Tell All Tuesday ~ Featured Artist: Chelsea St.Pierrre

Hi guys, it's nearly 12am here and I've just walked in expecting to go straight to bed without doing a TAT today because I hadn't any interviews for you when Chelsea emailed me, complete with her interview, on my way home. So thank you Chelsea for keeping the series going as I've always said that once the participation for these interviews drops then so will the feature. It is a shame as hearing other peoples stories is SO inspiring, but it is because I get a LOT of interest but only a percentage of the interest transcends into interviews, which happens in anything and is only natural. However when I get a long enough period where interviews are not completed I'm not going to be running round badgering people, or even slightly bothering them, for interviews; so this is fair warning to anyone that wants to be featured & also forewarning for those that enjoy reading these interviews that they might not be around much longer (in which situation though there is something happily that you can do - get the word out to your arty friends & it may help keep them running =) ). So now the 'housekeeping' side of the interviews is done let's get on being inspired while we do still have an artist with a story to meet, take it away Chelsea:

Tell us a little bit about yourself & what kind of artist you are.

My Name is Chelsea St.Pierrre! I live happily with my husband ( whom I met on a bus in London 8 years ago!) and 2 beautiful daughters Armelle 7 and Erin 3. I was born and lived most of my formative young life on the Caribbean Twin island of Trinidad & Tobago. I came to London nearly 15 years ago and have lived here since. I am happy that Art discovered me later in life, it caught me when I most needed to be kind to myself...

I am considered a Visual Artist. I paint mainly with acrylic and often in the form of Mixed Media and 3D. I live happily under a creative umbrella and dance with art journaling, water colour, zendoodle, making altered jewelry, handmade cards, you name it.....I will try my creative hand at anything under this umbrella

What is the biggest challenge you personally face as an artist and how do you overcome it?

Space and Time! I work around the needs of my family and this is a 24/7 job. I paint on our dinning table and craft in our spare room, which I now call my dry studio. However it can at times be a challenge as family meal times becomes strained, as I have to always unpack all my stuff, lay the table, eat, clear the table then put all my paint gear back on again. I am grateful to have that spare room, especially in London where space and spare are so rare! So I often invest time in daydreaming about my perfectly equipped Art Studio. I often paint or create at very odd hours - 4am or past midnight till wee hours in the morning, those hours are completely glorious, as it is totally quiet and I can really zone in. I overcome this by living in a state of GRATITUDE! I am so grateful to be doing what I love and it beings me joy beyond any imagination, it completely overrides the frustration I feel at times. Also, I am very clever and utilize space very creatively. ha ha!

What do I love most about art?

Well Jenny, this is my favorite question but one which I cannot give one answer:

• Art is my second family. It is the essence of me in ways that I cannot explain.
• I love it because I can always grow, there is always something to learn, a new technique or medium to try. The more I know and learn is the more I realise how much I do not know [ which is brilliant]. 
• It has the ability to catalog the stages of my journey as an artist, wife, woman, friend and mother as these are the areas that inspire me the most as artist [I am an emotional painter, it all comes from inside]
• Also I love being part of the Art community, it is a community where we share, support, encourage, grow, inspire, teach and befriend each other. Is there any other such community out there like ours?

What is your greatest personal achievement because of Art?

Beyond any doubt - finding purpose again. As I said Art discovered Me late in life. I worked as a mental health nurse and used art to de-stress on my days off. I was constantly surrounded by so much depression, anger, angst, suicide and self harming that I had to find a way to fill my life with colour, hope, beauty, positivity and preserve myself emotionally. Art took away all the dark and grey from my work life and replaced it with joy and vibrance. I loved my job as a nurse and chose it as a life long career, so when I had my first and second child I sustained an injury so bad it meant I had to eventually say goodbye to my life as nurse. It left me lost and angry..... all the hard years of study, then working in a career I was passionate about and making a difference. While I was happy to be home with my daughters in their young and baby stage, I had no idea what I was able to do. Then art saved me.... kindly note - I do not mean this in a fleeting sense...I mean ART SAVED ME!!! It pulled me out of a dark place and gave me purpose again! It breathe fresh life into me and now at 38 years old I can call myself an Artist!

Tell us where can we find out more about you & your art?

BLOG-Chelsea Art Designs

FACEBOOK-Chelsea Art Designs, YOU TUBE-Chelsea Art Designs, TWITTER-Chelsea Art Designs, PINTEREST-Chelsea Art Designs, FLICKER-Chelsea Art Designs

Again thank you so much Chelsea, I really enjoyed the answers you gave to all the questions but the last one is particularly heart-warming, good for you girl! I think all other artists understand this feeling on some level because most of us came to art out of a NEED. I have talked about this before but this is why I agree with your statement about our community, because I have felt more myself sometimes with people I have never met than with some people I spend a lot of my time with physically. I feel 'got', which is why I contribute as much to the community as I can because our sharing & supportiveness are probably it's greatest features =)

So once again if you want to be a featured artist and keep this series going email me, you can find all the details here =)

PS I just want to say sorry to those people that left me a comment on my last blogpost but who's comment's are not actually visible, I accidentally deleted, rather than published some (I keep my filter on so I don't miss anyone's comments & can get rid of spam etc). Rest assured though I did read them & thank you for taking the time to write them, I'll just make sure that'll be my last 3am blog spot-check lol ;)