This set effectively summarizes and segments the detailed content of the interview into easily navigable chapters for viewers.

Summary
Overcoming the Fear of Low Turnout in Creative Ventures
Artist Sara Shares Insights on Hosting Workshops
A Professional Artist’s Journey and Open Studio Preparation
Creating and Hosting Live Art Events
Creating Powerful Art Events in Unsettling Times
Transforming Art Parties Into Social and Creative Events
Balancing Art Creation and Teaching for Greater Fulfillment
Harnessing Creative Gifts and Past Experiences for Visionary Events

Charuka (00:04.782)
Perfect. Welcome, welcome, Sarah. Hello. Hi, I’m very excited to have you. Welcome to the membership and today I want, of course, for you to talk about yourself, but also to teach us things that you know and something that you’ve been doing for a while, which is hosting workshops. How about you take the first 15 minutes and then I will start asking you questions.

Perfect. I have a presentation if you want me to show that. Yes. Let me just… Yeah, we go. Okay. Okay. So do I go to share? Yeah. screen? Okay. Hello Arts to Hearts Club. No, no, no. Maybe I’ll start there. Yep. I’ll just start here real quick.

Hi everybody. Thank you so much for having me, Sheruka. I’m honored to be here and to talk to your members. It’s such an honor to share with you. And just a real quick thing, I’m an artist based out of the US in Michigan, and I’m a painter. I’m in my studio right now, so I have some of my paintings in the background. I’m getting ready for an open studio next month. And I have been working as a professional artist. Next year will be my 20th anniversary.

And I did go to art school. Yeah, I did go to art school and I truly believe that you do not need to go to art school to be a professional artist. And I believe that each artist has a unique path and both challenging. Both paths are challenging. And I had to overcome a lot when I graduated, you know, the art school trauma that you hear about or the comments. I also had some good things come out of art school and

I’ve been working and selling my art ever since and also having part -time jobs many of the years. In 2004, I went full -time as an artist and I have three daughters who are all teenagers now. Can you believe that, Sharuka? I’m married. I have a husband. My studio is located in the countryside on a dirt road next to a cornfield. And if it’s possible for me to sell art out of my studio, it’s possible for you. And I also…

Charuka (02:27.148)
I’m currently not represented by a gallery. And so I sell all of my work on my own. And I am just so excited to be here. I’ve also created art workshops and events. And I believe that’s something that is a strength of mine. So I’m really happy to share that with you guys today. So thank you again for having me. is truly an honor. I’m so excited. And I’m also an open book. So if you have questions after this,

please follow up, email me. I’ll have my contact information at the end of the slide show and I’m happy to support artists. I believe that having events is so powerful and important and necessary, especially now. So I’m gonna share my screen with you and I guess I hit share. I’m not great at this part of it, okay? So this is where it’s a little awkward, but that’s my Facebook, okay? We have it.

Okay, so I’m going to open up Canva here and thank you so much. As of now, your page, like for us, it’s loading. It’s still not, I can’t see the light. Here it comes. I need a new computer that’s on my to -do here. So, okay. Now I’m, this just takes me a second. This is not like my favorite part of the whole presentation is getting it set And I can also share this if you like.

Yes. Okay. Share, present. Okay, here we go. Can you see now? You see my screen? Okay, this looks familiar, Sharika. I did present this to the Art Queens a few years ago and I updated a few slides and I’m ready to share. me. All right, so creating and hosting live art events.

whatever type of art you offer is so needed and powerful and amazing. And I do, I wanna hide this toolbar. Can you see that? No, we can’t see. Okay. Why is it?

Charuka (04:38.136)
Zoom. Okay. You can’t see this black bar, right? No? Okay. So creating your own art events is so powerful and it’s amazing and people need art, especially right now. I feel like the world is a really unsettling place and art is needed more than ever. Before we start, I just want to disclaim that some of you in this group are probably more experienced than me.

and you have created your own art events and I’m not an expert. And I just wanna acknowledge that. I also feel like even if you have created art events that there’s something that you’re gonna learn today because we all do things differently. So I am just so excited to share with you, but I definitely am not the expert here. Here’s a little piece of my artwork that you can see. I’m an artist, educator and coach.

I have a studio in Michigan called the Cherry Tree Art Studio. I graduated in 2005, I already told you that. And I also have a podcast called I Like Art and I did interview Charuka a while ago. I think it was episode 32. So I would love for you guys to go check out my podcast. I’ve created and hosted over 120 events since 2014. Here’s how it started. This is my youngest. She’s now 11. Isn’t she so cute?

And this is how it started. think it’s really important to talk about origin of how these things get started because I graduated. I thought I was going to be a professional artist. I thought I was going to paint and sell my art, and that’s it. And I also had other part -time jobs. And then at one point back in 2000, I think it was 14, my friend said, hey, I want to get some friends together and paint, kind of like a painting party. I’m sure you guys have heard of the wine and canvas type parties.

Okay, so she said, I would love for you to just come and help us make these paintings. Would you be up for it? And I said, absolutely. So all I did was I just shored up and gathered whatever art materials I had, all of my brushes. had some paints. I went to the store and bought 10 canvases. I think that was about it. And I went to her house and I did it scrappy. And I didn’t even think, I’m gonna be doing this in the future. But I had so much fun and they had a lot of fun and it was just,

Charuka (06:55.008)
a great time and I also realized, hey, this is a really social thing that I’m feeling like I’m missing because at that point I had my baby, I had two older daughters, and I also was doing some part -time things, but it was a really cool way to interact with people who are excited about making art and sharing my knowledge of art and creativity. And it was just such a…

At that point, I just would joke with the people at those parties and say, this is my social night out. This isn’t yours. And so it just was a really eye opening thing that I really didn’t realize I needed to get out of my studio and to also be outside of the family environment where I wasn’t playing this role as a mom or a caretaker. And I was just sharing our and being creative. And I just loved it. So that turned into this event on the right. The same friend, they had local church.

they said, hey, why don’t we just do this on a bigger level? There are people that want to do it. And I was like, really? And I really felt like I wasn’t qualified to do it. But I just thought, well, if she believes in me, I’m going to try it. And you see in this picture, there’s not a bunch of easels. There’s not a bunch of fancy anything. I just kind of used some of the money I made from the first party, reinvested it, and bought a few more brushes, probably.

and paint and then I offered this event and it was a paid event. All these events are paid. So you’re going to definitely you deserve to get paid. And then it just kind of bloomed into this thing where I was offering these other events, you know, birthday parties. This is like out in someone’s yard. We were painting chickens and it was just really kooky and fun as a birthday party. This was at a winery. This was at somebody’s house. This was a fundraiser for some

for an organization for leukemia. This was at another church. This was like a mother daughter event. And then I created this art event at one of my jobs. It’s kind of a long story, but this is at my house in our pole barn. So it doesn’t have to be in a gallery setting or a very refined setting. For instance, this was in a yard. This was in a pole barn. I’ve done parties in basements.

Charuka (09:10.222)
local businesses like a winery. This was at a handmade soap company, another mother daughter type event. Really cool, really fun. So the sky is the limit and I’m a painter, but maybe you’re a ceramic artist or maybe you make jewelry or maybe you are a collage artist. There’s so many, the medium doesn’t matter. People just want to create and be creative and hang out with their friends and their family. So this is my middle daughter.

