Hello everyone! Welcome to my 2nd blog!
So, the other day I was looking at our Yelp reviews. Fun, huh? Well, not so much sometimes. I’ll be completely honest in saying that while the vast majority of our reviews are good (we have an overall 4 out of 5-star rating) there are a few that just aren’t.
I realized after reading a couple of those that I need to address them.
First, I want to thank everyone who takes the time to write a review about us, whether good or bad. The good reviews let us know what people value about our store and the bad ones let us know, in no uncertain terms, what we can improve on. This is incredibly valuable for us and it’s how we’ve stayed in business for over 20 years.
I just want to let you all know that if ANYTHING at Aran’s Art Studio is less than acceptable, please let us know. We’ll do everything we can to remedy the situation.
If you don’t absolutely LOVE your finished piece…if you don’t feel you got great service from us…
We WILL fix it.
If I am in one of my not-so-delightful moods (yes…I know I can be…well…not so delightful at times) PLEASE do me a favor and tell me to snap the heck out of it!
I really don’t mean anything by it. Like all of us, it’s just hard for me to get out of my own way sometimes. I truly treasure everyone who comes into my studio to get away from the craziness of the outside world. We’ll always strive to be an antidote to that craziness, not a cause of it.
That brings me to my granddaughter, Sophie.
She’s 3 and was in here last week painting a horse. After we fired it, I sat down and looked at it.
I looked at it for a long time.
If you just see it in passing, you’d probably think it wasn’t very good. At least in the way we, as grown-ups, look at things.
The painting was messy.
The colors were mixed up in no particular order.
Most horses aren’t blue or green.
But it was beautiful. How could that be?
I’ve been doing art for…oh…about 60 years and I still hesitate to call myself an “artist”.
I remember when I was a little girl painting a picture of a horse in a field and having an adult tell me, “The sky isn’t red, you know. Neither is grass.” And I remember feeling like whatever “artist” I had in me was sucked out and thrown away at that moment.
That’s a horrible feeling to give a child. As I looked at Sophie’s blue and green horse, I realized that, yes, she can’t paint like me. I’m 64 years young. But I can’t paint like her, either.
I’ve seen children cry when their parents try to “fix” their artwork. I know they’re trying to help, but I believe with all my heart that there is no right or wrong way to paint and it should be left up to each one of us, children especially, to explore their own creative selves.
It is my true belief that everyone in the world is an artist. Whether you get up in the morning and dress beautifully, or you come in here and do an acrylic pour or paint pottery, or something else entirely, you are an artist.
Our motto is “Discover Your Inner Artist” and I truly believe that your inner artist truly exists, and we can help you find it at Aran’s Art Studio.
Thank you,
Aran
