Six Months of Making: Three Lessons That Changed My Art Practice

It's hard to believe we're already halfway through 2026. The last few days, I've been doing something that isn't very glamorous—cleaning up the backend of my business. Organizing digital files, moving photos off my phone, and sorting through months of projects stored on my external hard drive.

As I scrolled through folders of paintings, sketches, videos, product photos, and event footage, I realized something.

I've done a lot in the last six months.

Sometimes, when you're so head down and focused on what's directly in front of you, it's hard to see the bigger picture. Looking back through my camera roll, I could see ideas taking shape; rough sketches turning into finished paintings, behind-the-scenes moments becoming exhibitions, and little creative experiments growing into products. Every project started with the same thing: an idea and two hands willing to make it.

It's easy to measure progress by numbers—how many paintings you finished, how many sales you made, or how many goals you checked off. But creative growth rarely happens in ways that are easy to measure.

Looking back, I realized almost every project from the last six months pointed me toward the same three lessons.

Building Community Is Part of the Art

So far this year, I've curated three solo pop-up art shows, following two others that my friend Micki and I hosted last fall. Together, we've now created five pop-up experiences from the ground up.

When I say curated, I mean everything from creating the flyers, promoting the events, running ads, building the website, setting up email automations, and of course, making the artwork itself.

Micki brings an entirely different layer to each event. She dreams up installation concepts and creates these amazing decor elements, bakes pastries for guests(we serve tea and pastries instead of wine, cheese, and crackers), and shares her own handmade products alongside my artwork. And the amazing part about our event series, The Cozy Corner, is that it's just the two of us building something we believe in. We genuinely love creating together and supporting each other's businesses.

[Micki, owner of Hibiscus Greenhouse, photographed in the black outfit with Bri Simpson, visual artist, and their joint event, The Cozy Corner, June 2026]

As we've hosted more events, we've learned that people aren't just coming to buy art. They're coming to experience it. We've had people walk in and immediately tell us the space feels calm, dreamy, and welcoming. Some visitors spend nearly an hour walking around, talking with us, and taking everything in. Others return from previous shows because they wanted to see what we created next.

There's something really special about watching someone naturally gravitate toward a painting. Seeing the work through someone else's eyes, hearing what it reminds them of, watching them decide to take it home—those are moments you don't experience through a website or social media quite the same.

The feedback has been just as valuable as the sales.

Hosting these events has reminded me that building an art practice isn't only about growing online. While social media has its place, creating opportunities for people to gather in person has built a different kind of connection. We've created spaces where people can slow down, linger, have conversations, and experience the work the way it was intended.

The venue, the music, the decor, the food—every detail becomes part of the story.

It has shown me that sometimes the artwork isn't just what's hanging on the wall. Sometimes it's the entire experience.

Most importantly, these shows taught me that I don't have to wait for permission to share my work. Instead of waiting for someone else to create opportunities, I've been learning how to create those spaces myself.

Creativity Doesn't End on the Canvas

The second lesson surprised me. I've always identified as a painter. I've spent years studying drawing and painting, from childhood art classes to earning a Fine Arts Seal in high school and minoring in drawing and painting in college. Painting has always been the center of my creative practice.

But over the last six months, I found myself asking a different question:

How else can someone experience my artwork?

Last year, I upgraded my studio with a Cricut machine and a mini book binder, so now I have a full mini production side to my studio. This year, I finally put everything to good use. I created Don't stress, Just create,  a creative recharge Kit that includes a hand-illustrated coloring book with 20 drawings, a creative journal with 32 original prompts, die-cut sticker sheets, handcrafted bookmarks, and hand-poured soy candles inspired by my paintings.

Each item became another way for people to interact with my work.

Instead of only looking at a painting on the wall, someone can light a candle inspired by it and fill their home with that feeling.

Instead of simply viewing an illustration, they can color it themselves and make it their own.

[ coloring book evolution video, how it was designed and revised]

[ full Creative kit including coloring book, bookmarks, journals, and stickers] 

And this shift has changed how I think about creativity. Art doesn't always have to exist as something we admire from a distance. Sometimes it can become part of our everyday routines, our homes, or the quiet moments we carve out for ourselves.

Exploring these different forms has also expanded what creating means for me as an artist. It has opened new ways for people to connect with my work while creating more opportunities to build a sustainable creative business.

Everything can be art.

Learning Through Experimentation

The biggest lesson of all has been giving myself permission to do a lot of work. Not good work, not masterpieces, just pure volume.

I think many artists feel pressure to find a signature style as quickly as possible. We want everything to feel cohesive. We want every painting to be successful. We want each piece to look like it belongs. But you don't discover your voice by waiting to get it right, you discover it by making, over and over again.

Over the last six months, I've painted different collections, explored new themes, experimented with different subjects, and followed ideas simply because I was curious to see where they might lead.

Some paintings came together exactly the way I imagined. Others surprised me. Some didn't quite work. Some are still waiting for me to come back to them. And that's okay. If I had been focused on making one perfect painting at a time, I don't think I would have learned nearly as much.

Hosting pop-ups gave me reasons to keep creating. Designing products pushed me to think differently about my artwork. All of those repetitions—the painting, the planning, the experimenting, the showing up—deepened my creative practice in ways I couldn't have predicted. Each finished piece taught me something. Each unfinished piece taught me something, too.

Through all of those repetitions, I started recognizing what comes naturally, what takes more time, what stories I want to tell, and where I still have room to grow. That kind of understanding only comes from doing the work. Not every experiment becomes your best piece, but every experiment moves your practice forward.

Continue the Journey

As I move into the second half of the year, I don't want to rush into the next project just for the sake of staying busy.

Instead, I'm slowing down.

Over the next eight weeks, I'm taking everything these last six months have taught me and pouring it back into my own creative practice. More journaling. More experimentation. More storytelling. More space to make without needing every idea to become something perfect.

If there's one thing these last six months have reminded me of, it's this:

You don't have to have everything figured out to grow.

Sometimes the most important thing you can do is keep showing up, keep making, and allow yourself to become the artist you're still discovering.

If you're feeling creatively stuck—or want to reconnect with making—I created a free Follow the Spark creative reset guide. It includes eight thoughtful prompts designed to help you slow down, reflect, and build a more intentional creative practice.

I'd love for you to join me as we spend the next eight weeks creating together.