1. Hi Connie! Please tell us a little about yourself.
Hey Miss Brandi!! It's a fabulous pleasure to be here...hanging out with the original Joy Rebel herself! Super, super cool! I love your blog, your photography, and the Creative Juicy way you look at life. You are a HUGE inspiration to me...so imagine how giddy I was when you asked for an interview! Thanks so much.
Well, my name is Connie Hozvicka and I am the Artist and your Guide to the Creative Juicy Life over at my blog Dirty Footprints Studio. I just finished hosting the Creative Dig Workshop in Cleveland, Ohio with Christine Claire Reed of the blog BlissChick and the clay Artist Andrea LeBlond of Terra Vista Studios this past Saturday, September 26th and I'm already planning more fun and exciting ways to spread the Creative Juicy Life into the world! That's basically my deal...and oh yeah, during the day I teach Art to kiddos in grades K-8 which keeps me immersed in all that raw creative energy.
2. Do you mind sharing about your art journey? When and how did you start creating art?
I'm pretty sure I've been painting since I was in diapers! I have an old, torn and falling apart, manilaenvelope full of childhood drawings and paintings...and even rubbings from the old Fashion Plates--do you remember those? Along with that I have a huge portfolio--made from leather--with my high school and Art school endeavors. And now, the real life Dirty Footprints Studio in Phoenix, Arizona is filled with my latest paintings and drawings. Basically that's my proof that Art and Creativity has been a major part of my life since birth.
Though, the sweetest part of my Art journey is that I accidentally fell into teaching when I was 19 years old and was hired to be a visiting Artist at an elementary school...ever since then, I have shared my love for Art and passion for Creativity with others through teaching at the Cleveland Museum of Art and various Art organizations. Years ago I went back to college and got my Art Education license and have been teaching full time ever since! I find this process of helping others unleash their Creativity is one of the greatest vitamins any Artist can take!
3. How do you deal with doubt and fear if they come up around your art?
That's a great question, and one that I am always learning the answer to. This past Summer I created a body of paintings that is unlike any body of work I've created before. I keep putting on my list of things-to-do that I will post them on Dirty Footprints Etsy and Dirty Footprints Studio...but funny, that task keeps getting pushed back. I like to think it's that I simply do not having enough time, but the truth is it's fear that holds me back from sharing them with the world.
I don't have much fear when it comes to creating Art. I think that is because I have lots of experience in facing my creativity in that fashion--I know that bad Art is all a part of the process and I don't get too down on myself when the work I create sucks! (ed: lovelovelove this lesson!) But its that putting myself out there I struggle with sometimes. So how do I deal with it? Mostly I just fake it! I fake that I have so much confidence in posting my work, until I feel comfortable with its place in this Beautiful Big World, then it's all good. Yeah, like one of my favorite Yogis-- Baron Baptiste, says: "Fake it until you make it...and you'll make it."
4. What does joy mean to you and how do you stay connected to it?
Ohhh...another good question Brandi! Joy. Joy. Joy!!
Joy to me is a lot like that feeling of being in water--especially the ocean. When I find myself in San Diego or Costa Rica, I love to surf, boogie board, and throw myself full force into a wave. It's a little nutty, I know, but more then being in control of the wave I love when I fall off my board and get sucked into the heart of the tide. Joy is that feeling of letting go and being swallowed by the great power of Mother Nature herself. I found that's the only safe and sure way to get yourself out of the ocean's grip and out of the pull of your mind as well.
Joy to me is letting go into the belly of the Universe and becoming one with the tide of my own life's journey. When I allow myself to do this completely, joy always overwhelms me with her beautiful presence.
5. If you had one piece of advice or lesson to share with us, what would it be?
Work less and have more fun! (ed: a-freaking-men to that!) This is a big lesson I've been learning lately. It may seem at first that you are making it harder on yourself by squeezing in fun, where maybe you should be attacking a necessary task or chore, but seriously...I always have more energy and positive Creative Juiciness flowing through me to finish my work, when I just refueled myself with some good ol' fashion F-U-N! Try it a few times, and you'll see for yourself. Promise. I give you the Dirty Footprints Guarantee!
photo credit: Connie Hozvicka
6. Anything coming up that you'd like to share with us?
Yes!! I have lots of things cooking actually. Expect more fun and inspiration to be coming your way in the next few months from Dirty Footprints Studio to help you live your own Creative Juicy Life and unleash the Artist inside you! Another workshop is definitely on the horizon, along with finally some e-courses, and some Creative Juicy collaborations with a few other fabulous Creative bloggers! I hope you will join me!
Thanks again Brandi for giving me this opportunity to share my Creative Juicy Life with you and your Joy Rebellion brigade! Big hugs! Peace & Love.
Thank you Connie for sharing. I am so inspired by your creativity and how you share your creativity with the world. I am thrilled you stopped by!
4 comments:
Grrrrrrrrrrrrreat interview to be reading to start my day! I picked up a book on my recent journey to my home state of OHIO called 'Kitchen Table Wisdom' by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD filled with healing stories. I quickly read it intending to pass it on to my sis and Mom, but wrote down just one quote about joy from it for myself to keep and it goes right along with what Connie said: "Joy seems to be a part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back because life may not meet our preferences and expectation. Joy seems to be a function of the willingness to accept the whole and to show up to meet with whatever is there. It has a kind of invincibility that attachment to any particular outcome would deny us. Rather than the warrior who fights toward a specific outcome and therefore is haunted by the specter of failure and disappointment, it is the lover drunk with the opportunity to love despite the possibility of loss, the player for whom playing has become more important than winning or losing."
Thought of it immediately when Connie spoke of boarding and falling into a wave. :)
Brandi and Connie together = one very large joy bubble!!
I love the idea of "fake it until you make it" -- that's sort of what I've been doing this last week...just playing and having fun and liking what I'm creating. The more I do it the more I feel like it's coming naturally again.
Thanks to both of you for being such amazing inspirations!
Joy Rebel and Dirty Footprints, together at last! I love both of you. You are both great examples of living authentically.
Connie, thank you for the great reminder about having fun. Work less and have more fun! AMEN!
Best of luck in your upcoming Creative, Juicy pursuits!
Another great interview, Brandi!
Connie,
Awesome to read your story here! I'm especially moved by how you've described being connected to joy is like an ocean wave. I completely felt this force of Mother Nature, and how it in your words! Wow!! Joy is pretty awesome!!
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