LEARNING OUT LOUD
Hi! It's been a while.
2026 has just flown by and, of course, journals on journals continue to be filled as I learn and reflect on life in real time.
As we enter the fourth quarter of the year, I've been thinking about how I want to finish it. And rather than simply sharing what I've been working on, I want to share some of what I've been learning—lessons that have directly impacted my studio practice and the way I show up as an artist.
Creating with Your Creator
For those who don't know, I'm currently a Teaching Artist in Residence at Kingsway Preparatory School.
This year, I've been developing and teaching a new curriculum centered on Creating with Your Creator.
One of my biggest realizations while developing this curriculum was that I cannot simply teach my students to create the way I do.
Creating with your Creator comes from relationship. Each of us was uniquely created by the Artist of all artists, and I believe He has a unique relationship with each of us, including the way He desires to create with us.
Think about it. No painting comes into the world exactly the same way. Even when I approach two paintings with a similar process, each one develops in a way that is particular to that work.
How much more intentional is the OG Artist with each of us?
So my role as a teacher isn't to create a bunch of mini-me's. It's to equip my students with the tools to bring what's been placed on their hearts into the world.
Rather than simply teaching them how to draw a person step by step, I want them to understand how lines become shapes, how shapes build forms, and how those elements can come together to create whatever they imagine.
And funny enough, teaching these foundations to children as young as three has challenged the way I think about my own art.
Back to the Basics
Recently, we've been exploring line.
I've asked my students to recognize the difference between a calm line and a crazy line. A line caught in a storm versus one riding a roller coaster or bumping along a rocky road.
We've even explored how to make an angry drawing using expressive lines alone, without drawing an angry face.
And it got me thinking.
Joy is an essential part of my work. But how might I create a painting that feels joyful without relying on a bright smile?
What can color, composition, movement, or even a single brushstroke communicate before we recognize what's being depicted?
It's a challenge I'm excited to explore.
Revisiting these seemingly simple foundations has given me a new appetite for sophistication in my craft. I want to become increasingly intentional about not only what I'm communicating, but how.
At the same time, being surrounded by young artists has reminded me of a freedom I didn't realize I needed.
The freedom to create without being overly concerned about the outcome. To be fully present with whatever stage of the process I'm in, without rushing to see what it will become.
A life lesson in itself.
Feeding the Server
Another lesson I've been learning this year is the importance of tending to the person behind the work.
At a recent low point, a friend shared something with me that has stayed on my heart.
He reminded me that while it's beautiful to serve the visions of others, we also have to feed the server.
The better a tree is tended to, the better its fruit. But if we continually take from a tree without nurturing it, eventually there won't be much fruit left to give.
Much of my work is dedicated to helping bring the visions of others to life, whether through commissioned artwork, teaching, or lending my creative skills to someone else's project. And I genuinely enjoy that work.
But I've been learning that making room for my own vision is not a distraction from those responsibilities. It's part of tending to the very thing that allows me to fulfill them.
Self-care isn't simply a luxury. It's vital to sustaining life.
And I'm learning what that looks like for me.
How I've Been Tending to My Tree
I've been going on adventures. Lots of them, actually. Many solo, which has given me opportunities to slow down, observe, and simply enjoy the world around me.
I've invested in professional development beyond my degree, and I've begun to prioritize creating simply because I want to.
Sometimes that's pulling out my watercolors to capture a little moment that catches my eye, whether it's one I rediscover while scrolling through my camera roll or a scene unfolding right in front of me on a solo adventure.
Sometimes it's sitting down to write scenes for a story I hope to one day bring to life on screen, not just as the writer, but as an actress.
And sometimes it's deciding, in the midst of obligations to everyone else's visions, that I'm going to give myself four days to create a 36 x 48-inch oil painting from start to finish and submit it to a program I've been interested in for years.
I was in awe of how quickly these pieces came together, but even more so, how much I learned about myself as an artist by simply making room for her to create what she wanted.
Not creating to fulfill a commission. Not trying to meet someone else's expectations. Just giving myself permission to explore what was on my heart.
And wouldn't you know it, the ideas and clarity have just been flowing since.
I'm understanding more and more that I have to actually live life, enjoy its present fruit, and remain attentive to the beauty around me if I want to create from a place of fullness rather than depletion.
It's also led me to revisit my artist statement, reflecting more deeply on why I create in the first place.
Why I'm so drawn to the little moments, expressions, and gestures that so often go unnoticed. Why I want to put a spotlight on what others might pass by.
And why, ultimately, my work continues to be an exploration of Love.
What's Next?
There are so many ideas finding their way out of my journals and into the world right now.
I've begun a couple of personal projects that I'm especially excited about, and I look forward to sharing them as they unfold.
In the meantime, I've updated my artist statement to reflect some of these recent revelations.
[Read my updated artist statement]
And if you'd rather hear me share it, I've also posted a reading on my YouTube channel.
[Watch the artist statement reading]
I'll also be making some of my original paintings available for collection very soon, and I can't wait to share them with you.
Here's to tending to the tree, enjoying the fruit, and making room for all that's still growing.
Love,
Maia Faith
