Let's Talk with our Tribe Sisters!

On, like, looking correctly.

You're, you're good right here.

Okay, I'll look at you.

All right everyone, we are live. I'm here with some of my Tribe Sisters from the VIP Tribe membership, and I'm excited to get to have them here today and share some of their stories with you so you can find out more about what they think about being a Tribe Sister. You've heard from me and we've talked about everything that you can learn inside of TRIBE. But I think it's so important to share the stories, and I love getting to do these interviews with the ladies and hear more about what they're doing with their TRIBE membership. So I'm going to start with letting them introduce themselves and share a little bit about how they found TRIBE and how long they've been a TRIBE sister. So April, I will start with you.

My name is April Mallett. I live in Welsh, Louisiana, small town. Um, I've been a Tribe Sister, oh gosh, maybe 2, 2 and a half years. I think it was one of the Funky Flowers, and I've probably found you on Facebook before that, just dabbling and watching you. Um, so I, I think it was a Funky Flowers but I ended up, uh, I just said, just do it.

Yeah, just dive in and go. And she's got those Funky Flowers behind her. If you're looking behind April, you can see one of them over her shoulder there.

Yes, yes, I love my Funky Flowers. I have all the seasons now, so awesome. They get put out every season for every season.

Nice. Nancy, what about you?

I'm Nancy Robinson and I live in the top corner, northwest corner of Indiana, just the tip of Lake Michigan. I've been with TRIBE for about a year and a half now and I call it a God wink on how I found you because I wasn't looking for anything. I thought I was doing okay where I was, but your, the ad or the post for the free workshop about last March with the dragonfly and the palms. And there was a—

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Our summer vibes. Yeah.

Yes, yes, yes. Kept popping up and it kept popping up and I kept scrolling past and scrolling past and kept popping up and I said, okay, I think I should take a peek at this. And the colors, I'm a big color person and it's like, okay, I'll do this trial thing. We'll see what this is all about. And after that I was kind of hooked. So that, that, that kind of did it for me, and that's when I joined. So, and it's been fabulous ever since. Awesome.

That was a really fun workshop. I loved all those colors too. Yeah. All right, Miss Deanna, you're up next.

Hi, I'm Deanna Ramsey, and I, um, live in Arkansas, and I've been a part of TRIBE for about a year, uh, exactly one year to this in October. I joined.

Oh wow.

I also dabbled in all the fun free stuff online and YouTube videos and just started getting connected with, uh, Christy, the Social Easel, through that. And I did Painting of the Month for one month, and then I just wanted to join Tribe so badly. I think I did a Sunflower Funky Flower Workshop as well, and just, I wanted to do it. So I talked to my husband, and he doesn't want me to give this up ever.

He loves that.

Yeah, that's awesome.

I love it when the husbands are supportive they see all the goodness that it brings their wives.

I love that.

Yes.

Yeah, awesome. Uh, next up we have Miss Melissa. Hi, I'm Melissa.

Um, I live in Chino Valley, Arizona. Um, it's hot here still, it's like 95 degrees today.

It sucks.

Um, but I joined TRIBE last year, let's see, August of '23. It It was actually a birthday present for me. I did— I don't remember the name of the workshop. It was the one with the girl in the dress, and it had the Bible verse on the top.

Oh yeah, the Spirit, Not a Fear.

Yes, and I totally loved it. I signed up for Painting of the Month, and literally an hour later I was texting Megan and saying, switch me over, switch me over. And I have literally loved it ever since.

That's awesome. I love that. I was, uh, talking to some other Tribe sisters yesterday, and, um, Lori and Dina both started with, um, Painting of the Month Club too. And then it was the same thing, they were like, I did it for like 1 month or 2 months, and then I was like, no, I need more. So it's always interesting for me to hear how you guys have kind of come into it. So, um, kind of going there, because people have those questions like, which membership do I join, and what's the difference between the two? So I'll just kind of piggyback off of that. What, for those of you that started with Painting of the Month Club, what made you want to join Tribe instead, or to upgrade your membership to the VIP one?

It was like instantaneous for me. As soon as I did the painting, I was like, oh my gosh, I love this. I love that you add in your faith and the devotionals and your colors and your style. I was in, like, I was just all in. and my husband said yes, and I did it.