Enough about me. Now this is about you and your journey. Okay. So maybe this has sparked some ideas and I just really want to reiterate that the world needs you. They not only need these art events, but they need you to leave your studio. This was where my first studio was, was in this big building in Kalamazoo, Michigan. And it still stands today. And it’s just a really cool, there’s about 60 art studios in this building and the world needs you to.

Leave your studio, get out of your comfort zone a little bit. And when you teach, it’s not only about the event itself. And I’ll talk about that in a minute. OK, so basically these in -person art workshops and events, it’s like putting people together, some type of artistic expression through a medium, and think beyond teaching and shows. This could be, I did one event at a bakery and it was, we ate donuts and then we painted the donuts. And it was just a really fun thing.

and, I, I collaborated with the bakery. So they had their cost of how much they wanted to charge per person. I came up with my price, we put it together and we, paid accordingly, you know, and it was just such a fun thing. So it doesn’t have to be about making fine art. can be fun too. Okay. So here’s my dog and I did an event in my house. This is the, my house, we didn’t push all of our living room furniture to one wall.

But okay, so when you hear about this, maybe you’re having these limiting beliefs. I’m sure Sharukha talks about limiting beliefs, right? And they are a real thing. So maybe you feel like you’re not qualified to teach. I had that. Maybe you think no one will show up. We’ll talk about that. People who, I had this too. I really worried about what my art school professors were gonna say. You know, there’s that saying of those who can’t do teach.

Charuka (11:35.714)
Well, I believe that people who teach and share their gifts are rewarded by the universe and the higher power that I believe in that. I believe that when we teach, we are compensated and we can be compensated accordingly. And it’s all about bringing up that future generation of creative people. So I believe that there’s room for you to make art with your creative practice and also teach. And you may end up making more money

coaching, mentoring, and teaching than you do from your actual art. And I think that again, is the universe saying, thank you for blessing other people. Thank you for sharing and making this more about not about just you, but about sharing your gifts with others. So I’m a firm believer in that. And I think that if we think in that way, we’re not only going to be making our own art, but we’re going to be sharing and helping others tap into their creativity. And that

That gets me out of bed. That makes me more excited than anything. Okay, what will other people think? I’m not good enough. This is a fad. My art will suffer. I will say it is a time. It can take up your time, so you are gonna have to prioritize your creativity still. And I had years where I struggled with that, where I was solely focusing on these events and my art was not happening. But you have to schedule in time for your art still.

The algorithm, I just think that we all throw the algorithm in there. It’s like an excuse for everything. And also too broke to start. And I just want to say, if you can start out scrappy, you are going to be doing so well. Okay? So you just keep going. So then, okay, I want you to think about what are your creative gifts? What past experiences have you had? For me, I worked in catering.

which is, know, when you work for a restaurant and they go to offsite and they deliver food and they have like the plate service and the glasses and the silverware. And I use that set up part when I set up my parties. So it doesn’t have to be all art experiences either. could be me learning how to cater helped me realize that rolling silverware is a lot like rolling up paint brushes. And I would set out the paint brushes like silverware. I’m not kidding.

Charuka (13:53.9)
So really think about that. All of the different experiences you’ve had in your life, maybe you homeschool your kids and so you have experience teaching. There are so many different ways that you can look at that. So we have these gifts, we have these past experiences, do you have multiple gifts that you can combine? Maybe you love to bake and you love to teach. Maybe you can offer an event with your handcrafted food and your art. What excites you?

Think about all these things. These are great things to journal on. And also next, think about your vision. How do you visualize yourself? What’s your heart telling you to do? Are you getting a nudge to create an event or participate in something new? I also want to say with vision casting, a lot of times since we’re dreamers and we’re artists and we’re creatives, I know for me, sometimes my vision is like the huge event with 50 people, okay? Now I love that, but sometimes I think we visualize ourselves

you know, a year, five years, or a period of time way ahead. So you’re visualizing yourself, you’re at point A, and you can visualize yourself at point Z, okay? Now, I want you to honor that and say, I love this vision for myself, this is awesome, but I also want you to think about it in baby steps. So what’s a beta test? What’s a small event that you can create as a test for this bigger event?

and I offered art camps in my studio. I actually didn’t do it this summer, but the last two summers before that. And I wanted to have this big week -long experience for kids. Well, what I did was I created mini camps first, and I created a half -a -day camp for a small amount of kids. And then I did that a couple times that summer, and that helped me iron out the kinks as far as having this bigger experience. So I love when we have these big visions.

I also love when we offer smaller little boutique experiences as ways to build up maybe even the supplies alone. Now I own 52 easels, 52 aprons, 52 sets of brushes. it took me about a year to slowly build and reinvest every time I did a small event with six or eight people. So don’t be intimidated. Define your why. What would your goal be with an event?

Charuka (16:20.056)
Think beyond the event. So when you have these events, I will tell you, one thing you can do is you’re gonna wanna capture people’s email addresses, okay? So I use any type of event. I have an open studio or a workshop like this. During some part of the event, I’m gonna have this pause where we take a break and then I ask everyone to pay attention and I talk and I say, I have these little sheets of paper. If you want,

you can add your name and your email and I am going to be drawing a winner for prize. Now, sometimes I have the prize with me. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s a surprise gift from the studio. And if you’re going to mail it, you might want their mailing address and their email address. And then I also say, when you fill the sheet out, I’m going to be drawing a name. I’m also going to be adding you to my email list. And I want to keep you in the loop of upcoming events.

So my email list has a pretty, I have a pretty large list because I’ve done things like this before. So you have the event, you make money from the event, but you’re also meeting people and you’re sharing what you do and you are going to be using that as an opportunity to pull them into your art world and what you do. So it’s way bigger than the event guys. You also can have people that will wanna do future events with you.

and they’re gonna be on your email list, okay? So being organized is everything. You’re gonna wanna know the who, what, when, where, why, how, when you plan this event. You’re gonna wanna have one notebook or a planner to keep everything in there. You’re gonna wanna record all of the details. And I also, when I’m, so this is in like the planning phase when you decided that you wanna do an event. You’re gonna wanna know when, you’re gonna wanna know what exactly is the event.

where, how, why, all of the things. Write all of it down and then visualize the event before, during, and after. And really write down all of the things that you’re going to need. So keeping everything in one spot. And when I was doing a lot of these events, at one point I was offering, I was doing a lot of these wine and canvas type workshops on my own. And I was offering one to two of them a week at one point. I know.

Charuka (18:41.582)
Okay, so a little backstory. This started in 2014. So for about six years, five years, this thing was building and I would do an event and then someone at the event would want me to do an event for them. And then it just kind of grows. So it’s also about spreading out your network and your awareness about what you do. I don’t wanna take up too much time. could talk for hours about this.

I’ve actually taught a workshop on this before. think I’m going to re -offer it soon. Probably after the new year. So what you’re going to want to do is, okay, so I was telling you, so back in 2019, I had my full 2020 all planned out. I had big events. At that point, I could sell out an event because I just had it all nailed and figured out. And I had it all lined up for 2020. Well, we all know what happened March of 2020. And at that point,

events were 50 % of my income as an artist for my business, 50%. So all of that shut down. And I’m so grateful now because it was perfect timing with my family. My kids are older. There’s a lot more going on with their schedule. And also I wasn’t selling my art online and it forced me into pivoting into offering my work online. So.

That’s a back story about me. So you can always change, right? Your family dynamic can change. Your needs can change. Every year can look different. But I have a planner and it’s pretty, you know, it’s like, I don’t know if you can see it, but it’s like five days. It’s a spread and there’s the whole week. So another thing I learned at the restaurant was I, you have to stay organized. Organization is everything. So I learned at the restaurant that when somebody booked

a wedding, they had the same planner. So you open it up and it’s the whole week, right, with lines. And then I would write down the event as if it was a wedding. And I would write down all the details, the person’s phone number, the contact person’s email, the amount of people, what painting we were going to create, all of the things. And then I would have it in this book and I would know exactly where I was going, what time, what time we were setting up, all that.

Charuka (21:05.944)
Okay, being organized is like the key. Okay, so event location. What type of space do you need? You can partner with local business. If you have like a restaurant that you think it would be really fun, you can approach them and ask them. They usually will have more sales during the event. They may wanna pick a night that’s normally not that busy and it brings in people that night. You can create an event within an event.

Maybe it’s their anniversary and you want to do an event there and you guys can offer a special product. I mean, the sky’s the limit. Rental fees, you can rent spaces out. You can also, what will the space be like when I arrive? Okay, that’s important. So who’s going to be setting up the tables and chairs? Who’s going to be providing the tables and chairs? Who’s providing what? There’s a lot of different ways that you can do that, but.

You just want to, again, when you visualize what the event’s gonna look like, you’re gonna kind of know, okay, do I need running water? Okay, you’re gonna wanna ask the venue, where’s the running water? Do I have access to that? Those specific questions. So there’s a lot that goes into this part of it. Also, I’m not sure a lot of, okay, so if you’re gonna have an event with, say, alcohol.

There’s a lot of different rules depending on where you are. So if you want to have an event that is like a wine and art type night, you need to make sure that they allow for that. Now, I will say I’ve had plenty of events without alcohol and I don’t think it prohibits people from signing up. I’ve done both and I think you just kind of have to go with what type of event you want or you know.

I’ve also taught some classes at a local bar. And I will say the crowd of people that go to different venues can be very different too. So you want to think about that. And the lighting in a bar may not be great. And for some people, if you want to offer a very high quality experience, maybe it’s a higher ticket experience.

Charuka (23:28.142)
you’re going to want to think about your space. And does the space match the type of experience you want to offer? Because when I’ve taught parties at a bar, mean, that can end up being a crazy night. People may not end up caring by the end. Now, I will say I was worried about that. And with alcohol involved, I feel like I kept people busy enough that they were focused on the art. And it wasn’t usually a problem. But sometimes it can be.

Okay, pricing. So pay one fee or per person. Maybe you want to partner with a business and they want to handle the guest list and they’ll pay you a flat rate. I’ve had that. I think this is really important when you’re having in -person events, setting minimums and maximums. So usually the maximum is determined by the amount of space that a space can hold. And so

For me with a wine and canvas setup, if I had a table that could hold six people, like at a dinner setting, I would usually remove one person and that would, so I would say five people would fit comfortably at a six seat table, okay? So I’m all about like having to be a little comfy. Maybe that doesn’t, maybe you don’t need that. Maybe your project is small, but just think about that, okay? How much should you charge? There’s, know, really think about how much

your time for gathering your supplies, for setting up for your travel. And when I teach my workshop, I really get specific about all of the pricing because it’s very important. And how are you going to get paid? Are they going to sign up on your website? Or is the host going to handle the signing up and the list? And whoever handles the guest list, that is a time consuming job. And if you are in charge of that, you’re going to want to price accordingly because

I, know, with the more casual, so to back up when I started, I would go to a lot of people’s homes and I set a minimum for me to make it worth my while. I would say eight, six to eight. I think it was six people at the very beginning, but I moved it up to eight. I need to have at least eight people for this to be worth my while. Okay. Now, if they didn’t take a payment right away back then, I was very casual.

Charuka (25:51.98)
I had people pay me right at the event. So in my mind, I said eight people, but I knew people get sick, people forget, that kind of thing happens. So in my mind, really it was six people. So if six people could come, it would be worth my while. So I would tell the host eight people because I knew there’s always one or two people that don’t make it at the end. So you really want to be…

You really deserve to be paid for your time. This isn’t like a volunteer thing, in my opinion. Yes, it’s an outreach, it’s exposure, but I do believe that artists deserve to be paid. So OK, these are all my brushes, guys. Timeline. Think about seasonality within your business. Maybe there’s a slow season in your business and you would like to generate a new revenue income stream at an event. OK, that’s such a cool way to do that. Or.

your target audience’s timeline. I know for me, moms in the fall and in May, super busy time of year, hard to get people to go, those types of people would go to my events. Time of day, time of week, length of session. A lot of those wine and canvas parties were nights and weekends. Germ season, and this is real. And I would take this into account even before COVID was flu season, okay? So in Michigan,

Everybody gets the flu in January and kind of around the holidays. So I would be, I would kind of take a break from my events during then. And you are in charge of your schedule. So if you feel like you’re taking on too much, don’t say it. You’re gonna have to say no to people. Or if you feel like you wanna take on more, there’s that. So create and promote your event. I want you to get so excited.

your excitement will sell everything in your business. Okay. Right now have a calendar launch. I sell a calendar every year. This is my calendar. yeah. So this is this 2024. The 2025 is my 11th calendar that I am offering. And I’ve also figured out how to do that. So, but your excitement will sell anything in your art business. So if you’re excited about your event,

Charuka (28:09.73)
You’re gonna get people excited and they’re gonna wanna go. If you’re excited about your new launch of art, get excited. People love that energy and the world needs more of it. So don’t feel bad. Who will promote your event? Will you promote the event and the host or will they do all the promoting? How will people sign up? There’s a launch strategy. Make sure you give yourself at least a month, I would say, for an event. So gotta let people know. Everybody gets busy.

On the event day, I like to mentally prepare, visualize the event again, arrive on time or early, which you’re gonna have figured out ahead of time. Do you need a helper or assistant? If it’s a larger event, you’re definitely gonna need one or two people to help you. Maybe that’s 10 or more people. It depends on your comfort level. Organization is everything, like having everything in separated bins. I have a whole system. I had it all like,

everything was in a certain spot. yes. And this is like learning by doing. So you’re not going to be this organized right away, but you’re going to learn. If you have all of your canvases unwrapped and ready when you get there, it’s going to save you so much time. And then get excited. So at the beginning of your event, this is the most important thing is you’re going to need to give a spiel, which is your intro. So when everybody sits down and they’re calm,

I have a little tambourine or you could have a whistle or you could clap, have everybody’s attention. You’re gonna go through the spiel. You’re gonna introduce yourself. You’re gonna talk about your art. You’re gonna promote yourself. It’s so uncomfortable. And you’re gonna speak up and you might mention a future offer. You’re say, hey, at some point I’m gonna ask you guys to fill out this little slip because I’m gonna do a little giveaway. And then you can kindly ask for feedback. You’re gonna tell them about the raffle.

You’re gonna go through the process, know, hey, this is gonna take about three hours and you can take a break, tell them where the bathroom is, stuff like that. And then you’re gonna make it so unforgettable. So this is also huge because there are, you know, we can think, yeah, there are a lot of artists that teach workshops, right? But what is it about you? What is your energy like? Do you make people excited? Do you make people feel calm?

Charuka (30:30.926)
Do you make people feel empowered or do you empower people to take risks? What is it about you as an artist that you can inject as far as your personality and your offer? Because you want to make this an unforgettable experience because trust, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been and I recommend this. Like if you want to offer something like this, take a workshop similar from somebody else.

Absolutely. And kind of see what you like about it. And I remember my friend and I, went to a wine and canvas class and I felt like the instructor didn’t even care about where everybody was at. They didn’t, they just went through the motions. It was blah, blah, blah. It was very basic. And I thought, no way, I’m going to have fun aprons. I’m going to have the energy. I’m going to make people feel good about what they accomplished.

And that’s also important. So leave a business card. You can write handwritten thank you cards to your host or to the people that go if you have time. Okay. And then once you start getting really good at this, you’re going to have people that are going to ask you all the time. And then this is real and it’s so hard to say no. Screenshot this and use this for anything in your life. Thank you so much for thinking of me in this season of my life or time of year. I’m unable to

do the party or you you know, and I actually don’t do many events anymore right now because I’m so busy with my family and that’s great, but I’m unable to do that. I’m sure you’ll find someone or if you know someone, you can refer them and they love that. Okay, so final words, you have what it takes getting out of your studio. You never know who you’re going to meet. You’re going to ask people for what you want. You’re going to meet people.

I have met new collectors. I have made new friends. I have exposed people to my art who didn’t even know I existed. I and it’s it’s one of those things where I live in southwest Michigan. I literally live outside of a village of six hundred and twenty people. Wow. Yes. I have had more people in this area purchase my art. Well, this was before I kind of raised my prices, but

Charuka (32:52.086)
It doesn’t really matter where you live. You can’t, never know, this is true, you never know who you’re gonna meet that has a relative that lives way over here that does this way different thing. There’s so much power in sharing and getting out of your comfort zone. And for me, my studio is my comfort zone. It has all my favorite things, it has the temperature, it has my art.

it’s my cozy little hideaway. I don’t have to talk to anybody, but when I leave my studio and I share my gifts, that’s when crazy things happen like commissions or new, you know, anything like that. So I totally believe in you. And if anything, you’re going to become a better public speaker. And this is kind of what led me into starting my podcast was because I’m so used to talking to a room full of people and I love sharing art. So it just made total sense, but I didn’t love it at first.

Okay, so I’m happy to provide any support. This is me holding somebody’s baby during their party. I thought this was you. I don’t even know who this baby is. This baby is like 10 years old now. Here’s my email. Here’s my Instagram. Please connect with me. I also, I don’t even know my podcast on here, Sharika. It’s called I Like Art. And it’s all about interviewing contemporary artists and also just encouraging you to be more creative.

That is everything. I’m happy to answer any questions now or later if you’re watching the recording. Please hit me up and I’m here to support artists. I believe that this is so important. Okay. I think I stopped my screen share. Did I? Yes. Yes. This was wonderful. I think you did. You’ve answered so many great points and I think how organized because a lot of times as artists we run onto just the most exciting part like, you know,

or how the table would be set or like, you know, what am I going to paint or like, you know, things that we enjoy and which is our comfort zone. what the hard part is, a lot of times we don’t understand the technical side of those things. OK, have I lost you?

Charuka (35:07.086)
I’m back. I’m sorry. problem. So I was saying, a lot of times we jump onto, you know, things that are easy for us, like, you know, the creative part, the pain thing, like, you know, but what’s difficult is I think I’ll ask you a few questions on the line of one sec, sorry.

Charuka (35:38.13)
Yeah, so a lot of time we dive into like, you know, these things first and first, a lot of times, the biggest fear we have, and I want to talk about this because I want to get this out of the window. I started workshop and it’s happened to me like, you know, it’s happened to all of us, I’m sure whenever we put out an offer. In the first couple of times, it does not turn out to be the way we expect. Let’s say, nobody signs up, only two people sign up. Like, can you also share some of your own experience in how you handle it?

So that like, know, a lot of times we feel like, this is only happening to me. Look at someone she’s happening, like she’s having all of the success. What do you want to say about that? Okay. I love this question. And I don’t love this for all of us at the same time. This has happened to me before. Full transparency. I’ve offered events. Nobody has signed up. I offered an online course or it was a, it was an online art camp for kids. Not one person signed up.

and trust, that is really tough, okay? And I think it all comes down to, now I’m gonna speak specifically to these events, okay? Not the online stuff, because that’s a different animal. But when you’re starting out, I want you to think about that vision that you had, okay?

And I want you to also, we didn’t even talk about goal setting, but maybe a goal for you is to create this new income stream or it’s to try it out. The beta test situation was my friend asking me, and I didn’t even plan it. This just kind of like fell into my lap, okay? She asked me and I thought, well, that sounds fun. I’m terrified. I’m scared to do it. I don’t know if I’m gonna even be able to, I’m not a teacher.

I went to school to be an artist. Okay, all those things. But I thought, why not try it? Now, if you wanna create an event and say one or two people sign up, okay? If you’re just getting started and you have the supplies, if you’re able to try, if this is like your first time doing it,

Charuka (37:54.784)
You can also gain really great experience when you only have one or two people sign up. Like maybe you go in and you unless, okay, part of it is kind of deciding how much is your time worth. Because sometimes I’ve had to cancel things because I didn’t hit this minimum number. But I was so relieved because I was so busy. And letting the host know, you know, being very upfront at the beginning that.

in order for me to do this because I do have a family or I do have a job or I do have lots of time constraints, for business reasons, I have to have six people come. Now, this is a conversation you want to have about a week before the event. You’re going to want to touch base and kind of check in and see how many people are signed up. And then you decide, do you want to cancel it or do you want to push and have people sign up at the last minute? Because you can get people to sign up at the last minute. Yeah.

So one thing I do to kind of prevent this from happening anytime I offer a workshop or an event is when somebody signs up, I try to email them as soon as I can within a day or two. And I encourage them to, hey, here’s the link to the event sign up. I always encourage people to invite a friend or two. Do you know of a friend that would like to come and join because it’s always more fun with friends and it helps me? So I always encourage people

to whenever they sign up like, hey, do you have any friends that might want to come to this event? Because it’s always more fun when people bring their friends. And that automatically can double your list, truly. Or it can boost your list to a number that you feel like it’s more worth your while. So you can kind of decide. Now, if you’re new and you’re trying to gain experience, or maybe you’re feeling really nervous about talking in front of a group of people of any size,

Maybe that one to two person experience could be very cozy for them. And also, I didn’t even talk about testimonials, but if you can offer this beautiful experience for people, if you can offer them a way for them to give you any kind of feedback and testimonial, you can use that the next time you offer an event as leverage and also as proof of concept that you’re an actual person that can teach and provide a great experience. Testimonials are so powerful.

Charuka (40:16.032)
I will also say with events that when I’m events can be very expensive. It can be an area of your business that you can overspend and you can go crazy. So it can be very sneaky ways like the food and drink part of it. You can spend a lot of money on refreshments for an event, even napkins and coordinating colored cups and silverware. Those are the types of things that people can.

