Art from the Heart…Truly!
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Firsts are always exciting, always fun, and always eye opening. This is my first blog post where I’m featuring someone.
I love it when I find people that are living their passion, and Gina Marie Dunn is doing just that! She is an artist living in Dallas and I ran across her work at a cool little (affordable!) art gallery called Artisan Style (where my jewelry is being sold as well). I noticed her art earlier this month at the gallery…she has an awesome heart collection that I just love (no pun intended!). It’s not only perfect for Valentine’s month, but perfect for when you need a splash of red on your walls!
Gina Marie sells online through Etsy and does custom work. Check it out! She’s truly fantastic.
*Education: BA in Communitcations/Public Relations from Loyola University New Orleans, Minor inStudio Arts
*Current City/Hometown: live in Dallas, originally from Brooklyn, NY
*Tell me about your work in one sentence: With the subject matter of my paintings varying from cellular abstractions to modern landscapes, there is a dreamlike, organic aspect to my work that is always apparent.
*Describe your normal day. What would your *ideal* day be like? On a “Normal” day, I am up at 6:00 a.m. to get in a run before my husband and three kids are up at 7:30 (I am training for my sixth half marathon), then hubby is off to work and the kids and I spend the morning either hanging out outside if weather permits, playing with toys, or going to and from activities. If the planets aligns and everyone takes afternoon naps at the same time I usually get some time to paint out in my studio. Painting time has been very limited lately with the arrival of our third child just three and a half weeks ago, but I look forward to painting more when the baby gets on a more regular schedule in the next few months. Right now I am just enjoying my kids as much as possible because they grow so fast.
*What are your passions? my family and friends, art, yoga
*What are your goals? to become an internationally recognized artist and to raise a happy family in a loving home
*Who are your creative influences? Marc Chagall, Vincent Van Gogh, Joseph Cornell, Frida Kahlo
*Are there any other relevant experiences that shaped who you are today and what you do? It is in my blood to create. My mother is an amazing artist who has taught me so much about painting. I still have so much to learn from her. She’s the only one in my family who will give me an honest critique! 
*Is there anyone (celebrity, dead, alive, in your life) that you really look up to as an inspiration? While pregnant with my third child, I have painted more than I ever have in my life. The pregnancy was a very difficult one, full of concerns and worries, and to process all of the stressful news we received I took the term “art therapy” to a whole new level. I painted through bouts of insomnia and turned them into productive hours in the studio. Luckily our prayers were answered and our son was born perfect and healthy, but the experience of carrying him has changed me forever, and I lovingly call him my little muse. I feel some of my best work has been created in the past nine months.
*What motivates you on a daily basis? Do you have a “guilty pleasure” that you can’t miss out on to get you going? On a daily basis, I am motivated by fresh air, sunshine and the laughter of my children. My “guilty pleasure” comes at the end of the day when the kids are in bed and my husband and I cuddle on the couch and indulge in our favorite TV shows and nightly dessert of chocolate chip cookies or an ice cream sundae. I would rather run five miles every day mainly so I can enjoy dessert at night!
*What’s your working style? Do you work for 12 hours straight nonstop, or do you take lots of breaks? Although I could easily work the day away if given the opportunity (I have too many ideas for my own good sometimes), being the mother of three children under four simply does not allow for that. My family is and always will be my first priority. Instead, I work in spurts, whenever I can carve some time out of the day, whether that is late in the evenings, early mornings, on Fridays when I have help at home, just whenever.
Website: web.mac.com/utopiapkwy
Art Blog: http://utopiapkwyarts.blogspot.com/
Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/UtopiaPkwyArtStudi0
Twitter: @lvartmom
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32300883549&ref=ts
Okay, so I’m limited in time today to write something profound and genius like I usually do…haha But – this came into my inbox and I find it so enlightening (no punn intended…read more and you’ll see what I mean!).![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4c7a551a-ba82-4508-bc96-160d33b32e08)
Okay, so I’ve been busy making bracelets. Not any old bracelets, but ones that mean a lot to me! My intention in life to always feel good, and to help others feel good, so I was inspired to make “feel good” bracelets. Besides having the wrist wrapped in healing gemstones, I’ve also added a message. I love seeing “![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=427271da-d953-403c-9120-77826956a44d)
So I’ve always considered myself a very motivated person. In fact, I’m sure somewhere on one of my old resumes “self-motivated” is on there! Then it occurred to me just recently that being motivated isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but to be motivated means that I’m pushing myself to do something that I don’t really want to do, or that there’s some incentive to doing something that I wouldn’t typically want to do. Hummmm… Sometimes I’m motivated to clean the house (I don’t really want to do that). I need to get motivated to clean out my closet (I don’t really want to do that either). When I was in sales I was motivated to make cold calls (Yuck, I hated doing that!). I was motivated to make sales calls because if I didn’t then I wouldn’t make any money and I’d be fired. So really motivation comes out of a feeling of fear, lack, and negative repercussions.
What’s cool is that when you align to your inner being, you know exactly what it is you want. When you clearly know what you want, inspiration is there. You don’t have to motivate yourself to do anything. You just do it. (Side note – Nike really had something there. I wonder if they actually knew what they were saying??… Things I ponder!) You want to do it. When you find that inspiration and take action out of that, everything else lines up for you. Things, people, places, whatever, are lined up for you so that your inspired action is easy, and you get the outcome you want.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8f2013c9-87a1-465a-be99-e888fbca2b75)
Since getting a new laptop, I’ve fallen in love with the internet again! I’m finding that it has opened my eyes to so much creativity. I’ve been in a blogosphere and haven’t emerged (sorry hubby and sons — there’s so much to see in this blog world that I may not be out for a while…a long while!).![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=14d097bc-2276-4ca7-af29-726438e79564)