I love that. And Melissa is always— I love seeing your pictures. She posts the best pictures. She's always so happy. I am. There's so much fun to see. What about you, Deanna?

Well, I, I think, um, I just really, uh, saw, saw a few things in both that I just couldn't live without. And I wanted to do the vault pictures, and that was one real good, you know, like, I really want to be a part of this tribe. And two, the devotions and being a part of a group, it's just been really good therapy for me. I call it my art therapy.

So absolutely, I love that. I think, um, you know, I always jokingly say it's about a whole lot more than just painting. Painting's just kind of like this thing that we do in addition to everything else. But, um, I love that, um, because It really is about a lot more than painting, and I love our community and the support that you guys give each other in there. And it's just, it's fun. It's fun for me to get to watch and see. So, um, I don't know you guys' backgrounds as far as painting experience. So did anyone— I'll just kind of go in order again to April and start with you. Did you have experience in painting before you joined, or were you brand new to it?

No, I had experience before. My mom is, uh, from the crafting era, uh, wood painting and all of that. And so we kind of started just base coating. So whenever she did it, we were just base coating wood to have someone put details on, and then my mom learned details. And then so I would base coat her stuff and then she would put the details on. So off and on I would dabble in that, um, definitely self-taught. I didn't go to school for it, um, but I'm definitely— I was following along with what my mom was showing me to do. It wasn't my— it wasn't me, it wasn't who I was, and I didn't find myself until I started Tribe and realized that you can paint and you can scribble and the scribble comes through. Look, gives me the goosebumps just thinking, because it's like panic mode. Like, I'm that type A person. So, um, but yes, I do have a, a long background, probably since early teens.

Yeah, just doing some crafting and painting.

Yeah.

Awesome. Nancy, what about you?

Well, I would say when I was growing up many moons ago, I was artistically inclined. I have an uncle who was a painter and he taught painting classes at community colleges and sold his paintings in New York City. But I had always been told through the years, wait until someday, wait until someday, wait until someday. So I had really not picked up a paintbrush to paint since senior year in high school.

Yeah.

And then I always felt like something was missing. Like, I take— I would go on vacation and purposely take pictures to paint, even though I wasn't painting, but that's what I was doing when I was on vacation. Um, and then, so skip from high school, fast forward to a couple decades. Um, when I turned 60 a couple years ago, I decided, this is someday, you know, if you don't do it now, when is some— someday never comes. It's like tomorrow. Um, so I decided to start, restart, um, a couple years ago when I turned 60, and here I am 63 and feel like I've really grown quite a bit in those 3 years. So I feel so awesome.

Yeah, I love that. And I think that's like the same for so many people. It's like if you don't choose to do art as a career or go to college for it or whatever, even if you took some classes in high school, it's like there weren't a lot of outlets, you know, like ways that you could continue that. And I think so many women have found like later in life, whether— and I feel like most of our group is between that like 40, 45 plus and, you know, on the older side. And we have, um, you know, you finally have time if your kids are growing up or, you know, they're not in your home anymore. And it's like, oh wait, there's me, I can do something for me now. So I love that. That's awesome. Um, Deanna, what about you?

Well, I did, um, I was a part of the art class, um, in junior high, so I did art in junior high for like a year or two and loved it, but I didn't continue in high school, so I kind of just went a different direction in high school, um, with dance. And so I, I really haven't painted or did any— do any of that kind of stuff, like actual painting until I joined you. My daughter started painting some things and I wanted to join her and I couldn't do what she could do. She's really good and I'm like, needed help. And then I found you. So I just have been learning and growing. I'm still learning and growing. So I love that. Yeah.

Awesome.

Melissa, what about you?

Well, when I was very little, I'd say 6 to 10, I used to do like a ceramic painting with my grandma. But other than that, I mean, my high school and college was all business, accounting. So really, I haven't done anything since you, so it's pretty awesome.

So you needed this creative outlet. You were all business and all the serious— yeah, awesome. Well, um, what would you guys say, um, you know, to the women watching right now and trying to figure out whether they think they would be a good fit for TRIBE or if it's right for them, maybe share with them a little bit like what are some of your favorite things about being a TRIBE sister or like what has changed for you in your life since becoming a TRIBE sister? And whoever wants to start can, you can just raise your hand and we'll go.