They indulge on and then their event is not nearly as profitable. So even art supplies, kind of figuring out how much paint you need is an art in itself. Okay, so if you can buy paint from somewhere and they have a return policy where if it’s not opened yet, you can return it, that is great. So I definitely, when I was doing parties regularly, I just had extra paint and I would have my own, it was like my own store almost.

But the last time I did an event, I thought, well, I don’t know when the next time I’m going to offer an event is. So I returned the sealed bottles of paint that I didn’t use the week later. And I got like $100 back. So I think also with events, if you have your list, maybe try not to buy a lot of the supplies until the week of, if you can, or shop sales. So there’s ways that you can prevent yourself from spending a lot of money.

when you spend more than you should, that really eats up your profit at the end of the event. So. Yeah, this is a great idea, actually. Mm hmm. But OK, tell me something even.

Charuka (41:57.9)
A lot of times I think, I’m sure I’ve also, I mean, I’ve been there, I’m sure a lot of us, when a lot of people don’t, I think even with the membership and I think with events that we’ve done, one thing is a lot of times people don’t show up. like, even if, know, it’s a paid event, somebody falls sick, like, you all of those things, how can we make sure that people do? And if there’s a low turn up, let’s only two people bought.

A lot of people are afraid to show up just to one or two people feeling like they might not look good in that picture or they will look like a failure or like things like that. How do you find that? Like, you know, how do you reason yourself to go and do it and if you do so? How do I, how do I convince myself to do it?

Ooh, it’s hard. feel like so many, I think, okay, the podcast is the same. It’s like so many things that we put out there. It’s like you throw it out into the universe and does it spin forever and not stick anywhere? I mean, it’s so hard to know. But I think for me, I just really, I don’t really pay attention to, I try not to pay attention to any of the metrics, those types of numbers. But also I think I also hold onto the belief that

people just don’t provide the feedback whether they like have, I assume people have a good time and unless I hear otherwise, I think people are more apt to complain. And I also think that you just never know who’s talking about you and what there’s, you know, it’s like the ripple in the pond. So everything that you do, it’s like throwing a rock in a pond and then the ripples go out and you just don’t really know. I mean, I’m having a talk today,

and I’m enjoying it and no matter what the outcome is, it’s great experience. I’m sharing. I’m fine tuning my skills. There’s a lot of things that you can benefit from just doing the thing, whether or not you have a crowd of people. So I think it’s all training for the next big thing. And we just don’t realize it. Now, I definitely have had some events where I felt, especially the beginning, where I felt like I totally bond this or

Charuka (44:26.986)
I didn’t do a great job of teaching that one thing or there’s room for improvement, right? And I think it’s just a matter of taking on that beginner mindset of I’m learning as I go and every little thing that I’m doing matters. It totally matters. So, Sherika, if this ended up being a conversation with you and me, think, you know, obviously I got some resources from you and there’s a lot of things that this is a relationship between you and I that’s great.

talking and so I don’t know if I really answered your question, but I know I do believe that. And also, if you have one to two people sign up, I think it’s good to let them know like, hey, you know, the class isn’t totally full yet. Could you help me find some friends that want to come? Or are you comfortable if it’s the three of us? I promise you, you’re going to get so much attention and you’re going to feel you’re going to you’re going to get more for your money if it’s just us. Right.

So I think that’s part of it. And also, for me, a lot of it is really working on my communication skills. So when somebody signs up, I email them and I basically send them all the, so if it’s on my website as an event, for instance, all the information that’s listed on the website, I’ll cut and paste it in the email. And at the bottom, I’ll say, in case you need all the details of the event, this was on the website and here’s all the information.

and I will be emailing you the week of the event to remind you of certain things. So that’s the first email. So I’ll have this kind of email sequence where that’s the first email and then the second email is the week of and it’s the reminder. Here’s the link. You already paid. This is the time you should arrive. All those details. And then if I’m really worried that people aren’t going to come, you can also remind them the day before.

I think it’s making people feel comfortable that you’re going to deliver the product that you sold them or the experience. And also, if you want people, so in the event space, if you want people to go and they pay on your website, it’s very good to have a cancellation policy of some sort to protect you listed in the event. And also, when people pay ahead of time,

Charuka (46:54.446)
most of the time they will show up. now that I’m, it’s kind of funny because post COVID Sarah is different than pre COVID Sarah. And I feel like people flake out, people don’t show up as much as they even used to. Maybe it’s in my area. I’ve seen this online. Like, you know, we have about 30 members by now, but, I say this for myself also, like I was such a regular at the art queens before.

But now I just struggle to make it to a lot of calls because life has resumed again and we not have as much as bandwidth. I’ve seen like even myself, like courses I’ve taken up, workshops I’ve taken up, a lot of time I fail to show up even though I start, like I really want to and I end up doing it at a very different timeline, like watching the recording. took a class from Amy, I was recording with Amy also and I told her like, you

I’ve taken your class and I don’t know what’s happening. And I was like, my God, I missed it. I missed the live session. And I had to like watch the recording because I just totally flipped out. Yeah. And I think, I think we’re busier. You’re right. We’re busier now. I also think we are more flexible with what we’re able to do. So it’s, you know, I’ll just watch the recording later. I do believe that.

Having the recording available is powerful and I enjoy watching replays of things. So, you know, for instance, my calendar workshop last two weeks ago, I had one person come to the second call and it was kind of the same. was like, are people even going to watch this? But I’ve gotten some feedback and I’m always surprised. And if it’s if it’s half the people, great.

you know, or if it’s a third of the people, great. I’m just not even going to worry about those numbers and just know it’s there for them when they need it. And I truthfully have also signed up for online programs that I’ve yet to finish. And I think that community sometimes it’s not even being a part of the call. It’s just a part of you’re a part of something and you’re sending messages to your community often. And that matters. The fact that you are there and you’re a support for them. So I don’t know. I think that

Charuka (49:13.196)
All of it matters and people are looking for community and they’re looking for things to do and they’re looking for ways to get back into the world and be involved. So I think the event space is a beautiful space to be in. And I do want to say back when I offered them once a week, I felt like people were more comfortable being that busy. And now we’re just not as like, we’re just less.

It’s like we’re just not as happy being that busy. So I think being strategic in your events and not putting the pressure on yourself to create a weekly offer. it’s a couple of times a year, just whenever you have a gap in your business. Plug an event in there and see what you can do. OK, another question. And Adila, if you want to pitch in a question, please just me. In the meanwhile, I’ll add one more question, which is,

When you say host and let’s let’s say I’m a newbie who’s trying to host in a workshop and let’s say I want to collaborate with someone, right? And I reach out to them and I tell them, okay, it could be both ways. It could be someone’s house. It could be a restaurant or just somebody, you know, I like, and I feel like could also help me market it because that’s one of the biggest reason we would like to collaborate.

What are your specifications on, let’s say, how do we work around the commission and the financial part of it? And how do we make it like a lot of times, I think a lot of times when people, we’re afraid to talk money. Sometimes either we want everything or we end up taking nothing. think with artists, this is the most common struggle.

Either we feel like a lot of artists feel like, they need to be paid for everything, which I see, feel is not true. A lot of times like, you know, it’s, it’s somebody’s effort also. And, know, there’s a lot of things like you have to understand where you are, what you are in your situation. So what are your tips for someone who’s just reaching out, how they can crack a deal, tell someone what is their benefit and make a successful collaboration. I love this. This is a

Charuka (51:32.504)
This is a really good question. This is so good. Well, I think, because I’ve done a lot of these different types of events. So the beginning part is who approached who, okay. Maybe, okay, for this situation, if you wanted to collaborate with a business, do you have a business example? Business, okay.

