We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elena Killgore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elena, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
I’ve always been a risk taker, my family and I talked about how when I was little I would talk to anyone and not be scared. My Dad has always said “Life’s no fun if you don’t take risks. Take the risk.” Also knowing who’s got my back and who’s placed the risk for me to take helps me. I think risks bring out the beauty that would have otherwise been hidden if not taken. Remembering past experiences helps me know I can take that leap of faith again and again. Sometimes it’s difficult because the risk is deeper and hidden like a diamond in the rock. But it’s always worth taking and learning from if it doesn’t go as planned. Also being open-minded to how it turns out helps. I can’t control the outcome but I can control if I move in faith towards the risk.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
When I was 3 years old, I was adopted from a Romanian orphanage by a loving American family. Due to malnourishment and intestinal issues, I suffered from a lot of sickness and developmental delay. Additionally, being born prematurely caused some foot nerve damage that required strengthening. My sister was a gymnast at our local YMCA, and when the coach saw my condition, she offered to help. I trained with her for nine years but eventually quit to play four sports in middle school. Despite my love for sports and aspirations to be a professional athlete, life had other plans for me, and I ended up pursuing art and painting. It all started when I attended a church camp and felt a calling from the Lord to paint. I had never painted before, but I went home that weekend and created my first abstract art piece on a canvas given to me by my Aunt. Today, I am still pursuing art and exploring a business idea I’ve had since middle school. I’m excited about the start of painting on the same canvas with clients and having them try out art while getting an original work of art from me.
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?
My art class my sophomore through my senior year of high school. I learned so much about art and how to do things in different ways in my high school AP art class. We did two types of pieces, “Breath” and “Concentration”. “Breath” pieces are experimental pieces whereas “Concentration” is multiple pieces of the same style. I tend to do more “Breath” pieces than anything else. It keeps the process interesting and keeps the pieces fresh.
I learned character over anything. Integrity, integrity, integrity. Who are you when no one’s looking? My private life determines my public life. Treating everyone with love no matter the circumstances and having your actions match your words. Where I paint from is key. Not location-wise but heart and soul-wise. Am I creating from a place of rest? Or am I painting in vain? I’m still working on this. It’s very difficult to create from a place of rest. My advice to someone up just starting out is to get a mentor. I don’t have one and wish I did. You can grow in ways you can’t on your own.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am looking to collaborate with different people. I think collaborating is a beautiful thing and challenging thing. It puts my ego in check, for sure. God created in the community, so I believe we should create in the community, too. I would want to collaborate with poets, writers, musicians, people who crochet and do needlepoint, etc. I think it’s beautiful how there are many ways to create, and I want to bring all those creative mediums together with one purpose: to share the love of Jesus with people.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elena.killgore.art/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elenakillgoreartofficial8580
Image Credits
Elena Killgore
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