It’s not easy to succeed in doing what you truly love. You’d have to turn your back to many things in order to pursue your one true passion, but it absolutely pays off in the end.
Lisa Congdon didn’t want to make any drastic moves until she was sure she could make a living doing art. For 10 years, she kept her ob at an education nonprofit organization while taking art lessons and practicing in her spare time.
“I started taking classes on the side with zero intention of becoming an artist,” she said. “It was to balance office work.”
At the point when her art income matched her job income, she decided to make a switch and never looked back. See her work below.
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As many of you know, I opened a storefront in October. I’m only open a few hours a week. And some days I’m traveling so I’m not even there. But when I am there, one of my greatest joys are the people who walk through my door. My shop isn’t in a commercial district, so most people come, not because they stumble on it, but because they want to be there (save for a few husbands and teenage boys who are forced inside). They come to say hello & give a hug, to peek at my studio in the back and shop my goods. I’ve had hundreds of people stop through over the past seven months. I think because some people feel like they already know me from social media (and in some cases it’s the same for me), there is often an immediate kinship. In sometimes less than 30 minutes, people have told me stories of heartbreak and loss, searching, discovery and renewal. There have been a few tears, including for me. Relationships have been forged. This past Friday I had an exceptionally special array of visitors, including, among others, a high school classmate I hadn’t seen in 33 years (plus her two daughters), two public school teachers enjoying a rare day off, and @emmakmorris, who walked in from the pouring rain, put her heavy bag down & asked if I had a glass of water. Emma, who is a photographer, was in town from California for a photoshoot across town. She introduced herself and, within minutes, we figured out we had a few friends in common, both having history in the Bay Area. For an hour we compared notes on career and love and being people who get bored easily by doing the same thing every day. Just before leaving, Emma asked if she could take my picture. Sure, I said. She reached back into her bag, grabbed her DSLR camera & took this photo of me. Then we hugged & she left. Two days ago she emailed the photo to me, along with two others. I feel like this photo captures the real happiness I feel interacting with the people who come to visit my space. For those who haven’t visited, I’m located at 687 N Tillamook in Portland. I’m open Weds and Fri from 1-5. When I’m not there, Amy or Stephanie will be. Happy Monday. ❤️
A post shared by Lisa Congdon (@lisacongdon) on Apr 22, 2019 at 6:40am PDT
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Four years ago today my wife Clay and I and our three animals got in two cars and moved to Portland, Oregon. Sometime after we moved here, I painted this picture. This is what Portland has come to represent to me. In our house, we sometimes call it The Land of Milk & Honey. Sure, it rains a lot here between October & June, but the sun also shines a lot. And because of that magical combination, there are lots of rainbows here, and colorful flowers, and flowers on trees, everywhere, and green. SO MUCH GREEN. There a rivers and mountains all around, adorable neighborhoods and insanely delicious food on every corner. The summers here are sunny and hot, with daylight that creeps into bedtime. We found our cycling community here, and our creative community and our LGBTQ community. The solid friendships we've formed here in just four years exceed anything I've ever experienced anywhere. There is so much work to be done here, and I have found ways to get involved in activism & work on equity and inclusion in ways that felt prohibitive in other places I've lived. I did what I never could have done in San Francisco, and rented a giant studio & opened a shop in a space with a big skylight and friendly neighbors. My sister and her family and my parents are here and we have the gift of family dinners and saying "Hey, I'll be right over," to my beloveds. The beginning of our time here was not easy. There were tears. We were lonely. We missed California and our people. The weather in the winter took several seasons to learn to love. We questioned our decision. But I am so glad we stuck it out. Eventually we fell in love, and we fell hard. Thank you so much to everyone who made us feel so welcomed here. This is home.
A post shared by Lisa Congdon (@lisacongdon) on Mar 31, 2019 at 7:56am PDT