Let’s say I am Arts2Hearts and I want to collaborate with, let’s say, an art store, local art store. A local art store. This is juicy. This can be an art store. We can also plug this into a boutique, like a ladies boutique shop. Because I’ve done this before. it’s so fun. Yes. OK. So you have this vision. You want to create this event. We’re going a little over on time. Is that OK?

Yeah, yeah. Okay. All right. I’m super passionate. I’m going to tell you all the things here. So you have a vision. Now, do they have the space for it? Can you envision? Do you want to do it at their business or do you want to do it separate?

Hmm. Let’s say by adding you mean I say let’s have the event at their business at this art store. Okay. So you’re going to say and maybe you’re like you go to the art store and you’re like, ooh, I would like to find like, you know, when I’m looking at your work, I would find like a like a boutique who makes these abstract or colorful clothes so that the paintings in the colors like they could compliment very well. Yeah.

It’s exciting. I’ve done this before at a boutique and it was, it’s so fun. Okay. So you’re gonna, you have this vision, you want to do this event with this really cool store that you love. Okay. Love that. And maybe you know, they have like a back room or maybe they can clear the racks in the middle of the shop and have a, have some tables set up. You can kind of visualize it, right? So you’re going to approach the business.

Charuka (53:45.806)
And you’re to say, hey, I’m Sarah. I’m a local artist. Are you the owner? I have this idea. I do these wine and canvas type parties. And I’ve done them with local businesses. And I would absolutely love to partner with you guys and maybe do an event here. Is there someone I could talk to? And I don’t know about you, but in my area, I feel like the shop owner is usually there.

Or they’ll say, they’re actually going to be here tomorrow morning. OK. And like, OK, so I’m going to try to pop in or I’m going to try to call them when they’re there. And then you’re saying, I talked to so and so, Julia, or whoever was working at the counter. And if you can see them face to face, I think for me, that’s better. But you can also call them. I would probably try to see them. And then I would say, go in and be like, hey, I absolutely love your shop.

I wouldn’t it be cool. Do you have a second? I want to talk to you about this idea that I have. maybe they’ll say, because you want to ask them that, because maybe they’re super busy. Maybe they’ll say no, real quick, what are you thinking? Or let’s set up a time to talk or whatever. OK, so when it works for them, you’re going to say, think, I offer these wine and canvas type classes as an example. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we did an event here and

I’ve done this with other businesses or I’ve heard of this before where you, would teach them how to make the painting. We could maybe collaborate on the food or the refreshments or we would decide that. But there’s always a break period in the middle and it would be a really cool opportunity for everyone to take a break, have a snack, but also browse and shop your space. And I also,

maybe you’d be interested in offering a discount that night, whether it’s 10, 20 % off, or maybe we could do a fun giveaway together, you know, because I do this giveaway thing and it would be about three hours and it would just be so fun to do it. And a lot of times, you know, maybe summer is like their busy season, but maybe they want to do it in the spring. Maybe they want to do it in the winter and make this event out of it. So if they agree to it,

Charuka (56:08.64)
You’re going to want to set up a time. It could be over the phone or it could be in person. Say, OK, well, why don’t you think about it? Let’s set up a date and time when we can really talk about the details and then we’ll meet up. then you maybe like a week later, you let them kind of think about it and then you call them and you have your phone meeting with them and you go over all of those things. So some business owners are good at marketing and they’re great at that. And some of them are

they don’t have the mind for it or they don’t do it or they don’t have the time. So the marketing piece, so you’re going to want to kind of sit down with them either in person or on the phone and hopefully they’re excited about it because you want that. You don’t want them to be like, I guess I’ll do it or you know, you kind of want people to be on board with what you’re doing because that energy is not good. Or if you’re feeling like you’re doing them a favor by going to their business and

because you are bringing in business, because people will shop during the middle part of the session. And they can also talk at the beginning of the event and plug any future things that they have going on. It’s just a cool moment for them to have people in their space and learning about what they’re doing and what they offer. So it’s great marketing for them too. So then you’re gonna wanna sit down with them and you’re gonna wanna say,

Okay, well how many people can we hold in this space? And is that worth it for you? Hopefully it hits your minimum, right? Otherwise you’re gonna have to really raise your price and make it like a really special intimate experience, which you can totally do that. You’re in control of this. You’re gonna wanna talk about tables and chairs. Do they have tables and chairs? You’re gonna wanna talk about, are you gonna have to bring them? Most businesses will have that or they can like.

They don’t all match. They can be random chairs that they put together. Who is going to do the marketing? Because you approached them, are you going to have it on your website? Are you going to handle the sign ups? Or are they going to take that on? Because if you do it, you’re going to want to factor that into your price. Maybe they want to offer a swag bag with goodies.

Charuka (58:34.058)
you can collaborate on that or maybe they create that and that’s part of their price for what they, at some point it’s like a partnership and they’re gonna have cost and you’re gonna have cost and you’re gonna kind of have to figure out how much per person they need and to make it worth their while and how much per person you need, okay? So this is kind of like a dance. So, and then you’re gonna kind of see who’s gonna handle the marketing.

and hopefully both parties promote it, okay? Not only will they do it, but where will they promote it? Will they send it to their email? Will they put it on their social media? Will they have a flyer up? What are they gonna do to promote it? Maybe you feel like you have enough of a following that you don’t really need them to promote it. You can send it to your email list and maybe it’ll fill up. But since you approached them, it’s gonna be probably more on you, okay? Now, if they approached you and they said,

Hey, I heard you did this event down the street. Would you do it? That’s a different situation. That is hopefully them pulling in their people for you to come in and do the thing. So it’s very tricky and it’s nuanced. It’s not like there’s a playbook for this. But you need to really think about that. Now, maybe you have a friend that’s a business owner and you guys want to do this event together because you love each other and you want to support each other’s businesses. That feels more of like a 50 -50 thing.

So you just kind of have to see, but being very clear about the marketing and who handles the signups and the registration is very important, okay? And you’re gonna want one person to handle the list. You don’t wanna have both people. That gets weird. You need one person in charge of the list, okay? And then I’ve had it where I did this event at a winery. They sent it out to their people. They handled the signups. They hit the minimum of eight people, perfect.

They write me a check at the end of the night. They sell tons of wine. Everybody’s happy. I’ve done events where it’s more of a partnership and then I handle the signups and then I write them a check at the end of the day. And there’s a lot of things you need to factor in with your costs. If you’re handling signups on your website, you’re gonna have a three to 4 % credit card processing fee that you’re absorbing.

Charuka (01:00:59.022)
You’re going to have your time. It’s not like you can really pay yourself to be the admin for the event, but it’s time consuming. So you’re going to want to have your per person price up a little higher. And then you’re obviously your costs. And then if there’s refreshments, maybe they handle the drinks and you handle the snacks, or maybe you guys decide we’re going to spend $100 on food. And from whatever proceeds we have, 20 % couldn’t go to the food or like, you know. Yeah.

So there’s a lot of ways you can do it. You can also, would say with food and drink, you can do it very cheaply. You can buy big bags of popcorn and you can put that out with bottles of water. You can have people bring their own snacks. It depends on the rules, if they can bring their own alcohol or if you don’t want to deal with that, or you can make your own punch very affordably. Pinterest is probably a great place to look for all those ideas, but.

