your actual skills seems just as important. I think that’s what I did, or that that is what compelled me, initially. And if I am being honest, I was a combination of nonplussed and disheartened graduating college with a Studio Art Degree. It left me ill-prepared on how to make it as fine artist in the real world. I feel thankful in my later life that I discovered a three-year program at an atelier that really set me up for success with hard skills for the fine art world, and instilled in me the belief that you really can make it as an artist.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I didn’t start taking “getting into the industry” of art making seriously until I was in my late 20’s. I had started a pet portrait business in the late 90’s and that lasted for a a couple of years until I got pregnant with my first son. Painting was put on the back burner for about 20 years to raise my three kids. I came back to painting around the age of 50 when my boys could all fend for themselves. It felt like riding a bike or skiing, once you learn how to do it you simply don’t forget. You might be a little rusty and need some practice but it does all come rushing back to you. I was lucky at that time to decide to invest in a three-year master artist program which really propelled me in so many ways and I learned even more than I had in my college program, especially the business skills you need to have or at least know about to get you closer to whatever goal it might be you have as a fine artist. Learning those skills is crucial, putting them into action is a whole other ball of wax.
I am an artist but I am also a mother of three teenage boys, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. Juggling my art practice and my mom practice can be challenging but both are also incredibly rewarding. It can be a real dilemma for me because I get such satisfaction and reward from both occupations. I certainly cannot speak to discipline, because I am still learning different ways of implementing that skill into my practice. I am learning to be kinder to myself and to do what I can, when I can. I have had some excellent advice from other fellow artists to just go into my artistic space and do something. Maybe I could just sit and stare at an empty canvas or an old painting, or put a coat of varnish on something I have been meaning to, clean my space, and I love those suggestions and I haven’t taken them lightly. Because the truth is no matter what I am doing during that time, I am being creative and I am being an artist. It’s not always a paint brush to canvas.
When I am painting, I enjoy seeking out the exhilaration and energy of a scene and capturing them in my painting. My exploration is in the spirit and motion that happen in an instant. I love observing people and experiences. It is within every detail, every line, and every snapshot of time and place that I am inspired to hold onto these moments and capture them on canvas. One thing I feel focused on is being an honest and sincere painter and paying attention to what that means to me. I am a David Bowie fan and he said (and I am paraphrasing here) something about creating art and you initially starting your journey because there is something inside of you that you want to share with the rest of the world and understand more about yourself. I am trying to do that with the work I create. It genuinely feels like something inside of me that I want to share and maybe learn more about who I am as well.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Agency. When I go to my studio, I love knowing that I will be taking action, and whatever that action might be it will have an outcome. I might be painting, mixing color, looking at source material, cleaning brushes, sending emails, or entering a show, but whatever action I am taking has a result and while it doesn’t mean the result is always unicorns, butterflies and rainbows, I love that feeling. It’s progress, moving forward, being unapologetically me – my art gives me that, and I’m grateful for it.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I feel like there are a few lessons or more like stories I tell myself I have had to unlearn, or I am still working at unlearning. A big one is undermining my own success; I am still working on that. I try to remind myself that no matter how big the success feels or how small it is, it is important for me to acknowledge that there would have been nothing to be excited about had I not started my painting journey. I am not sure why it is a common story we tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough, but it seems to be a theme in my artists groups I am a part of, it ebbs and flows, but it is nice to be able to work on these hurdles together. Speaking of artists groups, another thing I have had to unlearn is telling myself that everyone else has it figured out, and somehow, I don’t. The group of artists I have surrounded myself with, who are incredibly kind and supportive, are all in the same boat I am in. No one has it figured it out. Finally, (and I am sure there are plenty more) is learning to trust your gut as an artist, but to also know when to challenge and scare yourself a little bit. I started out painting as a realistic painter and was completely comfortable painting that way – and probably would have continued on that path, but my instinct was telling me to paint more painterly and not as tight. I am so glad I embarked on that journey in my master artist program because it really unboxed a joy for painting that felt less like a job. I started having more fun and that fun is what propelled me to create more.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.suzibalamaciart.com
- Instagram: @suzibalamaciart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzibalamaciart