Hello blogreaders,

Knowing what you want to be in the future is a really important part of planning. For the past month we have been working on doing a job shadow. I know I love art, even though it’s a tough career path and not everyone makes it, I’m genuinely interested in that work area. I got to do a lovely job shadow with an artist and I’m here to tell you everything I learned. 

Getting a job shadow was a bit hard at first especially because I just didn’t know where to start. Lucky I had a friend who knew an artist. I started off by getting her email and emailing her. Susanna was immediately joyed and okay with me going over to her studio. She asked me to bring my work clothes because she would need my help for a sculptor.

I went to her studio in the morning and we had breakfast and chatted about everything. She told me that everyone in Canada has a piece of her work and I was so confused, turns out the picture of the queen on our coins were designed by her. She has always loved art and painting but after her kid moved out she went back to art school to learn about sculpting. Susanna mentioned that this is truly her passion and she loves to learn. Learning is an important part of her life and she thinks if your not learning your not living. 

We also talked a bit about how I could improve my art. “You can get good at copying but it’s not art”, that’s something she told me that I really took in. If your just following other artists your not getting a true message out into the world. Although, getting inspiration from people or other artists is always encouraged.“Getting out your feelings is what art is for”, is what she believes. This message from her was very wise and I definitely stand by it. 

After all the talking we did, we went downstairs to work on her sculptor that she is making for her upcoming show. Susanna was missing a important piece for her sculptor and it was a mirror. When I found out she needed a mirror, I called my dad and got him to make one and bring it so we could attach it to the sculptor. Meanwhile, I painted on a fabric, dried it, cut it, and then Susanna attached it to the sculptor. Creating with her was so much fun, and I was very happy that I was able to get her that mirror that she needed because her show is in two days. When my dad picked me up, Susanna and him got to talking about art as well, because my dad is also an artist in some sense. 

In the end, a piece of advice I really got from her was to follow your passion now. “If you know what you want to be start cashing it right now.” Susanna said, “ I want to do so many things but there is not enough time for me, so start young.” Everything we talked about and did today was very inspiring and I’m so glad I was able to help her and she was able to teach me. I now understand that it’s so crucially important to make sure I follow this passion now and make an effort to always be showing bits of myself in my work.