Meet Danelle Von Visger

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danelle Von Visger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Danelle, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

In December 2019, at the age of 33, I left my nearly 15-year marriage. I spent the first five months on my sister’s couch before moving out on my own for the first time in May 2020, during the height of the pandemic. It was like starting out in an entirely new world, and now I was on my own. Up until that point in my life, my own opinions and feelings had been very askew; I didn’t trust or know myself very well and had a sense of brokenness as a result of my adolescence. The process of working up my courage to leave started a year and a half prior, when my sister was introduced to personal development. As I was struggling with what was the beginning of the end of my relationship and personal inadequacies at the time, I was looking for something to give me a sense of inner stability. Looking back, even a short while later, I can see how special and divine the timing of opportunity was. All I had to do was say “yes” to myself and mean it. My sister and I started doing in-person workshops side by side. By the time I had left, I realized that through tools, knowledge, and new perspectives, I could get out ahead of things.

Once I started in the world on my own and supporting myself, the desire to show up for myself became very strong. I started to understand myself better and communicate with myself as my very best friend whom I wanted to succeed, feel safe, and cared for. Things were done online, obviously, during the pandemic, and I started using an app called Mindvalley that set me on course for both spirituality and psychological tools to function at a greater capacity. Prior to the pandemic, I had been doing acting and substitute teaching, but as the pandemic hit, both things were subsequently on hold. I spent my days doing Instacart deliveries and both listening to and partaking in program after program on the Mindvalley app.

I already had my BA in theater arts, but the thirst for knowledge was more vibrant than it had ever been, so I decided to take online courses at a Jr. college, LBCC, for anthropology. It was Cultural anthropology in particular that opened my eyes to perspectives, magic, and diverse people around the world.
I’d long held the thought, the fear, that I was not smart, not capable or enough. In saying yes to myself, a whole world opened up. Possibilities became reality, sadness and fear turned to gratitude. I understood more about what it meant to be a human, to fail, to show up. It literally changed everything. My perspective on myself, life, and the world, had all become developed. And continues to, with stability and trust from within. The opinions, wants, and needs I have matter greatly to me, and I make that clear to myself. Ultimately, this confidence and trust in myself led me to the live performance and mixed media art I do today.

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?

Professionally, I work in several mediums, the two most prevalent being mixed media art, which I started about eight years ago, and the other being clowning. Clown revolves around the art of play and authenticity with the audience. There is no fourth wall; whatever I feel or am experiencing, the audience is privy to, whether that’s rejection, acceptance, sadness, or the joy of success. The intention is to build that connection with the audience in real time. It also tends to revolve around the absurdity or exaggeration of life. Even if the scenario is not on this planet, there is a ubiquitous understanding of what it means to be human and all the complicated and exciting things that come along with that. The embodiment of play and authentic emotion is exhilarating and, at the very least, intriguing as an audience member. One of the most beautiful things about clown is the uniqueness it brings from any performer. While the desire or goal of connection is the same, the expression and what that looks like varies greatly from any given performer. Currently, I’m gearing up for several shows in the new year. The one closest to my heart is a duo show called “Lovers Must Die.” Taking place in a modern 18th century France, I’ll be a brothel worker who is secretly in love with a nobleman destined to marry his cousin, the queen, against his will. Fortunately, he also fancies the brothel worker. It’s a very spicy and stupid romance taking place this Valentiunes Day at The Elysian Theater in Los Angeles.

I’ve been creating mixed media art for the past 8 years, keeping it hidden for the first 5 years. It wasn’t until I started clowning and with encouragement from my now husband that I began showcasing it and submitting to galleries. I’ve always found coloring in the lines to be stressful, and the attempt at perfection futile, and frankly exhausting. Clown gave me space to let go and embrace my own process with curiosity; there’s a greater sense of continuing forward and allowing myself to be the messy artist that I am.

Last fall, I put up my first solo exhibit with about 32 pieces, and recently have had a few pieces on display in different exhibits at The Ravens Gallery in Echo Park, the most recent being the “Of The Sky” exhibit, which was celestial themed. My gallery and works can be viewed on my website.

Outside of that, I dabble in acting occasionally. I just wrapped a short film this past fall that was written and directed by a close friend. It was one of the most satisfying films that I’ve been fortunate to have been part of. I find creation and storytelling deeply fulfilling. I love finding all the different ways that looks whether it’s solo or collaborative. I’m excited to see it expand.

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

I think one of my strongest skills that developed over time was resilience to rejection and failure. I have had many, if not hundreds, of auditions resulting in a “no” in the acting world or in clowning, learning the audience doesn’t like what I’m up to in real time, which gives me a clear understanding of failure. It’s just information, and with it I can do great things. There is no one thing, no one opportunity. There is always more if I allow for it and continue to take action.

An area of knowledge and also certainly a skill I had to learn to develop is the art of letting go. I understand the term can seem hack or even cliché, but there is something to be said in learning how to let go and let flow. I’d read not once, but in many places, that water is the most powerful element because it is perfectly non-resistant. It can wear away a rock. There’s a great power and ease in allowing things to transpire how they need to without perjuring yourself.
There are certainly moments still where I have to remind myself of this practice, but there’s no shame in it. I learn to let go over and over again, stepping into the directions that feel most intuitive and aligned with me. And much like water, I can always adjust and make a new choice; I am the driver of this vessel after all.

The last skill, as it feels that many of these are not necessarily qualities I’ve always possessed, falls right in line with the developed skill of learning to change my perspective. Our Minds are very powerful, and even if you’ve felt one way for most of your life, with tools and knowledge, there’s so much expansion that can be made in a person’s life. Letting myself change my mind about myself and what it is I perceive the world to be made room for the life I’m living now, of my choosing, and showing up as a person I’m proud of. There are still follies and bumps, but I get to keep learning and coming to new understandings. Nothing needs to be stuck one way, and I think there’s proof of that in the history of humanity. Finding different modalities for thought, whether it was reading, different types of therapies, or sitting down with myself in the mirror and learning how to be with myself, continues to grow my world. It feels very nutritious.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

The Complete Works of Florence Scovel Shinn was one of the first books that gave me a new perspective and understanding in a multitude of ways. I will say, the book was written in the 1920s and references god a lot. I myself do not subscribe to any ideology, so coming to an understanding of what these references mean for me was crucial as I read through the book, but again, the messages were so impactful and valuable that even to this day, I go through my highlights to remind myself of the wisdom in there.
Some of them being: “the robbers of time are the past and the future. Man must bless the past, and forget it, if it keeps them in bondage, and bless the future, knowing it has in store for him endless joy, but live fully in the now.”

“The subconscious mind is simply power, without direction. It is like steam or electricity, and it does what it is directed to do – if you do not run your subconscious mind yourself, someone else will run it for you.”

“perfect self-expression will never be labor but have such absorbing interest that it will seem almost like play”

And listed under affirmations of wisdom, “what you do for others you are doing for yourself.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iamDanelle.com
• Instagram: @Danelleisme

Image Credits

Alex Golshani
Michael Colby