Well, first of all, the community, all of you ladies are so amazing. Like if anybody's trepidatious or scared or whatever about posting their pictures, they shouldn't be. Because you guys are all so wonderful. You make— when I post stuff, I feel so great.

I'm like, I'm an artist, everybody loves my stuff!

And it's just, it's really great, you know? And it makes you feel so good about yourself, which is good. Um, another thing I love is the devotionals. Like, you can't find that in any other, like, group setting, you know?

Unless—

I mean, church and, like, um, group for church and stuff, but right It's just awesome that you include that and that your faith is part of it. I just really, really love that.

Thank you. You know, it's so almost kind of weird how that came about, because when I decided to start teaching online, I had no idea that it would turn into what Tribe has turned into and turn into this community and faith-based community, or me even devotionals like that. I didn't do any of those things. I was just teaching paint nights and it was all about, you know, I would say paint, sip, and socialize. People, it was their girls' night out. People are having drinks and painting at restaurants, and it was just all about fun. And then I transitioned to online. And for those of you watching who don't know, TRIBE is now 6 years old. So I've been teaching online now longer than I was doing in-person paint parties, and it has completely evolved over that time. And I think a lot of that is because of the community, because we are such a close-knit community. And I think one day, you know, I was talking to my friend Casey Hope, who is another artist and a Christian, and she infuses her faith into her business. And I was like, I really feel like I want— like, I wouldn't be where I was without Jesus. I, I wouldn't have this business. I wouldn't— I couldn't have even dreamed this life up if I tried to, right? Like, this wasn't something that when I graduated high school even existed. So I couldn't have even ever dreamed it possible, and I just want to give him all the glory for that. And so, you know, I was talking to her and she was like, well, I do, you know, like devotionals. And I was like, I think I could probably do that. And now it's become such a fundamental part of who we are, um, as a community too. And I don't think I realized how much like other people need to know. Like, I'm gonna— I'm getting teary-eyed, but it is typically normal for me. For those of you watching it who aren't Numbers. Yeah, I mean, I'll cry during a devotional. Like, I'm very just raw and honest and open. Um, but I think as women we need that, and we need a place where we can feel safe and vulnerable and have people, you know, back you up and be on your side and to know that you're not alone. So my hope is, like, by sharing my struggles and my wins, um, that it will help you guys in, in your painting journeys, but also your, your life journeys as well.

So, amen.

I just want to say thank you for being vulnerable, because that's got to be very scary to get online to all these thousands of people, share your heart, share your life, and then, you know, not knowing what they're going to think or feel about it. It's got to be— it's a very— I mean, just getting on today was scary for me. I kind of knew what to expect. So, you know, sharing your, your person, you know, your personal life is hard. And, um, thank you for doing that. We have a special needs son and he's not with us in the house, so I couldn't do painting like this before. And I really, really enjoyed doing that, you know, painting. And so I, um, I just commend you for that. So thank you. I'll just say that's one of my favorite parts of the journey, and just you saying we can do any painting, because I kind of thought, no, I can't do that painting, I can't do this painting. And, and I kind of avoided them because I couldn't do some of them or thought I couldn't do. And now I'm embracing the ones I can't do and trying very hard to do it. And then my other very favorite thing about Cart, um, Tribe is the card swaps that we did, the postcards. Love getting these cards from my Tribe sisters. And, um, sorry, I can't—

but they were so pretty. Oh, that's pretty.

So sent me because I think we didn't get a couple of our others So she sent me one and I sent her one that I painted, which I never thought I could paint something on my own. And I just painted this watercolor picture on a postcard, sent it to her. And of course hers are beautiful because she's been painting a lot longer than I have.

Who was that from? I didn't hear you say.

Teresa Burris, I believe, is her last name. Teresa.

So pretty.

Yes, very pretty. Um, she also painted this beach one, and it's really pretty. Oh wow.

So this is so fun. So something that we do inside a tribe— so obviously this is where I teach new paintings each month to these ladies. I do devotionals inside of the group. They have access to the vault. You say you've probably heard us talk about those things. And the vault is where all the paintings are. So there's over 195 of them now that they have access to all the time. And they can pick whatever they want to paint whenever they want to paint it. But what Deanna was just sharing with you guys is, um, about our card swaps. So we also do like fun contests and bonuses and just tribe sister activities, um, throughout the entire year. And we do these card swaps because I'm all about using— I'm all about using art to spread joy, and I think it's such a simple thing that we can do. And so we came up with the idea of like, let's all, you know, pick 5, do 5 postcards and send them to fellow Tribe sisters. And of course, we have Megan, our community manager, who sets all this up and organizes it for us. But it's so fun because who doesn't like to get happy mail? Who doesn't like to get a real hand-painted card in the mail? And it just brings a smile to your face. So, you know, and then, you know, hopefully that inspires people to just send them to other friends that are, you know, are not— who doesn't want I thought, you know, something happy to get in the mail. And then, um, you know, I love that you brought up, uh, Deanna, that there were some that you were intimidated by, you know, like— and I talk about this a lot— people always come into Tribe and they're like, well, where are the beginner ones? And I'm like, they're all beginner ones. And most people are like, no, I really want you to tell me the beginner ones. And I'm like, no, they really all are, because the way that I teach, I break everything down step by step. So Whether or not a painting looks complicated or might look intimidating, it's still totally doable. It may take more steps to get to that final end product, but you absolutely can paint every single painting that you see us share inside of the group. And what I love is like hearing you say that, and then you've proven yourself wrong and you've built your confidence up. Like, I see your Van Gogh painting, uh, back there, the pumpkin, uh, the Go to the Pumpkin Patch, uh, painting that we just did in um, the workshop, and it looks so fabulous.

I was scared about that, but I love it. Just finally finished it.

Yes, it looks awesome.

Thank you. Yeah.

Um, April, what about you? I already forgot what question I asked you now.

What, what was it?

What's your favorite part about being a Tribe Sister?

Um, it definitely is the community that the ladies have built themselves. And it is so— it's so awesome. They lift you up when you doubt yourself. Of course, you know, we're not supposed to say any negativeness, you know, um, but when you're hesitant, they just scoop you up and say all the right things and all the nice words. And it's just so uplifting. Um, and so that maybe some of y'all have low self-esteem, or, you know, you, you are new to it and you are unsure. These ladies will just— oh, it's like giving you a hug, you know. They're right there patting you on the back. And so I really do enjoy that, um, because life is full of all the yucky, you know. So it's just so nice to be involved with a community that's like that. Um, also being able to push yourself to do stuff you didn't know you could do. So I— look, I painted flat, and by that I mean just like flat, one color, you know, base coat. I eat my food and my food on my plate is like all separated. People tend to do that with their paint, and so they separate it all and they don't want to mash it together. And oh my gosh, you, you blended this color with this one!

Oh my God.

So taking me way beyond what I thought I would ever, ever do has made— it's done something for me as well. So, um, those are all important, uh, things about Tribe, and I've grown so much in the time that I've been here, um, and I'm very grateful. I'm very grateful for, um, for that opportunity.

I love that. Well, thank you for being a part of the community, and I love hearing how much it has, you know, helped you grow as an artist. And you have— it just makes me like, it's always my favorite thing to hear when people say, I proved to myself that I could, I could do it. Because we all have, like, somewhere along the way in life, we just start telling ourselves lies, like, that we can't do things.

That's right.

And that's right, you know, they're just one of my big goals inside of Tribe is to, like, bust these lies that we tell ourselves. And I do a lot of— we talk a lot about mindset inside of Tribe too, because your mindset is so important. And it's so important to be in loving, encouraging, uplifting environment when you're learning something new, because of course you're going to have struggles. And she was saying like, well, we, we were not allowed to say anything negative. And so like, I'm very strict with my rules inside of TRIBE because negativity breeds negativity, right? Positivity breeds positivity. And so we want this to be a positive learning experience. So you can definitely come in and say, man, I really struggled with this one, or I'm stuck here, and I will come in, or your tribe sisters will come in and give you advice. But we still want you to celebrate that you did something hard. We still want you to celebrate that you overcame and you pushed through. It's not about the end.

Exactly. I've sold so many of my paintings, um, over the years. I talk about, uh, first being in Tribe and the first few months selling, pretty much when I look back at it, I was like, I, I made enough for the entire year.

That's awesome.

You know, in a, in a few short months. And I was like, wow. And of course, life kind of gets you, you know, and you, you kind of get less— you're able to do that sometimes less, but the opportunity is there. For you to advance like that and pay for your whole subscription for a year, you know, if need be or whatever. But the opportunity is available and you have, you have to believe in yourself and you have to push yourself. I'd never thought I'd be where I am. And I usually sit at the kitchen table. Well, I moved in the room, but I would sit before I'd sit at the kitchen table with all my paint. My husband would sit next to me. He'd put on music, so he was the DJ, and we would just— he would watch me paint because he— it was something that he really enjoyed doing while he was sitting there on Facebook or just surfing the net. And he would play music and we would just sit there, and it was so— it was so awesome.

Very cool.

I love it when the husbands are supportive and get behind, get behind us and tell us what we're— when we're doing something good for us, that it's, it's a good thing. Nancy, what is your favorite part about being a tribe sister?

Well, I do agree with the community and the sense of spirit, and I, I want to take it a little different direction. I really appreciate all the different ways that we paint. We just don't do things one way. And a lot of times when you get involved in groups, it's one style, one way, and that's— you never grow. Um, because— so I love like the palette knife painting. I had never done that before, and now it's one of my favorites. Yeah. Um, I'm here in DC right now helping one of my daughters move, but I can't wait to get home and do the impasto flowers that were done this week, um, because I don't want, I don't want to get doing the same thing all the time. I want to learn different things. I want to learn different ways to paint. Maybe, maybe my favorite way I haven't learned yet, you know.

Exactly.

Yeah, it could be coming up. And if you keep doing the same thing over and over and over again, you're never going to learn. You're never going to grow. You're always going to be painting the same thing, and you know, that could get old pretty quick. And the things that I've already learned. I use Canva in my regular job. I've never known the things that I could do with Canva that I'm doing now. You know, I'm making my own templates and resizing things on myself, things that I didn't know that I could do until I was in TRIBE. So I think that that is such a great gift that we have with you is that we're doing, you know, you take us past, like some of the other ladies said, past what we already know, what we already can do, into new wide-open territories. And we might be able to find ourselves in doing another style that we haven't learned before. And I find that to be very exciting, and I love that part of it. Awesome.

I love that you said that too, because, um, there are, you know, people watching this right now, there are so many people that you can learn to paint from online. And, um, there's YouTube, and there's— I mean, there's artists everywhere, right? But, um, just to kind of give an overview of when you do paint with me and you paint inside a tribe, just like what Nancy said, it's not just one way. And a lot of that is because of my personality. I was talking about this yesterday with some of the other tribe sisters. I get bored really easily, I think because I have a creative mind. And if I had to paint the same way every single time I painted, I would be so bored. And I love trying new stuff. And like, I I, like, I obviously went to art school and I have all the, you know, fundamental training as an artist, but a lot of, like, what I teach you guys, I didn't learn in art school. I learned that, like, later in life. Like, I never learned anything about a palette knife while I was actually in school. We didn't do that. That came later. And kind of like what you just said, Nancy, like, I was like, I don't even know about this. And now you guys know I love palette knife painting. Um, but we do everything, um, mixed media, where we take napkins and scrapbook paper and paint pens and all kind— we incorporate that into our art. Um, treating acrylics like watercolor or using watercolor itself. Like, I'm always exploring, and I try to teach that inside of Tribe to just play. Like, I want every time that you come to sit down and do an art lesson that you're excited and that it's playtime and you're going to learn something new. And, um, when I learn something new, I get excited about it and geek out about it. And then I come in Tribe and I'm like, I just learned this new thing and I can't wait to show you guys. So, um, it's super fun. But we did, um, impasto flowers this week and we did it with modeling paste. I've never taught this style before. We've used modeling paste in a different way, but it's taking modeling paste right out of the container onto the canvas and basically building like a 3D kind of relief painting and you let it dry and then come back and add the paint over top of it. And it's like a— even yesterday, I mean, that— what did I teach that, like 2 days ago? And there's already so many posts inside the group of women like, oh my gosh, this is so fun, I had no idea I could do this. And it's like, you know, the possibilities are endless with it. So it's always just fun to keep playing and learning. All right, um, let me see, or if anyone has anything they wanted to say, you can jump in. I'm going back to my notes really quick to make sure I don't forget anything.

I just, I think it's really important, um, one of the things that I see ladies commenting on holding them back from joining TRIBE is they're busy and the cost. Busy and the cost, you know, I have too much going on and, you know, I can't afford it because I, I just know I have too much going on. I have not met a woman yet who is not busy.

This is true.

