COMMUNITY STORIES: JESSICA KIMES
While living in Boone, I was constantly in awe of creation around me. Mountain ranges, sunsets, foothills, farmland, streams, and rivers were all captured in paintings.
Then when I moved in with my cousin during COVID at the beach, my art started reflecting that. Suddenly the blue ridge turned into blue water as I captured the ocean and island life.
When I moved to Spain after college, where vast open landscapes were somewhat limited, my art style adapted. I started incorporating city scapes, cars, churches, and historic landmarks into my paintings.
I've been capturing the beauty and history of the cities. While I still love my mountain sunsets, it's been really neat seeing how my background and environment have played such a huge role in what I create.
I was a sophomore in college with a love of watercolors, and my friends told me I was pretty good, so I slowly started practicing more and more. As I got connected with Student-Made, I learned what it looked like to actually turn my passion into a business.
It's been 6 years of painting and my style has changed quite a bit. I focus on painting landmarks of small towns, turning the town designs into a variety of products including mugs, coasters and can coozies.
My first boss out of college started several businesses, and getting to work for them as Marketing Director really opened my eyes to the possibility of truly having an art business that could be successful.
I learned a lot in college being a part of Student-Made. For the first time, it felt like someone saw my art, they saw the heart behind the pieces, and told me "this is good, you could make a business out of this."
I'm very thankful that Lindsay and Ryan did just that. I've been able to grow my art from a side hobby to a business bringing in consistent revenue every month. Could not be more thankful for the support along the way!
I used to get so down on myself every time I would go weeks without painting. I knew it was something I loved and that brought me peace, so I couldn't explain why I struggled so badly with finding the desire and time to paint.
A huge mindset shift I had recently totally changed the way I see creativity and operate as a creative…realizing that being creative isn't just about painting.
But then I realized, I was creative every time I cooked, put a playlist together on Spotify, or created new marketing strategies. I was creative in my friendships, thinking of new ways to show my love and care for my friends.
Creativity isn't just for my spare time when I'm painting, but it's part of who I am as a person. Even my Instagram now captures that as I'm finally sharing all parts of my creative adventures, not just my art, which has opened up the door for me to so many great connections for my art business!
I had the privilege of being part of the first campus team which meant we were able to figure things out together and help so many student-creators!
It allowed me to practice business by marketing the events, stocking up on supplies, setting prices, engaging with customers, laying out a table, and packaging materials.
Starting an art biz can feel so scary and intimidating, but having others around you hyping up your Instagram posts and congratulating you on sales was life-giving, and continues to be to this day.
Student-Made gave me a community that encouraged me, challenged me, taught me, and ultimately shaped me to be the creative businesswoman I am today. I hope I'll be able to inspire others and encourage them in their journey of creativity.