I think if it’s like a, if you want to do a really fancy higher ticket item event, you know, make the food match the event or I also dress, I also dress to match the painting. I learned that from my caterer. I dress to match the art. And also if it’s a very nice place, I probably am not going to wear ripped jeans. So same when I deliver my artwork, if I’m delivering a $4 ,000 commission, I will be more dressed up than if I’m delivering a small little

print or something, which I don’t deliver usually. it’s kind of like visualizing the whole event from a whole perspective and making it, making the whole thing. You can make a playlist and even talk about music, but you can bring music and make a playlist. There’s so many different cool things that you can add to this that make it yours. So I don’t know. I love that. I love them. I think these are some great ideas. You’ve already like

I’m sure like now anyone who’s watching this later right now, you let me know anyone who’s hosted a party after this or is attempting. is also in the group. if you have questions, you are trying to do it, ask in the group and we all will benefit from it. Right? Yes. And I’m going to say that, thank you for that, Shurika. I’m happy to help. If you get stuck on pricing,

Charuka (01:03:21.92)
You know, again, because this is a worldwide group, again, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re following your local ordinances and rules and expectations, maybe considering safety. Do you feel like you’re safe traveling to this venue? Do you need another person with you? If you’re having an event. So we’ve had events in our my studio is connected to a larger pole bar. And I showed a picture of that, but.

My husband is usually home. I mean, I don’t do these events alone. If I my studio open, don’t have, I’m not here alone. So I want you to think about that because the world, definitely want to protect yourself. And if you’re going to be in these bars or different types of venues, have somebody walk you to your car when you’re taking your, when you’re loading your vehicle or park up to the back, the door.

Don’t walk out to your car alone. Just be aware, because you are out in the public, that you need to be aware. And strength in numbers, if you have a friend that can come with you and help you, you can also pay your friends with art or bartering. You can pay them with food. I don’t know. I had a couple friends help me, and I took them out afterward. It was really fun.

You have friends and family that want to help you too. So let them help you package up your items the day before or watch your kids so you can get your things done. Allow people to support this new thing that you’re doing because it takes a village, It takes a community. So I’m really happy to help. If you have any questions, please reach out to me. And I’m definitely not the expert on events, but I’ve done enough of them.

And I absolutely feel so energized after talking to you and also doing events like this. think it’s just when it’s not comfortable at first, know, growth happens when you’re outside of your comfort zone. And if you’re uncomfortable, that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s your soul nudging you to try something new. And I’m so glad that I did that. I felt very shaky and nervous and I’d sweat and I

Charuka (01:05:44.926)
I didn’t like standing in front of a group of people and I definitely embarrassed myself and it wasn’t perfect at first. It was very scrappy. was very low budget and messy and I’m so glad I did. And you may be surprised. This might be like a whole new thing that you do. You just don’t even know or you try it and you don’t like it.

That’s totally fine too. You just kind of have to have an open mind about it. But I don’t know, I think there’s something amazing when you share what you love and you see that aha moment on someone’s face when they realize that they actually can make something, that they are creative or maybe they haven’t made a piece of art since they were in middle school or elementary school or they were little. And then you open up this new side of people. I mean, this is the power of

doing those types of events. that’s the part that is like way, it’s way bigger than you. It’s way bigger than you making money, providing for your family. It’s all about impact and it’s about helping spark that creative spark in other people. So this was incredible. think it’s like a very hands -on workshop. Yay. Who’s here to do this. And I’m sure the members of the ATH club will totally love it. And I hope anyone who’s watching this later.

Please. I’ve got this kick and I’m already thinking of ideas. Yay. I’m going to keep you updated of what’s happening. Who do I pick out? How does that do? And let’s keep it in the group so that we can all like at least aim for one, you know, help each other, encourage us each other to do one at least this time. Yes. And do a small, you don’t have to start anything crazy big. Also, I was going to say when you asked me, thank you so much, Shuriga.

more than happy to share what I know. if you only have one to two people sign up, you can also, you know, invite some maybe family members or your close friends to fill those spots. who can’t, I mean, it’s like a scholarship opportunity. Or maybe you know somebody that really could use something like this. Like they meet, this event would be so good for them. Give them a scholarship. Or maybe somebody reaches out to you and says, I’d love to do it, but I can’t afford it.

Charuka (01:08:10.658)
bring them in because you can also get, there’s so many different parts of the site I could talk on and on about it, but you can get some photos, you can get some videos of people doing this event. People on the outside don’t know who paid and who hasn’t, or maybe your little pilot project or your beta test is a group of your friends and you have the best time ever. You could do this for a retreat. mean, there’s a lot of…

A retreat is just like a very expanded element event, which is like something I want to do. Is offer a retreat because it’s like a workshop for a weekend kind of thing. But yeah, definitely be creative, know, get creative about it, invite, you know, just have people come in that you can, you know, or I don’t know, if you partner with a business, see if they can get a couple of people, you can get a couple of people, you know, work together. So.

Thank you so much. Yes, please reach out and when you have your event, post it in the group. We’ll all celebrate you. You can talk about what worked, what didn’t work, what you would do differently. These are all learning opportunities and you can tweak and refine as you go. And it’s gonna be really messy. It’s gonna be awkward at first, but that’s where you grow. That’s where this is gonna and

One last point I wanted to say, can I say it, is I have this limiting belief that creating these simpler paintings, because if you have three hours, it’s got to be pretty simple, right, to teach it. I thought, gosh, is this going to make me a worse artist? Is this going to worsen my skill? this going to, you know, not only does teaching take away from your art practice as far as your credibility, but…

is this gonna be big distraction for my art business? And I would completely disagree now that I’m on the other side. I became a much better artist after teaching workshops because it made me more aware of my process. So as I’m making a painting, I’m thinking about how I would teach it or what I’m doing, why I would do it.

Charuka (01:10:30.506)
It helped me communicate in a more powerful way visually because now you have to explain what you’re doing, right? Yeah. And it reinforced. So when you teach it, can reinforce the knowledge that you already have. So it reinforced my knowledge as an artist. And it also puts you on a different level as far as making you a little bit more of an expert.

Yeah. So it’s good for your confidence really. And once you overcome the scary part of standing in front of a group of people and teaching it, at the end of the class, when everyone’s finishing, you’re going be amazed at what people made. And you’re going to feel so empowered. OK? It’s like, well, I did this small workshop. Now I can dial it up a little bit and add a little bit more of a difficulty level. And it builds on itself. So.

I’m actually giving a lecture, Sharika, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m giving a lecture at the university I went to October 24th this year. to an auditorium, I think there’s a hundred people seats and it’s a free public lecture about my art. And there’s no way in the world I would have even agreed to do it before I did these workshops because now I’m just comfortable talking.

And it’s going to be scary, but I’m going to be fine. But because I had all that practice, talking in front of a group of people, suddenly you can do amazing things. You’ll be surprised. So I’m going leave on that note. Thank you again, Sharuka. Thanks for having me. And if you ever need a guest group podcast, would love to be on your show someday. I love your show. It’s so awesome. So keep it up. you. I think this should be a podcast episode as is. think you, I don’t want to gatekeep this.

share it. That’s totally fine. Is that you? Totally fine. And I will say I did this talk to the art queens back in 2021. And then that gave me the idea of offering as a workshop online. And I really great success from that. I had a small group. It was, again, a small group. But I have had people ask me about it. And I will be creating this as an online course of some sort.

