And then there was paint …

I’m writing this, and I am already afraid nobody is going to read it. 

That’s me, always afraid of stuff, although being afraid of stuff never stopped me from doing it. In the meantime I’m trying to figure out how to keep my baby girl satisfied (read: quiet). She is in the carrier on my chest, while balancing a laptop on my lap.

This kind of sums up my life right now. It might sound a bit negative, but I’m loving it a lot.

“It was before blogs were a thing”

Anyway, the people following me on Instagram might have already read about me wanting to write a blog. I’m not really a writer to be honest. I’m more of a “telling my story with images” kind of person. I studied photography for a few years (up until the point I couldn’t afford it anymore), and was always telling people’s stories with images. But most of my work was my own narrative. Even though I believe you’re actually making a self portrait when photographing other people. Making images brought peace to my ever busy chaotic mind.

I never really wrote a blog, I don’t know if I will be good at it. I mean, this is already my third paragraph, and I haven’t really started yet. As I was saying, I never wrote a blog. Except for that one time I went traveling for a year, and my parents insisted on keeping the people at home up to date. So I wrote stories about my travels. But that’s already ancient history. It was before blogs were a thing. Yes, I’m old like that. But not old enough to have gathered all this awesome wisdom. Although I like to think I’m pretty wise.

See what’s happening here, I still haven’t started writing what I was going to write. But I think it paints a pretty decent picture of how my mind works.

“Miss, are you doing what you love?”

So let’s start.

The idea for this blog originated one day, while answering questions about making paint. There’s not that much information on the Internet about making paint. So I thought about making a blog about what I do. But one idea in my head never stays one idea. Because I’m not only getting messages about making paint, also about being a mom, a working mom, a small business owning working mom, about books I’m reading, the music I’m listening to, making ink etc. etc.

So my blog will be about all these subjects, and more.

I thought this first entry for my blog could be about how I started doing what I do. How Studio Artisjok was born. Although I don’t know where to start. 

Really.

I think I have to start with the part where I was a primary school teacher for years. Always preaching to kids about how they should do what they love, discover their talent, choose a direction that truly makes them happy, while in the meantime I was being the worst possible roll model …. because I wasn’t happy at all being a teacher.

Last year this little wise 11-year-old confronted me with my own demons, while I was telling her that math isn’t as important as doing what you love. She stared at me for a bit and asked: ”Miss, are you doing what you love?” That’s when I realized I love children so very much, but I hated being a teacher in my country (I think I might be happier as a teacher in Finland, but that’s a whole other story). I talked to my boyfriend Jan about it, and within a very short amount of time I decided I wasn’t being happy as a teacher for many years now, and I should do what I love. 

I already was into paint making and drawing and decided this was a great moment to start a small business. So on a warm and sunny day in April we sat outside and did just that …

We made plans, did a brainstorm session for a name, designed a website (Jan is so fast with these things), claimed @_studioartisjok on Instagram and drank a whole bottle of wine.

Little did I know I was already pregnant at that moment. I found out that I was pregnant a few days after I told my boss I was quitting my job. If I would quit my job now, there would be no maternity leave and no payment while on that leave. Jan encouraged me to stick to my dream. And so I did. Also because I want to be an example for my daughter. Because; DOING WHAT YOU LOVE IS IMPORTANT (more people should try that).

And that’s how Studio Artisjok was born … and a few months later our daughter Elin too.