BEGINNINGS
In 2011 Nanci found her creative voice through discovering her own unique, free-flowing, playful and emotionally expressionistic painting techniques. When describing this time in her creative journey she says;
"It felt as if I had been digging for creative oil all of my life. And when I discovered this way of creating, I realized I had finally found a gusher.”
After about six months of spending 10-30 hours a week experimenting and “playing" with paints and a pallet knife, she was accepted into Got Art Gallery's Spring Fling show in 2012. In 2014 she began selling her art at fairs and art walks in Missouri and Kansas as well as giving private lessons to children and adults. In the winter of 2014 her work was featured on the cover of Baseline a Literary Arts Magazine.
CREATIVITY WORKSHOPS
Teaching private lessons also helped Nanci discover a broader scope of her gifts:
"When I first began sharing my art process with friends and family on a one-on-one basis, I quickly discovered the techniques I had developed on my own actually help other people discover, uncover and recover their own creativity. It is my heart’s desire to expose people to my creative process for the purpose of enriching their lives and helping them find their own creative gusher."
This lead Nanci to develop her own Creativity Workshops called Awaken the Artist Within which she teaches to children and adults.
WEARABLE ART, ARTS PUBLICATIONS, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
In 2015 Nanci began making and selling “wearable art” in the form of art pendants, which are mini-prints of full-size paintings. In 2015 she launched her website blog where she share the stories behind some of her artwork. In 2015 Nanci started an arts program at her church where she facilitates multidiscipline creative programs for the arts and the church at large including; an Arts in Prison Project, a Writer’s Club and an Arts & Crafts Club. In 2016 she was asked to create and facilitate a curriculum for participants in post-session artistic activities for a local Community Forum. In February of 2017 Nanci's first arts-related article which was published on artpeoplegallery.com. In this article, Nanci shares how she overcame roadblocks to find her creative voice.
DIGNITY + HOPE + BEAUTY
In January of 2018 Nanci began to develop her Dignity + Hope + Beauty Division which seeks to recognized the essential importance that beauty has in bringing nourishment and value to the human soul especially to the homeless, hospitalized, imprisoned, abandoned and abused. She is in the process of coming alongside organizations which are already reaching out with practical help and care to the homeless and the hospitalized (to start) to additionally offer the message of dignity, hope and beauty through arts and creativity in various forms. To learn more visit her D + H + B page or contact Nanci directly.
2020 HIATUS
During the whole calendar year of 2020, Nanci took a hiatus from the business and social media side of things to regroup, re-calibrate and refocus. This was an exciting time of discovery in order to leave behind some unfruitful activities and mindsets about business, creativity and purpose. She felt the Lord said to her, "Focus on simply being a light". This idea had unfortunately gotten berried under the practical/ business side of things. However, as she sought the Lord deeper about this, Nanci was able to make a correct connection between being a light and being a business woman.
"Thankfully I realized I had unknowingly taken on the "American" way of doing things which is to "serve the business" when in fact, the business is to serve the goals the Lord gives me which is to "be a light". Now, I look at everything related to business through this lens. The purpose of my business in not to generate an income. The purpose of my business is to be a light. And, in due course, the income will follow. This changes everything!!"
Now with the start of a new year (2021) she looks ahead with fresh eyesight, fresh ideas and is choosing to follow a different rhythm than before. A rhythm that is much slower than others around her but is in tune with the Lord's will and leading for her.