In this episode Jeanne is talking with artist, author, and business owner Mary Beth Shaw.
They talk about the journey Mary Beth traveled to go from corporate America to following her first love of art.
There have been hardships along the way but it has also lead to a life of art making, workshops, a successful business and many collaborations.
Hear from Mary Beth some of her advice to those just starting out and how to honor yourself along the way.
Episode Summary
On this episode Jeanne is talking with artist, author, and business owner Mary Beth Shaw. They talk about the journey Mary Beth traveled to go from corporate America to following her first love of art. There have been hardships along the way but it has also lead to a life of art making, workshops, a successful business and many collaborations. Hear from Mary Beth some of her advice to those just starting out and how to honor yourself along the way.
Episode Notes
Podcast 013 | Stencil Girl with Mary Beth Shaw
On this episode, Jeanne talks with Mary Beth Shaw, artist, instructor, and entrepreneur who went from a career in the insurance industry to launching Stencil Girl Mixed Media Stencil Company.
1:41 “I did come from a career in the insurance business for about 18 years. It was a big transition moving from insurance to art…different sides of my brain.”
2:52 “I was turning 40, and I said to my husband ‘I think I would like to quit my job for my 40th birthday’. I just had this strong urge to explore my creativity. So I just quit my job with no plan.”
7:13 “I was really arty up until the 8th grade and then I had this teacher who said ‘You are never going to make it as an artist.’ She said that right to me, and well of course I believed her.”
9:30 “Then as I looked back through my history, it was kind of interesting. My grandparents on both sides were entrepreneurs.”
10:29 “I really love to help people uncover their voice with what they are doing.”
11:56 “When I started the company I don’t think I really knew I was starting a company. I thought I was just selling stencils…”
12:47 “The hardest part of working full time with my husband is finding some sort of a separation, because when you have a business…it’s easy to get into that working 24/7 thing.”
20:36 “I’m standing there at a table with six stacks of stencils. I don’t have anything else: they’re not in containers, they’re not in folders, and I said ‘$14 each, six for $75. And they opened the doors, and 30 minutes later I was standing behind an empty table.”
23:09 “I think probably the biggest problem from the get go in this pandemic was me: it just felt so wrong to be promoting my company during this time. But then I realized we need to be making art to heal our own souls during this time.”
28:48 “I like somebody that has a voice, for sure, and a passion, and they’re going to share with others…”
34:18 “A long time ago, it hit me that I have a mission that’s twofold. It is to educate and create community, and then once I’ve done those things, the stencils virtually sell themselves.”
39:45 “My husband and I got to talking about how lucky we are, really, and how blessed, and how even though this horrible, horrible thing is going on I have this opportunity to connect with people worldwide, and to talk to them, and to maybe inspire them…”
42:28 “Meditation helps me so much with my own ability to make decisions. My husband helps me an awful lot; he’s a wonderful listener…and then I trust my gut.”
46:15 “If I wasn’t running Stencil Girl…this is so strange because I don’t even have the skillset for this job, but I’d love to be a dancer, a flamenco dancer.”
Mary Beth Shaw worked in the insurance industry for 18 years before she quit her job in 2000 to re-ignite a childhood love of art. Since then she has spent all her waking hours exploring life as a painter working in mixed media, primarily acrylic, encaustic and collage. She initially put in lots of hours as a road gypsy, exhibiting at outdoor art fairs and selling as many as 300 paintings in one very blurry year. She transitioned into being a workshop instructor in 2008 and finds pleasure helping students find their own voice as a painter. Her personal creative process is a dance between spontaneity and intent; she finds great joy in the physical act of painting and looks at her best work as a gift from a higher power. She welcomes mistakes because they so often provide a delightful detour into new territory. She is author of Flavor for Mixed Media and Stencil Girl, is a columnist for Somerset Studios Magazine and a Golden Artist Educator. She is the founder of StencilGirl® Products, LLC and StencilGirl Studio.
My Books: Flavor for Mixed Media
: Mixed Media Techniques for Making and Using Stencils
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