Some of you are new here! Welcome 💞My name is Jay and I'm an Artist!🎨 After suffering burnout and work trauma within the corporate world, I decided to lean into my talents and paint full time.
It was an easy decision, but the process-perhaps not so much.
Being in a male dominated space in a "fast paced environment" made me constantly feel inadequate even when I was technically doing well. Constantly worrying about a dream that wasn't mine was soul crushing, especially when I knew I had my own.
Being in a space where I constantly felt like I wasn't doing enough or doing the right thing literally rippled into my day to day life. I truly felt like I wasn't good enough for the life I wanted.
I saw a life waking up, not to the sound of an alarm, but at a time where my body felt comfortable waking up. I saw an easy morning where I had a slow breakfast and a soul-nourishing workout. The rest of my day, I had envisioned, would be filled with creating beautiful art and networking with brilliant artists. But the beliefs I had being a part of the corporate world excluded me in my mind's eye from having this.
Now this isn't to say the corporate world is terrible overall (it may well be but who am I to make that judgement?), But it certainly wasn't for me.
I had a colleague remind me that my worth wasn't in my work, but who I was in my heart. That really set me off in the right direction.
Deciding to paint full time has completely changed my outlook on life. I feel more capable, I feel less anxious that my time is my own. I also have the space to tap into my intuition a lot more than I've ever practiced. I'm really loving this part the most I think. Today I had a loose idea of getting to a place at a specific time, but ran late. I didn't have to beat myself up. I just relaxed into the fact that my day started a little later than intended. I ended up meeting someone on the train with very similar interests and we had a really meaningful interaction around our Spiritualities. It was really wholesome. Certainly something I wouldn't have experienced if rushing in early with the alram-woken masses on an 8am train.
It's also helped me to lean into what I love to do most- inspire women to bring out their most creative selves. Whenever I post art, or talk about my life, I'm able to do it so much more openly and heart-centred. Nothing feels as sarky or pointed these days. It feels a lot more free and easy, and as a result I can see that people around me are feeling inspired. More now than ever am I talking to people who are eager to leave the rat race and follow their creative dream. It's so beautiful to see. I also think it's how we'll escape and break this matrix... But more on that another day!
I'm currently selling prints and original artwork, which has always been in my repertoire, but since having the mental space to just create, I've poured my passion into different ideas. What I'm excited about most right now is the workshops I've started: Mindful Sip and Paints!
I've created a Sip and Paint for Women to relax and create without expectation of being good, or perfect. Being good and perfect has plagued me for my life, lead to burnout, anxiety and eating disorders. It's literally caused havoc in my life, so sharing art through a workshop with Women who are ready to step into their highest selves seemed right.
I've created a two hour workshop where we enjoy a Cacao Ceremony with Ceremonial Grade Peruvian Cacao, and I provide gentle prompts to create beautiful and meaningful abstract art together.
One woman from the last class said: " (I) Loved the sip and paint with cacao evening and sister circle with Jay ❤️. Jay has the most nurturing energy and set up a beautiful space. I loved the intuitive painting prompts and will be trying these again myself soon. The whole evening was so thoughtfully organised with little canvases and easels, loved it!"
My workshops focus on Spiritual Wellness and creative expression- the most important things that have helped me survive and thrive through burnout. If this sounds like something you'd like to experience, here's the details for my next workshop:
✨Thursday 25th May
7-9pm
Brixton, Neter Ma'at Centre @netermaatcentre (49 Effra Road, The Link)✨
And you can book your tickets with the link in the bio!