Meet Larissa Stone

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

Larissa, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I believe my resilience comes from a determination to always try to self-improve. I always had the innate knowledge that no matter what happened, I would overcome it. Early on in my life, I had an understanding that going through unfortunate or “bad” situations offered an opportunity for growth and learning; and I knew growth and learning was key to a successful life.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am an artist, living in the beautiful San Juan mountains in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. I am predominately an abstract artist who uses Alcohol Inks and Acrylics. I began painting after my honorable discharge from the Army in 2008. After spending three years in Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I was broken in many ways. I found myself suffering with many PTSD symptoms, and I felt extremely lost and disconnected from civilian life.

After being involved in a near-fatal car accident, I found holistic healing, and soon thereafter I discovered art therapy. Through art, I found the way to my soul again. While I was painting, the anxiety and depression seemed to disappear; soon art wisdom began make sense in other areas of my life. The peace I had during painting started to extend to other parts of my day. I was beginning to heal.

When I discovered Alcohol Ink paintings online, I was mesmerized; I just had to learn how to do it! It is a very liquid and fluid medium, so being a self-taught artist had its challenges. However, as I kept painting, my technique and style became to be quite amazing and unique; I began to have people ask to purchase my work! I slowly began selling a few paintings to friends and family, and it felt amazing to know my healing was essentially hanging in others homes. From there, I had a dear friend who invited me to sell my artwork at a local event, and the rest is history!

Now, I have artwork displayed in several coffee shops, and have done many artisan fairs, and have even made artwork for special events. I am preparing to launch a brand new website November 1st, 2024. Folks can follow my business Facebook page to stay up-to-date with relevant announcements.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

A few of the most important skills I had to learn in order to navigate life after war were self-advocacy, resilience, and vulnerability. These skills have also helped me in extraordinary ways navigating the small business world.

Like most Veterans, I did not necessarily have a positive experience at Veteran Administration (VA) hospitals. However, some of those poor experiences really taught me how to advocate for the care I needed. I did not want to use a Pharmaceutical approach, so I was forced to search for the care outside of the VA system. It was a huge step for me to really understand what self-advocacy meant, lessening the self-pity I had been experiencing.

Self-advocacy then taught me resilience. To be able to get ten no’s, and still be willing to try that eleventh time was key to my success. Not every therapist I tried I liked. Not every holistic approach I tried actually worked. But the most important thing was I just tried the therapist, the next treatment. I was not giving up on my dream to overcome PTSD and lead a happy, loving life! Resilience is that inner voice that tells you to keep going, to keep trying, to keep the faith.

After practicing self-advocacy and resilience intentionally for a decade, I came to realize those two tools had helped me rediscover the incredible super-power called vulnerability. I could not have continued to press forward in my healing journey had I not kept expressing my need for care. When you’re not practicing vulnerability, life is closed-off, emotions are stifled, and relationships stay on the surface. I knew that was not the life I wanted to live. Being vulnerable allows to world to see you as you are, and it allows you to honor yourself fully.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

One of my current challenges is to understand the business side of selling artwork, and of small business ownership in general. Who knew making art was the easy part! To resolve some of the trepidation, I’ve been expanding my network of artist and entrepreneurs. I truly believe learning from others who are where you want to be is one of the greatest tools for growth. I am also doing research on creating a website and small business tax education and requirements. Understanding taxes and small business lingo is sort of like learning a new language, so I’m taking my time and being patient with slow growth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulful_stones_art?igsh=aXJoNnN4bGZ5NjMx&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558452334502&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: Email:
  Soulfulstoneart@yahoo.com