"Inspiring Artist!" Connie Hozvicka

Connie, I’m so excited for you to share your “fearless” story!

Thank you Miss Jeniffer for including me in your project!!

Please introduce yourself and your art a little bit.

My name is Connie Hozvicka and I am a full time Artist and Creative Wildwoman that breathes fire into the world through my blog/obsession/biz Dirty Footprints Studio.  I believe with my whole entire being that Art can transform lives and that painting is a powerful tool to unlock all possibility.  I teach FEARLESS Painting™, Art Journal LOVE™, and all things Creative Juicy–in person, online and in my sleep! And when I’m not playing a FEARLESS Painter on my YouTube channel, I’m actually living my dream-painting FEARLESS in the studio! And yes, I am very, very, very blessed.  I live worshiping the sun in Arizona, have the world’s most fantastic-loving-supportive partner: Hansel, and I share my studio with two adorable furry creatures: Nyla the dog and Theo the cat! Together–plus throw in some Yoga– this makes up my Creative Juicy Life that I ramble on about on Dirty Footprints Studio.

Finish this thought: For me art is…

my journey in discovering the deeper truths of myself.

Art has been with me my entire Life and at times it has been my comfort, my companion, my struggle, my teacher, and my bliss.  Even though my relationship to it constantly evolves and changes–the fact that it is always calling me deeper into my soul stays constant.  I am forever grateful to live this Life as an Artist and I celebrate and honor the gift of Art each day by simply showing up–by creating something–by inspiring someone else–and by giving thanks to Art.

You have coined the phrase “Creative Juicy Life.” What does that mean to you?

It’s funny, because I guess I “coined” Creative Juicy Life (I feel so important all of a sudden!) a year ago, and since then that term has changed it’s a tune possibly a million times.  In the early days (hee hee–I feel so important again!) I wrote about what a Creative Juicy Life meant on Dirty Footprints Studio–and it had six tiers to it.

How ridiculous.

The truth is my Creative Juicy Life changes from day to day.  But what stays true is my priority to nourish my creativity and to live a Life with LOVE, awe, curiosity, and gratitude–that’s what makes it juicy.  I’m not an expert on this….it is something I have to constantly remind myself to practice and honor each day.

You recently made a big leap in regards to your career. Can you share that story and how it made you feel?

Well, it was something that has been brewing for a long time and it hasn’t.  If that makes any sense.

Before Dirty Footprints Studio was an actual blog–it was what I called my Art biz here, when I first moved to Phoenix, and was creating ceramics and selling them at shows.  But then when Dirty Footprints Studio was born in the bloggy world in April 2008, my vision of what I wanted to really do in this world–or more like what I want to share with the world began to shift.  My experience as a blogger has helped me define more clearly what Dirty Footprints Studio is to me–as a creative outlet, a community of kindred souls, and a biz to help sustain my Creative Juicy Life.

So in some sense, I feel that I didn’t really take as much as a big leap, as I just swallowed a real big pill of courage to take the next step necessary in being true to myself.

What it comes down to is this…in March I went to a Painting From The Wild Heart painting retreat hosted by Chris Zydel in California.  I went there thinking I would get my mojo back when it came to painting–you know– breathe some Life into my Art that I felt had gone stale.  Instead what had happen was that this experience cracked my whole heart wide open and my view of what my Life was/is/can be completely changed.  Yep, it was that crazy magical!  So I came back home and declared no more waiting around to make Dirty Footprints Studio and my dreams a reality when A, B, and C are all in order–instead, I was going to follow the instructions of my heart–and do it now.

So, for the last four years I’ve been teaching Art in a public school.  I LOVE the kiddos, I LOVE sharing creativity and Art, but I hate the system.  The system was killing me more and more each year–and that is why I just wanted out.  When I got home from the retreat that next day I went to my boss and told them that I needed to go down to part time next year.  This felt like making a HUGE leap.  This was scary.  This kept me up at night–even though I knew–and the people around me knew–it was the right thing to do.

So that’s what my Creative Juicy Life story has been all about since a few weeks ago, after much reflection and listening to my heart, I realized that this is not enough.  My heart and soul and what I desire for my future lies in the core of Dirty Footprints Studio–this is what is important to me–this is what fuels me, gets me excited, makes my Life creative juicy.  Then why the heck would I make it only second best?  Why let fear put a huge block in front of the one thing that I am excited and happy to do?

So I gave fear the middle finger and quit my job altogether.  I let go of a steady pay check, some nice health benefits, paid holidays, vacations, and retirement–to see if I can make this baby float the seven seas and then skyrocket to Mars as well!  But that’s not all….I let go of a lot more.  I let go of waking up every day and dreading what I have to do–because it doesn’t feel like me.  I let go of second guessing myself.  I let go of not believing in myself. I let go of fear.  I let go of wishing and instead started doing.