I mean, our busies may look different, but we are all very, very busy. And I know for me personally that, um, you know, my children are grown, but now I'm babysitting a grandson on Mondays and I still work full-time, I run a full-time business. And if I didn't have that accountability, whether you pay for the whole, the whole year and get the discount or whether you pay each month, that financial investment, and it is an investment, it's not a cost, it's an investment. It holds you accountable because I don't want to, nobody wants to waste money. And so I find that, you know, when you pay for— when you don't pay, when something's for free, you don't always hold yourself accountable into showing up because it's like, well, I didn't pay for it, so I don't need to, you know, I'm not missing anything if I don't show up because I didn't do anything. But when you make that investment in yourself and you make that investment into your painting, um, you hold yourself accountable and you will find the time. Even if it's just a few minutes a day, even if it's— you can do a lot in a half hour, you know, and take it in segments. But I would encourage anybody, if you're thinking like, well, I have, you know, children at home, or I'm in school, or I work— every— everybody, we all have those things in different, different measures. And what I— what I said, what I find is not only does the whole door of TRIBE open to you with all the paintings and all the tutorials and all the the community and the friendships, but you hold yourself accountable into making it happen.

Yeah, I like that. And I like that you did say, you know, it is an investment. It's an investment in yourself. It's an investment in something that you love. And I think like a lot of times we kind of put that stuff off and we say, you know, being in TRIBE is $47 a month. And for some people that may sound like a lot. But when you think about everything that you get and the value of what TRIBE is, is, it's not. Um, and when you break it down further than that, it's less than $2 a day, um, to give yourself an outlet, to give yourself— you know, like you said, we're all busy and we all have so much stuff going on. And I don't know that there's anyone in the group that gets to paint every single day. If there is, yay for them, and that is amazing and awesome. But that, that's not reality. Um, but but it's there for us when we want it. And when you're ready for an outlet or a really, you know, relief from the real world and you want to escape, this is a great and fun place that you get to escape to. And you're doing something better for yourself and you're teaching yourself what you're capable of. And, and I love that. So I think it's a great way to look at it. And it's also a commitment to yourself that, you know, you really want to learn a new skill, there's no— I'll say, I don't think there's a better place you can learn it in an environment that you can learn it in, um, because of the community, because of what you guys have created and how supportive you are of each other. Because I know there are so many women watching who are like, well, I can just go on YouTube. And you could, but will you? Like, do you know what I mean? Like you said, if not now, when? Like, there— we, we always say like someday, and we push things off And so making, you know, making that decision for yourself and deciding, like looking at your calendar just like you would any other doctor's appointment or, you know, for me it's like a volleyball game. My calendar is filled with all of my kids' activities. I also block in when am I going to paint and it's scheduled on my calendar. So we all have the same 24 hours in a day. We just have to decide what takes priority for us and what's important. So, you know, if you're, you know, on the fence about whether it's right for you or whether you'll get enough out of it, I would encourage you to jump in and try a month out. Come hang out with us for a month and see what you think. Because I feel like, just like what these ladies have said, once you're in, then you're having so much fun and you love this community, you're going to want it to be a part of your life.

Yep, for sure.

Do you guys have anything else that you would like to share with anyone watching who might be on the fence, or maybe you were on the fence and you couldn't decide, um, and now where you are now, like on the other side of being in Tribe, and maybe what it has changed for you, um, in your life in addition to, you know, learning how to paint and proving, you know, that you can do these things? What else would you like to share with anyone watching?

I'll share that I have 3 grown children. My 2 daughters right now live in DC. We're helping one move to Seattle right now, but everybody— we've always been a supportive family. Like, you know, I've always encouraged my girls that they could do anything. And but I will say that since I started TRIBE and since I've been painting more and looking at different outlets, to places to put my art. And some of those avenues have opened. I have a— I shared in the Facebook group that I have a winery who wants 10 of my wine totes. So that's exciting. That's awesome. And thank you. And it's really, it's really gratifying for me as a mom and also as a wife that my daughters are just like so into this. Like, Mom, have you gone here? Mom, you should do this. You know, mom, this, that, and the other. And, you know, they don't really need to do that. I always felt, you know, that's my job to do for them, be their cheerleader. And it's really come full circle and how they're my cheerleader now. I, I have— I was just asked to be in a gallery show in October. Wow, that's so cool! It is, but it's just a little scary. It's more than a little scary. And I had been asked to submit 5 paintings for consideration, and I had been putting it off and putting it off and putting off. And my daughter, who's still going to whose office I'm using, or her, her boss's office, but, um, I, um, told her about it, and I hadn't submitted my air— my, my paintings yet as of, uh let's see, today is— today's Thursday— Tuesday night. And, um, she sent me a, uh, a, a snapshot or a screenshot of her airline ticket that she's flying home the day of the opening. And it's like, oh my God, I really need to get these submitted.

