We’re living such a beautiful dream, a dream that has become a reality. We are celebrating one full year of this beautiful adventure. Expressing our sincere gratitude will be challenging but we will try our best.
Our adventure began with us, two devoted homeschooling mamas with a desire to provide financial support for their families all while still having the flexibility to be present for their children and their community. We also wanted to do something we loved. For weeks that then turned into months our creativity led us through many possible paths to accomplish our newfound dream. Though we share many things in common, a major one stood out and that was our love for art. We had a foundation but we needed to narrow it down. We discussed many possibilities but we decided to be ambitious and try to accomplish many of them all revolving around art. While our main goal was to teach art to children.
Our first business meeting was at a park, we sat on the grass while our children happily played together. We had a big white paper, post-it notes, and markers ready to write down all of our ideas. We had so many! We were motivated and excited to begin our next steps. Since then, we've had numerous business meetings at parks, local coffee shops, and libraries. Supporting our local businesses is a priority for us. During each meeting, we imagine our future and plan for it.
We constantly joke about how we started AdventureArt with a zero-dollar budget. We couldn't afford art supplies or anything so we had to use materials from home and be creative with our resources. Susy has been incredibly generous with her art supplies and everything else. We slowly started investing money for registering our business, buying necessary supplies, getting our mailbox paid for 3 months, etc. It wasn't an easy start but somehow we made it. Each dollar we've made since has been put aside solely for our business. It's a sacrifice that has been difficult but necessary for our continued success.
We kicked off our first event in December of 2022 with our Yule Moon Market. We wanted to share our space with other artists because we believe in supporting others and their dreams. We are dedicated to building a community filled with like-minded people, and creatives filled with kindness. As we stood at our craft table making marbled ornaments with our guests we would take every opportunity we could to glance over to view the magic of it all. As the musicians gifted us the art of their talents our hearts felt joy. We couldn't believe the space we provided and the community we were building together. It was a magical night and it all felt like a dream.
Our first official class was free and we enjoyed our time making collages. Our start was slow but we steadied ourselves because we believed in our dream. Patience is something we grew to learn and appreciate. After our first class, we moved on to Art Pods, small and personalized classes. We had two dedicated and talented students join our first Art Pod, five in total counting our three children. We met at the park, our first art project was making tissue paper sun catchers and as we bravely fought the wind we all got a lot of sun catchers made with tons of laughter sprinkled in. It was a delight! We went home feeling accomplished and astonished for doing our first paid class. We quickly added an Art Pod for the littles, five artists under age seven, and again we met at a park, luckily no wind that time. One of the highlights with them was painting with ice sculptures. Spending that time with both Art Pod students fueled us to continue on this path. We enjoyed spending that precious time with the young artists and learning many things about them. To us, it's about building connections with all those we have the honor to spend time with.
Summer came soon enough. We were hopeful and excited about our potential growth. We rented a fun space to teach our summer classes and it was a success. Our Exploration Tuesdays class was born! Our most popular class to date. Each week our class was filled with artists of ages 5 through 14. Our summer was unbelievably exciting. We worked with clay, made tie-dye, did sun prints, played endless rounds of Telephone, and much more. Friendships were formed. Connections were made. Soon, summer was over but the memories we made have yet to fade.
During fall a new chapter began and as the seasons changed AdventureArt did as well. Each season brought changes but all were aligned to our goals and dreams. We found an inspiring space to rent from The Coalition Space. Exploration Tuesdays became Exploration Thursdays. Each Thursday we meet in our space and fill it with art, games, and joy. Each week young artists return to enjoy the fun in our inclusive and child-led space. We treasure the time we spend together. Every week we make memories, lasting memories for us. Each child is exceptional. The more time we spend together the more we get to know them and that is a gift in itself. We have several students who run to us to give warm hugs, hugs are truly magical. With their adorable and excited voices, they call out our names, "Nancy, Susy!" Others ask for help and we gladly head their way. We're thankful they trust us to help them and be part of their lives.
Our most recent success was celebrating our 1st birthday with our 2nd annual Yule Moon Market. We had over 20 vendors join us which included some of our AdventureArt students. As we walked around each vendor's table we were both inspired and amazed. We're thankful for our dedicated and kind volunteers, without them our celebration wouldn't have been as successful. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers and vendors who joined us!
We are constantly challenging ourselves to step out of our comfort zone. Learning how to register a business, making endless videos for social media, updating our website, writing blogs, planning and executing our classes, learning to speak on a microphone during events, and everything in between. With each step, we learn and we strive to do our best. We are thankful to have each other on this beautiful journey. We can do it alone but doing it together is a gift all on its own.
We thought about how beautiful our dreams were but we never imagined how amazing it would feel to accomplish so much. However, we still have a long list of goals to accomplish but our success has been greater than we could have ever imagined. We'll continue to cross off more of our ongoing list with time, dedication, support, and love.
As we kick off another year of AdventureArt we are excited about everything that's yet to come. In the meantime, we know that many of our dreams are coming true and we couldn't do it without the wonderful support and love we've received. Thank you for being part of our adventure. We hope you continue this journey along with us.
Sincerely,
Nancy & Susy
AdventureArt
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