CherylAnnHillsArtist

You’ve already heard this; Stop selling on social media and start telling stories!! But very few are actually paying attention to this directive. So, I want to say first; I am not an expert . I am an observer of human behaviour and interaction and I have the ability to see patterns and shifts in patterns. My own communication style is; think - think - think – speak/write. And when I write, I will read and re-read before I hit send or post. I do this because I know that written language is not the best way to communicate in every situation. Written words lack context unless it’s provided. Written words do not indicate body language, tone of voice and facial expressions. This means that written words can and often are easily misunderstood . I belong to hundreds of groups on Facebook. In the past year I’ve seen a major growth in the number of small business groups . Based on the comments and questions I see I would guess the vast majority of these members are new to running a b...

 The year of 2020 has been one for the books, as they say. No one has gone through this unscathed. Just that simple fact demonstrates the interconnectivity of earth and everything on earth. And right there, I’ve already veered away from my focus for this blog post. Is it just me? Or has the ability to focus become extremely difficult if not impossible as this year progressed?? What did you read or hear that was not disturbing or controversial? The latest news is about steel monoliths being discovered all over the planet. Is it a hoax?? An advertising gimmick? Aliens???? Regardless it IS a distraction. Politics is a distraction. The stories and reports and ongoing discussions about covid, the environmental crisis, personal and business economic troubles, food, and water shortages; the list of distractions is endless. I watch “real” news maybe once a week now. Usually from our nations source. I try to avoid getting drawn into the drama everywhere on social media. In fact, I’...

Its fall in the year of the covid and we’ve almost made it through what many are calling a most unprecedented time. As a citizen of Canada, I am especially fortunate having access to the basic necessities (that many take for granted); clean water, a place to live, clothing food and a safe environment. Falls colours brilliantly display the energy of nature’s life all around us. Yet for me October remains a reminder and a measure. While we probably shouldn’t dwell on the past, we should never forget it entirely either. Something about “those who forget are doomed to repeat…” I find myself pausing here , pondering whether this particular story to follow should be shared or kept hidden. But then I think about my own present convictions – a deep belief that when we share our experiences with others, we help others. I’ve read stories about ancient peoples whose culture is built on the knowledge and experience of their elders – stories are re-told and passed on to generations to follow. ...

Great! Now I have your attention!! Remember the old commercials with the cool sing-along jingles and the terrifyingly large cartoon characters that would tell you why that thing was sooooo GRRRRReat!!!? Sadly, that type of marketing is gone. We’ve oversold ourselves and now no one wants to listen to anyone who asks us to buy this or buy that. Every second of every day is filled with sales pitches and marketing gimmicks. And we’re really good at scrolling past… Recently I read on social media someone’s post talking about the new generations (30 and under) and how they buy everything from Amazon, and no one can compete. I feel that’s only partially true. While price and accessibility have always been important to consumers; more often, we are looking for products that are made local, are socially or environmentally responsible and provide the best quality product for a fair price. I’m a Gen X and these things are important to me too as a consumer. There will always be those who sho...

When I think of things that define an artist the willingness to try is one characteristic that is prevalent. Willingness, as defined by the Oxford dictionary is: “ the quality of being happy and ready to do something ”. And try is defined as: “to make an attempt or effort to do or get something”. So basically, artists are often happy and ready to make an attempt or effort to do or get something. I see so many artists who are willing to try their craft, create a work and sometimes even share that work with others. But often those same artists are uneasy about sending that same artwork into a gallery call, or an art competition or even applying for a spot at a market to sell their work. Let’s pause here for a minute: Why do I feel its important to share your art? Simply because art is often an expression of joy, or sorrow, or whatever it is that the artist is feeling. (this is the same for dancers, musicians, writers etc) AND when you share your feelings/emotions you can...

As an artist I often consider and reflect on my thoughts and feelings towards my environment. This includes everything from my ideas about my art and how I make it, the foods I choose to eat to the types of clothes I wear, my ideas of my neighbours and friends and my choices in plants in my garden.   Sometimes my ideas and opinions of these things come from a lived experience. Sometimes these opinions come from the ideas and opinions of others.   Children often absorb the ideas and opinions of others simply because their own lived experience is brief. When our ideas are from lived experience, often prejudices can arise. Here is one example from my own experience. When I was a grade schooler, I was bullied by a boy who had red hair. Later in my 20’s it happened again, a man with red hair caused problems for me. So, for a long long time my thinking and feelings towards males with red hair were prejudiced based on these two experiences. Not long ago I met and dated a man with...

Love what you do. Sounds contrite, like some bumper sticker on the car in front of you that you stare at mindlessly during 5pm rush hour traffic on the 403 highways system in Ontario. But really, it’s an important 4 words that many of us ignore for most and sometimes all of our lives. are we happy? As we sit in the midst of the Covid pandemic considering our lives, what we’ve done, what we’re doing and what we want to do; perhaps some of our thoughts should consider; For many of us happiness is actually very simple. A few good friends, the basic necessities of life and doing work that we feel is meaningful and that we love to do. After being forced to self-isolate over the past several months these things should be fairly clear to us. Yet many of us will slide back into our previous unsatisfying lives when this is all over because we cannot nor will not see the alternatives we can build for ourselves. It doesn’t have to be that way. Artists can fall into the same tra...