That's so cool.

I sent her back a text that said, did you just buy these tickets this looks like this is purchased. And she says, yes, I'm coming for your opening. And I'm just like, so this morning I hurried up and emailed the owner of the gallery my photos. I can't have her making that commitment if I'm not willing to make it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, um, but my— the American flag that we did last summer is one of the paintings, um, And my— oh, the, the impasto, the palette knife beach scene on the 4x12 is one of my artists that I'm submitting from, from Tribe for that. So, um, you know, that's kind of— and when I see the other ladies doing similar things, but personally, for my personal life, that has been a huge, huge thing. And my husband's always— we go out and he says, oh, my wife's a painter. He doesn't talk about my normal job. He talks about—

yeah, he talks about what lights you up because he knows what you love.

And he's really supportive too. And just to have that come back to you after you've been encouraging everybody else, but that support to me has just really been something that is newfound. And I'm just, it's just, it's, it's an incredible thing.

That's so exciting. Congratulations. I can't wait to see pictures of you and your daughter at your show, at your gallery open.

I'll have to take a picture then and then post it. Yes.

And April, you do— are you— do, um, some selling of your work and do some paint parties too, don't you?

Yes, I, um, I did have some stuff. We have a, um, cultural center, um, about, I guess, about 45 minutes away. I've put some of my own personal stuff there, and the day that I dropped it it, it went like someone bought it that day. I've done, um, another art gallery. I did the— it was the dragonfly. The first day I sent, I bought that one there to submit, and that went the same day as well. But I also do, I do use a lot of of, um, what we do in tribe. I have done paint parties with that as well, um, and I'll probably— it's, you know, it's prime season right now with all the festivities, and so I probably— I have a few bookings lined up, um, for paint classes. So yeah, I, I've made so much money.

I made so much money.

I'm so excited. You always think about— you always hear, uh, starving artists, you know, that, uh, quote, starving artist, you know. And sometimes I would think that, yep, um, well, I'm not starving, but, uh, you know, golly, I just want to go— I want to— I wanted to advance, and I have. Um, I've even worked at a franchise for 2 and a half, 3 years maybe, a few years back before the hurricane and COVID hit. And, um, that has helped. I feel that this has definitely helped me to just kind of come out of my shell and discuss. People, people know that I paint and they know what I do, so they're always on my Facebook looking, you know, like, what is she doing next? What is she doing next? And I just, I kind of cropped the porch leaner. But my friend said, oh my gosh, that would be such a good porch leaner. I'm like, so you need one, right? So I'll be going to find a board in my husband's shop and, uh, probably making her a porch leaner. So, uh, she's like, I don't really have a fall one. And so we kind of swapped. Also kind of crafty, so we just kind of we swap items that we like each other that we've made.

Yeah, the bartering system is still great.

Yes, it is, it is wonderful. But yeah, people, um, people are always following me and just loving what I do. And they're, you know, outside of Tribe, they're encouraging me as well. Um, and it just, it, it's just a great feeling to have a community that just believes in you. Um, I never really had that before, and to know that, uh, I can spread my paint all over the plate and come up with this beautiful piece of art and let all the paint just come together, you know? Yeah, it's so magical. It's just really magical.

I, I love getting to hear, like, especially with YouTube, you know, like, I bet when you joined a tribe, you probably couldn't have— kind of like I was saying, I could have never seen my life coming, right? I could have never seen it being what it is, right? And you guys, probably if someone would have told you 5 years ago you're gonna be in an art gallery, so you'd been like, yeah, okay, whatever. This is what I love about it, is until you jump in and push yourself, you don't know what you're capable of.

Yes.

And, um, I, I think it's for all Tribe Sisters, whether or not you're selling it and making money at it, which is awesome, pay for your membership, or whether or not you're doing it for therapy and just doing it for you.

