Meet Dena D’Angelo

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dena D’Angelo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dena below.

Hi Dena, so happy to have you on the platform with us today and excited to chat about your lessons and insights. Our ability to make good decisions can massively impact our lives, careers and relationships and so it would be very helpful to hear about how you built your decision-making skills.

How did you develop your decision-making skills?

CURATOR, ARTIST, and YOGA THERAPIST – I make decisions through these lenses all the time.

Being a resident of my mid-50’s I have come to realize many things about my willingness to take risks and to follow my authentic path as a creator & an entrepreneur. Those who know me would say I’m fearless, willing to fight for what I believe in, and often a bit unconventional on my approach. These characteristics fuel my decision making. I have an analytical/evaluative process of course, but always alongside is a little creative tune in my head driving things and a disciplined playbook of yoga principles. More on that in a moment.

Throughout my early life I don’t think I had a sense of worrying about not being able to do whatever I put my mind to. This probably made decision making easy. I just did whatever sounded like a fun thing to do at that moment. I’ve always been an artist and storyteller. My mom kept illustrations with the stories I had written about them framed on our walls of the house for years. I think that supported my “always follow your dreams” attitude.

As a young adult after college, decisions were made based on survival alone in Los Angeles. I worked hard, paycheck-to-paycheck, in the entertainment industry painting sets and vowing to myself to create better working conditions if I was ever the boss.

Then an era of bravery. I had the dream job, painting operas with angelic singing voices in the background as I painted backdrops, sets, and props but the workplace was often hostile. Seeing no opportunity to change that after several years, I chose to leave and try things on my own. I started my own custom mural & paint finish company, Pretty in Paint, and successfully recruited an amazing team of talent to execute beautiful projects in Los Angeles and New York. In 2008 the financial crash and a split with my business partner ripped that era apart.

I was going through the dissolution of this successful business partnership that was emotionally devastating when I decided to try a yoga class. I found a surprising spiritual experience in that very first class. Suddenly I was feeling a deep re-connection with my creator, true self, whatever one wants to declare it. Connecting physical body, breath, and mind practices was healing things and helping me to clarify goals of what was important to me.

The yogi path became a passion. I dug in deep taking several years of training to eventually become a Certified Yoga Therapist. I developed crucial skills refining intuition, trusting the gut (which contains a plethora of brain cells), and tending to the integrity of one’s words & actions to support overall health. This part of my personal journey crystalized a working method for making decisions.

In summary, my decision making process involves:
Analyzing – What could happen vs the creative vision I have? Am I willing to adapt to the rigors of the situation, and stick with it? Am I feeling strong enough to make myself vulnerable in the situation – knowing there will be naysayers, failures, and people who may disappoint me? These are harsh but real questions to ask yourself.

Time Management – Will this decision be in balance with the other important things & people in my life? I’m dedicated to being selective of people & environments I want to work with and spend my time with.

Intuitive Flow – Does this decision support my creative nature & well-being in life?

Trust my GUT – Does the potential of the decision feel right in my body? I observe physically if the body is relaxed when thinking about the subject or is there a knot in my stomach? We know when we are doing right or wrong. A good decision delivers a sense of ease and breathing easy.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am the Supervising Curator of CADFAB CREATIVE GALLERY in Los Angeles. At the 6 month mark of launching a new small contemporary art gallery, we are busy building a base of followers & collectors, booking artists for next year, and developing a community of artists with the spirit of support & non-competitiveness in the midst of a cutthroat business. I am passionate about presenting art that is accessible to new collectors & welcoming new talent to exhibit on our walls. This first year has been more of a traditional presentation of artists with 3-4 week runs, but next year we plan to host some more unconventional events, artist talks/workshops, and charity/educational experiences. We believe ART is for Everybody and guests will find our space welcoming and full of interesting work from predominantly Los Angeles based artists.

I am also a contemporary abstract painter and Yoga Therapist that draws inspiration from nature and an active imagination.

I invite all readers to support small galleries. Visit our website: www.cadfabcreative.com Sign up on our email list on our website. Follow us on Instagram: @cadfabcreative Come by to an opening reception. Buy some art and support the livelihood of an artist!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Develop good COMMUNICATION skills & FOLLOW THROUGH on things. Embrace some of the old traditions like thank you notes. Effective communication skills make an impact and an important part of that is LISTENING to what people are saying. THINK about the effects your word has. It is a seed that can grow beautiful things. Sometimes you may think saying something to someone will benefit them, but it may just create something else with a negative consequence. Listen to INTUITION. Intuition is a non-verbal, innate communication that allows you to know something without having to consciously think about it. Develop it as a strong tool to guide you. Believe in creative impulses, especially those ones that keep showing up. Ask for what you want. IF you don’t ask, you will always wonder if something amazing could have happened with your idea.

TIME MANAGEMENT Immerse yourself in the community you want to pursue a career in. Surround yourself with people who support you and hold your best experiences in mind. We only have so much time. Make sure plenty of it quality & enriching. Create time to take care of yourself.

BUILD A HEALTHY CONSISTENT HABIT. I believe it’s important to have some kind of personal practice that rejuvenates you and connects with you spiritually. Beyond the physical benefits, these practices can re-charge vitality, enrich mental function, and support emotional well being. If it’s not yoga – It can be hiking, meditation, church, tai chi, a daily creative practice like music, painting, etc. Choose something that is just for you to enjoy without an attachment to your career.

My motto as a yoga therapist is: Unwind, Play, Heal. These 3 things can harmoniously happen together in a healthy practice.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

It’s quite a challenge in Los Angeles right now from a few different standpoints. I still work in the entertainment business when I can find work as a scenic painter. The biggest obstacle I am feeling as a working artist and art gallery curator is the impact we are all feeling from the collapse of a thriving entertainment biz as a result of the strike last year. Productions are gone or not starting back up. There is widespread Angeleno loss of expendable money and the truth is many people from entertainment used to be folks buying art. Now they are having to try to find jobs in other fields. It’s also tough to compete with all the traveling art fairs coming into town. I don’t say that with any malice. I’m so glad artists are finding many ways to sell their art. It’s just tough as a small gallery to gain traction with some of these factors.

But…. Cadfab Creative Gallery and it’s contributing artists are determined! We deeply believe in our mission of building a supportive community. I have met so many hardworking smart artists in Los Angeles in the last few months. Especially in these bizarre times, ART is important & personal to the creators and society. Selling to first time buyers who are excited about their first purchase is full of purpose connecting 2 people into a shared conversation of life understanding.

Please support small brick & mortar galleries and businesses! The loss of revenue I speak of in LA affects many supportive businesses as well as those working directly in the art & entertainment industries. Thank you for your consideration.

Contact Info:

• Website: Gallery: www.cadfabcreative.com Dena’s art: www.denadangelo.com (PrettyinPaint.net) Dena’s yoga: www.yogideeyoga.com
• Instagram: @cadfabcreative @denadangeloart
• Facebook: Cadfab Creative Gallery