I have experienced many of the same experiences that you write about,
having left a business of 15 years that was successful to venture out into
the world of fine art education. I always believed what so many wrote
about, that if you love what you're doing, you never work a day in your
life. I wanted to see for myself.
When I left the brokerage my partner wanted to commit me to the mental
institution. Said I was crazy and would be flat broke in no time. I just
knew I had to follow that dream and take all the things I love in life and
put it into a business. Not only did he believe me crazy, so did everyone
else. I became the joke. I had so many negative comments, it made it that
much tougher to fight against. Well, to make a long long story short, I
have survived, I took that dream and actually created a place in the world
for it.
Yes, I made a million mistakes, and hopefully learned from them all. I
have been stolen from, cheated on, lied to and thrown out of places. But,
as Og Mandingo wrote in the Greatest Salesman, "persist till
you succeed!" Now there have been many times I cried and made myself sick
at my stomach, but persisted I did.
I am a long way from where I want that dream to take me, but I trust
now in following my instincts and acting on them. You, Barbara, are one of those
instincts.
ArtSmart Kids started as a dream and we now have many
instructors in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. I have recently agreed
to a test market with a national chain where I will be training their
instructors to teach the "ArtSmart Kids" program. Our classes
are taught in daycare centers, afterschool programs, YMCA's, Boy and Girl
Clubs, summer camps, retirement centers, performing art centers and retail
businesses. Over 90 percent of our business comes from parents paying for
the fine art class. Other are from grants.
My dream is still the same to touch as many children and adults with
the love of creative expression through fine art. Our weekly projects
include sculpting, pottery, watercolors, pencil drawing, pastels, oil
pastels, acrylics, mosaics, and more. We change mediums weekly, to give
children an opportunity to experience as much as possible before they
reach of dreaded age of "I CAN'T."
I have still so much to learn, and have decided to start asking
experts. I will be in Nicaragua in January 2001 to work with
Children in an orphanage and schools there. There is no lack of interest,
no lack of teachers to train, just lack of knowledge on my part as how to
put it all together.
Thanks for taking the time to read this message, I respect what you
have done. I have to tell you, Barbara, sometimes it gets a little lonely
out here with no one to particularly share my interest or understand my
drive. But I have some wonderful pictures of children that have given their
hearts and soul to their projects.
Editor's note: A email update from Debra in
August 2001 reported that she was teaching children the ArtSmart Kids program on
cruise ships.
Copyright © 2000-2008
by Barbara Brabec
All Rights Reserved
Barbara Brabec's World
BarbaraBrabec.com
