My Journey from Homeschool Mom to Business Owner
Who would have thought that when I was hired as a part time painting instructor at Uptown Art in 2015 that someday I would end up owning the business?
I graduated from WKU in 1997 with a Geography degree and a Computer Science Minor. Though I had always loved art and painted quite frequently as a teenager, it wasn’t a career I thought I could achieve. After leaving the workforce in 1999 to homeschool my children, I never dreamed that someday I would not only return to painting, but end up owning a business that focuses on art.
It all started with a friend’s Paint and Sip birthday party at Uptown Art in Louisville. My love of painting was reawakened. The party’s instructor was impressed with my painting and suggested I apply for a job. Sometime later I was hired as a part-time painting instructor for Uptown Art Louisville and Uptown Art New Albany. Shortly after I was hired, the business changed ownership. At the meet and greet with the new owners, I introduced myself and offered to assist in any way I could. When the acting managers went on to other companies, I was promoted to manage the studios.
Although I had not worked a full-time job in several years, my life experience made me uniquely qualified to take on the management position. I had led homeschool co-op classes. I taught both art and science to home schoolers. I was a Girl Scout leader, served on a Girl Scout nominating committee and was a volunteer camp director for 14 years. Not only did all those experiences prepare me for managing the Uptown Art studios, but I was very good at it. And then…. the pandemic hit.
Like most small businesses, we suffered from the pandemic closures. Being a business that focused on a social experience meant that we had to close and reassess. So, I switched gears. I created artist take-home kits, virtual classes, and craft kits. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save the Louisville location.
In 2020 my bosses made the decision to close the Louisville and New Albany locations. They offered me the opportunity to purchase the Uptown Art New Albany location instead of allowing it to close. For me, it was a great opportunity. After working there for 5 years, I could make it my own. My husband and I worked together to make it happen.
Through the years, I have created paintings and projects for the studios and shaped it to what it is today. I have built relationships with the customers and the staff. Thus, in February 2021 when Uptown Art Corporate announced that they were closing, I knew I was ready to take the next step. I had to change the name and create my own website. After searching for the “perfect” studio name, I arrived at "Viva Art”. It has meaning for me, as “Viva” means “Hurray” or “Long Live”. And in designing the website, I included some of my acrylic pour paintings as background. This new chapter is personalized for what this business has become to me.
My goal is to build on relationships in the community - to make those relationships the cornerstone of Viva Art. To focus on what art and what the studio means to people. It’s a special place for both our customers and our staff. And if we had closed, it would have left an empty space in the community. Viva Art is more than just paint and canvas; more than just a “paint & sip.” For some it is a refuge. For some a place to gather with others. For some it is a place to escape the stresses of life. For me, it has become my life and my goal to maintain this special place for those who need it.
