Meet Brie Mcwade

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

Brie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Sharing in creativity is proving to be more of my purpose than I realized. I enjoy sharing art and creativity because I believe in the benefits of creative time so much. I am floored by the feedback from others; their support, participation, and motivation to create is the world’s largest compliment.

Growing up, I spent many years crafting, learning, and enjoying a wide range of creative styles as a kid and again while raising my own kids. Many afternoons were spent in museums or art classes but my creative self was largely a personal and private one until the opportunity arose to be an elementary school art docent for my children’s classrooms.

Seeing kids come alive with art and creativity was one of the most rewarding opportunities in my career and gave me a strong desire to want to continue guiding in creativity. So in 2023, I got that opportunity to share art again. I hold a regular schedule of guided creative workshops at Composed Living (Woodland Hills, Los Angeles) and have expanded to Pasadena.

The response has been genuinely positive — telling me that this is a good path to be on to fulfill that purpose. We all want to find new ways to enjoy our life, reduce stress, or engage in more play. Creative workshops does just that and the energy exchange is pretty incredible.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been a life-long creative and love creating with others. To build a creative community is a very present calling.

Mostly self-taught, I opted for drawing and painting classes instead of t-ball and soccer while growing up. My love and passion for drawing especially, began to emerge in my middle and high school years where I doodled in every margin and on any arm offered up.

I expanded my interest by taking every art or drawing class available and hoped to become an architect. I loved drafting class. Due to my limitations with math and numbers, I shifted my creative energy to graphic design where I could still appreciate the art of fine line.

MY CREATIVE SELF TODAY

Today, I draw almost exclusively in black ink and can spend as much as 60 hours a month making drawings or engaged in my creative practice. I utilize a variety of ink pens including liquid ink with metal dip pens. I geek out with a sincere appreciation for line width while strongly leaning on cross-hatching, line density, and stippling, among other illustration techniques.

All this time creating got me craving time with other creatives as a way to relate and motivate each others. This inspired Art for All, the workbook I developed to support other creative minds. As I find new and different ways to create and express myself, I’ve really enjoyed learning linocut block printing and graffiti art.

EXPANDING INTO GUIDED WORKSHOPS

My graphic design and branding clients have benefited from my art background through brand building, custom illustration in logos, and package design which has made space for me to grow into an art career.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

FLEXIBILITY – things go sideways often, or fall off best laid plans. Having flexibility to pivot when things get challenging or boring is a key skill in being an artist and an entrepreneur.

FAITH – believing in what you do is paramount. Many people won’t understand your vision, your drive, or your ideas. They don’t need to but the moment you start to waiver, you risk your dreams. Believe in yourself.

DETERMINATION – it’s not easy to chart your own path. There are sleepless nights, anxiety attacks, bad deals, a roller coaster of emotion, and infinite lessons to learn. It’s part of the process and requires staying the course.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Art has been shown to be valuable for stress management, improve social interaction, and inspire innovation.

I’d love to collaborate with companies or organizations to host creative workshops in the workplace. My goal is to partner with businesses that value creative thought for their teams.

This kind of collaboration will amplify the ways in which art can support self-care or self-discovery, enhance our thinking, create paths for healthy aging, and expand problem solving or communication skills. I am evolving the workshop schedule every month and would love to connect on my website for those interested in having a creative workshop in the workplace: www.advisoryhousedesign.com/contact.

Contact Info:

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