I mean, it's all so important, and you're doing that all at the same time, really.

Absolutely.

Yeah, you're doing the selling, but you're also— it's therapy for you. Because when I don't get to paint for a while, I was painting every day And then life kind of, you know, comes in and snatches some time from you, but you, you know that it's always there and you could just, you know, come in your little area and, and paint. And it just takes it, it just takes everything, all the day away, because you just get lost. And sometimes I'll be watching Christy paint, you know, we're watching, we're doing she's doing a class and I'm watching her, but then I stop watching her and I'm just in my zone, in my element, and I'm— I hear her in the background while I'm just, you know, just kind of doing my thing, you know. And, uh, we've— you develop— I also want to tell the ladies that, you know, sometimes some of us are looking for ourselves or trying to find ourselves in our artwork. Like, who am I? Is this mine? Is this really mine? But you are developing that as you're going through classes in TRIBE. I didn't know I had a— my style. So there is my style in my brushstrokes, even though I might be listening to you. You develop that over time and you're like, oh, It's like a light bulb and you're like, oh, it's me.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh, I finally, I finally feel myself in my artwork and it's so rewarding.

I love that.

Thank you for sharing that. All right, um, Deanna or Melissa, did you guys have anything else you wanted to add before we close out today?

My goal is to get to where these ladies are.

And yeah, I think I'm supposed to do it.

You can do it, right? I mean, I love that I got joined into Tribe, and I'm so happy I did. And I'm going to continue on as long as I can. And, um, my goal is to sell paintings and then maybe do a paint party, which is very scary because my memory is not that great. But I'm gonna have to write it down.

Maybe I could do it.

The more you do the easier it is.

Yeah. Yep, for sure.

I am— I'm actually growing, and I can say I'm an artist for the first time. You know, I didn't feel like that when I first started. So thank you, Christy, for bringing that out to me and challenging us and to do all these paintings, because I am like, you know, if there's a goal of a challenge, I want to get it done. And I, I was like, oh my gosh, look at all these paintings I did this summer, and I'm so proud of myself.

Yes, and it's so awesome. We do challenges inside a tribe, and I love doing them. Megan, again, my community manager and I are always coming up with what, what are we going to make different about this challenge? And, and these are— we create them for TRIBE to push people out of their comfort zone. Um, and there's some of my favorite outcomes. And to hear what you guys have learned over the course of when we do the contest is just so exciting, um, because it forces you to do things you wouldn't normally do. It gives you a deadline, it gives you a reason, you know what I mean? And sometimes we need that little I'm that way. Like, I love a list. Give me a list, bullet points, like, you know what I mean? Like, let me go down. So, um, we do those just to help inspire and keep you guys motivated and having fun in there.

I appreciate that.

Yeah, and I love like this conversation too, having two of you who have been in longer and, you know, you've reached these goals of selling and doing paint parties And it's inspiration for some of the newer members like Deanna. And they're like, wow, these ladies did it. I can do it too, right? Like, it's not like, oh, only Christy can do that. No, anyone can do— anyone can do it.

She makes you feel like you could do anything. It's in her voice, magical. And you're not paying attention to your thoughts, your own thoughts of saying, I can't do this. You're listening to Christi and her voice is so soothing. I mean, how could you just not just be painting in the zone and not even realize, oh my gosh, I just painted this?

I had one woman tell me, she was like, sometimes I like watch your videos and I just start falling asleep. It's so soon. I'm like, well, I don't know that that's a good thing. I don't want you to fall asleep while you're painting. But yeah, I sometimes I just talk in a— like, especially when— and they know this just from painting with me— when I'm really into a painting, I talk slower and I get— you know what I mean? Like, it kind of just goes with the flow of the paintbrushes. Well, thank you guys so much for being here today. It was fun to get to know you guys more and hear more about your stories. I appreciate it. And to everyone out there watching, this could be you too. You don't have to sit on the sidelines and say someday, someday I'm I'm gonna make time for myself. Make that decision, make time for yourself. And, um, just learning from these women— there have been so many amazing Tribe Sister interviews that we have shared all week long, and each one of them is a different story. And it just, it makes me smile to see all the happiness that painting is bringing people and changing lives. Um, so thank you guys for sharing that with everyone.

Thank you for asking.

Thank you for having us.

All right, bye everyone!