Meet Aerin Sizelove

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aerin Sizelove. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aerin, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

When I was just a child, I always felt very optimistic. I had big dreams and was a bit of a daydreamer. Honestly, I’ve faced struggles in my life and have become pessimistic at times. When I did, nothing went well—it was sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereas optimism tends to have a positive effect.

I came from a home where it was easier to complain or tell yourself that things were too hard and good things wouldn’t happen, rather than try really hard and possibly fail—which felt more painful.

I just had a fire in me that always kept pushing me. It pushed me to go to college; I was the first in my family to graduate with a degree. It pushed me to move to San Francisco, which was the happiest place I’ve ever lived (I was there for 18 years).

Then that same spark told me to move to Seattle. I often find myself struggling here, but there’s a voice in the back of my head that says, “You’re here for a reason. There’s a lesson to learn or people you need to meet. And if it’s time to make a change, you’ll just know.”

I can’t really explain where my optimism comes from—it’s just a voice that says, “Why not try? You never know what could come out of this.”

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

In all honesty just focus on learning and keep pushing to do things you love is my best advice, do what you are doing because it brings you joy. When I was younger I just loved making art I didn’t make it for others it was something for me. For a person of a few years I had stopped making art and focused on more of a social period in life that involved quite a bit of drinking. Several years later I realized what had been missing, it could have easily been something I just stopped doing but I decided to take a couple art classes which lit my creative fire again. I’ve been stone carving and sculpting for the last 10 years after taking a sculpture class.

First I tried printmaking no fire, but sculpture after I tried it I loved it. I began painting again and tried an oil painting class. The more you dabble in what you love the more that skill and talent progresses. In fact 5 years ago I decided to go to rehab during covid because my drinking had been interfering with many parts of my life. I took a bunch of art supplies with me and through that hardship came some the beginnings to some of my best styles and series of paintings. It’s important to deal with the hard parts of life and remember why we keep trying, because of the things we love.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
Are you walking a path—or wandering?

The answer to whether you are walking or wandering often changes from season to season

Highlighter Series
What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?

With so many high-achievers in our community it was super interesting to learn about the

Highlighter Series
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?

We asked some of the wisest people we know what they would tell their younger