Charuka (01:12:45.35)
And I’m thinking next year, hopefully beginning of next year, I’ll have some kind of online course for this topic. at it is listening to this. Make sure you keep an eye on all updates from our Sarah because I’m definitely, I’m into, think like, you know, this is something that we need more and more different ways of how we put ourselves out there. And I think it’s a great social way and also an easy light and easy way to influx an income in your business, but also influx some social interaction.

Yeah, and it’s fun. I didn’t even talk about how much it’s so fun. You can have so much fun. You can help people be creative again. You can make money. It’s like it’s like a whole nother door that can open for you and positioning yourself as more of an expert in your community and as a professional artist. Because truthfully, a lot of artists can be very shy.

And if you can break through your shyness, there’s just many more things out there for you. So I truly believe that I cannot wait. I can’t wait to see your club and see what people create for their events. It’s fun. So I’m sure. Thank you so much, Sarah. This was amazing. I am very, grateful to have you. I will make sure that we link all your projects, all the podcasts, you know, your website and your work all on within the group and

want to able to put this up also on the podcast. I’ll make sure that, you know, this is such a valuable resource. And I hope that you do create a wonderful course so that we all can come to you. Thank you. Thank you so much, Sharukha. So nice talking to you. I’m just honored to be here. Please reach out, everybody, if you have any questions, if you’re feeling like you can’t do it, if you need a pep talk, I’m your girl. I’m here for you. So thank you so much. And thank you for everything you do, Sharukha, for artists.

I don’t know how you do what you do, but you’re amazing and you’re such a shining light in this world and you do so much for artists. And I can never thank you enough because we need more people like you. We to really empower artists and help that next generation, right? Or help the current generation of artists. We just, we all need each other and you do so, so, so much. So. Thank you.

Charuka (01:15:11.404)
Like, you know, just this conversation with you. think there’s also something very selfish in this because truly I feel like when I get to do this, also get to like, this is the, like, this is the pep talk I always need and a push I need. in that way, you know, sometimes you, you know, the bigger reason is because I know I didn’t find that courage. Like I didn’t find that community. And even if it can help too.

four, five, I remember like, you when we started our Swatch project, we were so small, four years, today actually we complete four years officially. I don’t even know how long it’s been. But I know it started from nothing and it’s grown into, you know, something now. And it’s been a journey. But also, I have like, I’ve been able to help but also so much help I have internally received like, knowing that I’ve, you know, the artist in me, that

great for all of those things. And today I feel like if I’m creating this out there, it’s just, like, I’m feeding myself also. Like there’s so many versions of me already out there. Yes. I would love to take a workshop with you. Yeah. A hundred percent. So amazing. Well, we’ll have to be in touch and thank you so much. Thank you for your time. Thank you. I hope everyone has a great day. Can’t wait to see all these events roll out. need more art events. So this is exciting.

Perfect. Thank you. All right. Thanks, everybody. Thanks for listening. Thank you. Have a great day. Bye -bye.

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About the Guest(s):

Sara is a professional artist based in Michigan, USA, with nearly two decades of experience in the art world. Specializing in painting, she has a home studio in the countryside and is also an experienced art educator and coach. Sara has conducted over 120 art events since 2014, ranging from intimate gatherings to large-scale workshops. She hosts the podcast “I Like Art,” where she shares insights and interviews with fellow creatives. Sara combines her skills in art and entrepreneurship to help other artists succeed without gallery representation.

Episode Summary:

In this engaging episode, our host welcomes the talented Sara, an accomplished painter and art educator from Michigan. Sara’s unique journey as a professional artist who excels at hosting art workshops is the focal point of this discussion. Listeners are introduced to the realities of starting and managing art events, learning from Sara’s extensive experience and practical advice.

Sara shares candid stories about her beginnings, including the challenges of promoting art events—navigating low attendance, and the fear of failure. With over 120 events under her belt, Sara underscores the importance of resilience and the rewarding nature of teaching and sharing art. Whether it’s a small gathering in a friend’s yard or a collaborative event with a local business, Sara emphasizes that successful art events are about more than just the art; they’re about community and connection.

Key Takeaways:

The importance of overcoming fear and embracing initial failures in hosting art workshops.

Real-world examples of how scrappy beginnings can lead to successful, large-scale events.

The significance of social interaction and community building through art.

Combining various skills and past experiences to enhance the quality and organization of art events.

Balancing personal artistic practice with teaching and hosting events to ensure continued creative fulfillment.

Notable Quotes:

“I started a workshop, and it’s happened to me. Like you know, it’s happened to all of us… whenever we put out an offer in the first couple of times it does not turn out to be the way we expect.”

“I believe that people who teach and share their gifts are rewarded by the universe… Thank you for blessing other people.”

“It doesn’t have to be all art experiences either… Like rolling silverware is a lot like rolling up paintbrushes.”

“The world needs you to leave your studio… It’s all about sharing your gifts with others.”

“Start scrappy; you are going to be doing so well. Just keep going!

Charuka Arora is the founder of the Arts to Hearts Project and Host of the Arts to Hearts Podcast. She is also an acclaimed Indian artist known for her contemporary embellished paintings. Her unique blend of gouache, collage, embroidery, painting, and drawing explores the intersection of art, culture, heritage, and womanhood. Through her work, she tells stories of female strength and encapsulates them in pieces that can be treasured for generations.

Charuka’s work draws inspiration from Hindu mythology, recognizing women as vessels of Shakti, the cosmic energy. She beautifully portrays powerful goddesses like Durga Maa riding a tiger or lion, symbolizing their unlimited power to protect virtue and combat evil.

Through her art, Charuka invites us into the world of women, showcasing their beauty, strength, and resilience. Her creations not only exhibit exceptional talent but also serve as an inspiration and a symbol of hope for those challenging societal norms.

Arts to Hearts Podcast is a show delving into the lives and passions of renowned artists. From running creative businesses and studio art practices to cultivating a successful mindset, Charuka Arora engages in heartfelt conversations with her guests. Experience your personal happy hour with your favorite artists right in your studio.

Through candid discussions, Charuka and her guests reveal the joys and challenges of a vibrant creative life, both within and beyond our studios. Get ready to be inspired and uplifted as you tune in.

Sara Glupker

Sara Glupker is a painter who works out of her studio in rural Michigan. She earned her B.F.A. in Painting from Western Michigan University in 2005 and has been working as an artist for the past 15 years. Sara enjoys painting with acrylic, watercolor, and oil paint, and her paintings are described as colorful, whimsical, and representational of flowers and nature. Sara’s paintings reside in many private and corporate collections, including the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo and Bronson Methodist Hospital of Greater Kalamazoo, MI- who own over 50 of Sara’s paintings among multiple healthcare locations. Sara’s studio, named Cherry Tree Art Studio, is adjacent to her home and was built on a particular family property that was once a cherry orchard. Sara finds her inspiration being in the woods or running on trails outdoors and she enjoys telling stories with her paintings. Sara is a mother to three budding artists and enjoys creating with her daughters. She likes to run, read, be in her garden, bake, cook, sew, bike, and swim in her spare time.