So that’s where I’m at now….living the dream…instead of talking about when I will.  And the greatest part…the most overwhelming…and the part that leaves me in awe every single day–is that the opportunities keep presenting themselves to me to succeed–to make Dirty Footprints Studio sail the ocean blue and start stocking up on rocket fuel!!

That is all so exciting! What is the next step for you?

To start breathing fire into all those projects and ideas I had going on in my head–during the days I was “working” and wishing I had more time to do them.  So–expect to see more Art, more workshops, more videos, more everything Creative Juicy start rolling out of Dirty Footprints Studio as the months move on!!

Your “Creative Juicy Life” is so inspiring!! Who has inspired you?

Thank you Jennifer.  I feel all important again!

First and foremost, my partner in this Creative Juicy Life–Hansel, he inspires me.  He is amazing.  He is not only an emerging, creative photographer–but he is such a wise, wonderful, silly soul!  He always shows me the positive, the good, and the beauty in this world…and I am grateful to share my Life with him.

My Creative Juicy Life itself inspires me.  I live in a gorgeous landscape.  I have more then enough to eat.  I have an abundance of goodness and grace in my Life that every day I find something new to be excited about.

My friends and other bloggers inspire me tremendously.  All the Artists in my 30 JOURNALS 30 DAYS project inspire me.  Each of the amazing–heart opening Artists in my workshops Art Journal LOVE Letters and BIG inspire me–their journey and willingness to be so open with it–blows me away!  Plus I LOVE to be in the company of other women that believe in themselves–their dreams–and hold their truth close to their heart.  Women such as Darrah Barth, Lisa Wilson, Elena Rego, Jamie Ridler, Leah Piken Kolidas, Jennifer Lee, Jessie Marianiello, Darlene Kreutzer, Rebecca Stees, Danielle LaPorte, Ronna Detrick, Less Herger,  and Michelle Armstrong.  These ladies rock my ship!

Are there any tips to living a creative life that you’d like to share?

Stay true to your heart no matter what.  I keep learning that lesson over and over.

Very good advice!

Where can people find you and your work?

I would like to say that teaching Art and inspiring others is what my purpose in life is!  I am a licensed Art Educator and have been teaching Art for over 15 years to individuals of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds.  I get excited and totally inspired by being a catalyst to other Artists’ moments of discovery. Plus sharing my gifts with others is essential to my own creativity.

So currently–through the month of July, I am happy to say that I am sharing the creative LOVE through an online project I created called 30 JOURNALS 30 DAYS.  Each day for 30 days in July one awesome Artist that is passionate about Art Journaling is sharing their Art Journal and a little inspiration both on my blog Dirty Footprints Studio and on the 30 JOURNALS 30 DAYS project page HERE. My intention for this project was to highlight Artists of all skill levels, backgrounds, and experiences.  There are Artists in this project that have been Art Journaling almost all their life to just simply a few months–and the advice and encouragement they offer is priceless! You need to check it out!

Also during the month of July I am offering my on-going, self paced, online workshop: Art Journal LOVE Letters for a super, duper cheap price of $24.99.  This is an Anniversary sale celebrating my one year anniversary of creating my first Art Journal LOVE video–and it’s been a party all month long!! To register  and for more information please go HERE.

Plus during the month of July an early bird special is going on for registration to my Art Journal LOVE Mini Retreat happening on Saturday, August 21st in Phoenix, Arizona.  This is a day of pampering your creativity with some gushy, posh Art Journal LOVE!! To learn more information about this day of Art Journal bliss and to grab that early bird special please go HERE.

I’m telling you–July has been a busy month!! July 4th launched off my first FEARLESS Painting online workshop called BIG!  This has been an exciting adventure to guide a tribe of FEARLESS Painters into painting BIG and intuitively!  So much awesome work is happening in this workshop–and I’m excited to announce that I will be recruiting another tribe of FEARLESS Painters again starting on August 16th.  If you are interested in learning more about becoming a FEARLESS Painter check out BIG HERE and sign up for my newsletter HERE to be the very first to know!!!

If you are on Facebook–I would be absolutely giddy if you liked Dirty Footprints Studio….and if you’re on Twitter–please let’s share sentiments with each other in cute 140 characters by following me HERE.  If you’re cruising YouTube for something creative juicy please visit my channel HERE….and if you want a little somethin-somethin you can check out my Etsy shop HERE–but, I’ll warn you–it’s a little dusty and new stuff is coming in right around the corner!! Another reason to sign up for my newsletter HERE!!!

Thanks Jeniffer for letting me share!
Big hugs,
Connie

You are so very welcome and thank you. Your heart is absolutely spilling into this world through your art and it is beautiful!

“Inspiring Artists!” will be an ongoing series. It will run as long as there are inspiring artists out there wanting to share their stories. If you are an artist and would like to participate please contact me at jhutchins@joyfulartsstudio.com. I would love to hear from you!!

Be sure to read next weeks interview with another artist who has delved deep into art journaling, Ophelia Staton.