Having a mentor to work with throughout the grant period is a profound gift. It’s one of the most exciting aspects thus far of my experience as a grantee. I am so grateful for the care and intention that the Creative Pinellas staff puts into pairing us with the right person to be our mentors.
I am so delighted to be paired with Candace Knapp. While I knew of her name, I wasn’t entirely familiar with her work. When I learned that she was my mentor, I poured over her website candaceknapp.com . It was clear after seeing her luminous paintings, organic and nature driven sculptures, there was so much to learn from this obviously kindred spirit!
We connected in person for our first meeting at IKEA, a convenient middle point between our respective homes with ample parking. The bustle of early holiday shoppers commencing around us, we went to the cafeteria and grabbed some lunch and began to get to know one another. Candy and I share a keen interest in all things spiritual. She and I both love and adore trees, nature, and shimmering light. These themes are an intrinsic part of both of our creative expressions. It was a joyful, fun, deep connection as we created our structure to follow for the grant period.
Candy and I meet on FaceTime for 30-45 minutes weekly and we email back and forth as desired. I look forward to and love our weekly conversations and growing friendship. Candace really listens to me and offers insights and tips that are expanding the way I think about things. One example of a shift I have had through one of Candy’s tips, is that I often feel like I cannot do art work unless I have a big block of time. I was speaking of this and Candy mentioned seeing a talk by author Clarissa Pinkola Estes and how she wrote, Women Who Run with the Wolves, in five minute increments. This simple bit of information is altering my mindset and loosening the grip of self imposed constraints. How great is that?!
Thank you, Creative Pinellas, for this perfect pairing. Thanks, Candy, for being you and bringing so much to my life already!
