Student Spotlight: Wendy Southin’s Vision Board Dilemma

Wendy Southin, Vision Board, November 2010, 16 x 20 inches

Wendy Southin and I have been members of the same Artist Trading Card (ATC) group for a couple of years now.  The first time I laid eyes on one of her cards, I was struck by the great care and thought she put into making it – all of Wendy’s work is crafted this loving way.  As well as her ATCs, I’m a big fan of her jewellery.  Inspired by romantic elements of nature, she skilfully weaves the natural world into her pieces.  It’s hard not to admire the precise detail work that goes into all of her art. Whether it be with paint, paper or metal, she revels in transforming the surfaces of her pieces into a variety of sumptuous colours and textural designs.  Impressed by her skills, I’ve taken her metal embossing and collage jewellery workshops and learned much – I highly recommend them.  On top of being a talented artist, Wendy, a petite pixie-like figure with an impish smile is a fabulous teacher… calm, well-organized, supportive and generous; she also has a surprisingly wicked sense of humour!  Having her as a friend and colleague is such a privilege.

Like Olive Jones, Wendy was another student who was so artistically rich that I wondered what more I could possibly teach them!?  As usual, there were things to be learned… here’s Wendy’s take on the vision board workshop…

Wendy Southin, May 2011

Wendy’s Vision Board Reflections

I’ve been creating with many different kinds of arts and crafts as long as I can remember.  Right now my main focus is on my jewellery but I enjoy doing paper arts, metal embossing and altered art.

I heard about vision boards a year or more ago and it’s been in my mind that this was something I’d like to try in the hopes of giving focus to myself and what I want to do in the future.

I was unsure of what direction I wanted to go in with the vision board.  I had originally thought I wanted to do it about my business but was having trouble actually envisioning it when I tried.  This frustrated me; as a result I think it made me pick an easier, safer, alternative theme which was buying a new house.

I thought the visioning process was very helpful.  I instantly saw an image of my safe place (my new home).  It allowed me to have what I couldn’t own.  I realize now if I was more focused about my business, I could probably do a vision board about it now.  I don’t think visioning clarified my goals for me, but it did make me realize a number of things and I felt good about that.

I loved the actual process of collaging the vision board.  I think it helped me see my visual style more clearly.  It also made me realize that many of the things I thought I really wanted in my new house, I really already have and that some of them really aren’t that important for me.  It made me face some things I had been hiding from myself and confront them.

My vision board is in my studio; I don’t actually look at it much.  I would really like to do another one to push myself more.

Having only seen her small artworks and ATCs, I was thrilled to see Wendy working on a large board (16 x 20 inches).  As can be seen, the colours of her dream home space are composed of cozy, warm, earthy tones; her compositional layout, a tightly knit grid filled with small, jewel-like finely detailed magazine pieces…the board is so much like the spirit of her artwork… full of beauty, warmth and comfort.

It’s not always easy to pick a vision board theme; Wendy struggled with hers, right up until the morning of the workshop.  I’m glad she decided to take that first courageous step by trying one of her ideas to see where it would lead her.  As an instructor/guide, I really appreciated that she viewed the vision board workshop as a process of self-discovery rather than a means to an end.  Listening to her gut feelings about her board, Wendy’s further insights revealed her dream home wasn’t the most important thing on her mind.  Sharing her new vision board dream of wanting to further develop her art business got the ball rolling for her next visioning-related adventure.  I directed Wendy to Jennifer Lee’s Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit where she found much inspiration.  Going the extra mile, Wendy started reading Jenn’s book The Right-Brain Business Plan: A Creative Visual Map for Success to find ways to improve her business as well as create a Right-Brain Visual Business Plan (RBBP).

I’m really looking forward to seeing her new RBBP or related vision board which BTW she’ll be making with two other friends venturing into the same territory – working in groups is a great way to ignite creative energy!  It’s wonderful to see the vision board workshop inspiring yet another creative entrepreneur.  Through Wendy’s passionate dedication to her dreams, I can easily see Dragonfly Dreams soaring to even greater heights!