Good morning! I am very excited to share my sixth interview in the series ~ the Inspirational Blogger Interview.
Over the few years I have been reading and keeping my own blog there have been certain bloggers who have made a huge impact on me. Over the coming weeks I would like to share with you some of these inspirational people. This particular blogger is one of the most inspirational people I have come across online. Her words and photography blow me away and I am lucky enough to own one of her beautiful painted pebbles (one of many types of art she produces.) Without further a do, this weeks interview is with the very talented Kelly Clark:
Hi, thank you for agreeing to take part in my Inspirational Blogger interview! First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started on your creative journey?
Hello Hello! I am Kelly Clark and I live in a little house sandwiched between the edge of the redwood forests and the surf of the Pacific Ocean in Northern California. I am passionate about art in its myriad forms, finding art everywhere and in everything. I have been making art, quite literally, from the time I could hold a crayon but it was not until college that the AhHa moment happened and I realized Art was a viable career. Not only viable, but the only career I could imagine dedicating my life to. I graduated with a B.F.A. from San Jose State University, emphasis in Oil Painting, which is still my most fervent love. But as I worked, I came to realize that the thing most important to me was not the medium I worked in, but the message I was trying to share. It is my joy to translate that which I see, feel, experience into a piece, and my utter delight when that piece finds the exact person with whom it resonates. On any given day you can find me in the studio working in paint, leather or metal, music on too loud, tea pot on the bench, bouncing around in my little hive of energy.
How did you first find out about blogging and what made you decide to have a go?
You know, I think the very first blogs I found were cooking blogs while running recipe searches online. I became entirely enamored with a few of them, checking in constantly for new posts, a woman obsessed, but never commenting! When my husband and I moved out of California, away from all of our family and friends, I decided to start my own blog as a way to share our new life. That first month I was a blogging fiend with no discernment! Within six months I had found other bloggers with similar interests and was hooked. I’m blessed to say several of whom I now call my closest confidants. It’s such an amazing way to find other members of your tribe across the globe.
Has blogging had a positive affect on your creative success and the way you run your business?
Ouph, HUGELY! I have met a great number of amazing patrons through the blog world, and forging personal relationships with many of them has blessed me to no end. But perhaps the largest affect has been in the other artists I’ve met via the blog. We’ve been able to share with and encourage each other on the business side of things, from dealing with creative blocks to establishing pricing structures, learning communally along the way.
How has your blog developed since you began?
It has come a very long way but at the same time, no so far from it’s roots. I write about what I know, what I see, what I experience, and of course, what I make. I write more than I did at first, as the blog reawakened my life-long love of writing. I take many, many more photos, dragging my beloved Canon, Pierré, with me everywhere. I just get so excited about sharing! I think that has always been my central motivation behind the blog, and one I am continually honing. There is just so much beauty in this life and I just want to spread that love around!
What has been the best thing to come out of having your blog?
One of the very best things that has come from my blog has been a renewed faith in and a love for humanity. One and a half years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I talked about it and all my treatments sparingly on the blog, but I tell you true: blog readers came out of the woodwork to encourage and come alongside me on my journey. They sent emails, cards, care packages. They truly became my support group, the people I knew were pulling so hard and so earnestly on my behalf. It was endlessly amazing. Endlessly heartening. They helped me make it through. THEY were the best thing that has come from my blog. Hands down.
Can you leave us with one piece of advice for anybody who is just starting out in the blogging world or who would like to improve their blog?
I know there is a slew of advice on this out there, but I would say this: Be the best human being you can be. This does not mean every thing you write must be cheery, or pretty or anything of the sort. Not at all! It means you strive to write from an honest place in your soul. It means you share with authenticity. It means you put out into the world that which you hope to receive. It means that you treat your readers, your blog friends and the writers you read with respect and kindness. And who doesn’t need a little more kindness in their life?
Blog/Website/Flickr
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Kelly again for taking time out of her very busy schedule and answering my questions.
I hope this post has inspired you to enjoy your blogging or perhaps start a blog if you haven’t already!
