We had the good fortune of connecting with Janna Blackburn (Hart) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janna, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
To anyone who knows me, they would describe me as a fighter. Not in the sense of someone who puts on boxing gloves but one who has a steady persistence.  Some would call this stubbornness. I prefer to call it MOXY. When it comes to difficult life challenges, I try to approach it as another learning experience to add to my skillset.  It has taken me many years of stumbling around to understand that I need to be grateful for the hard, challenging, and painful times to understand what happiness, joy and success are.  Never give up never surrender is a motto that is spoken often in my home.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
During the daytime I am a Fire Life Safety Sales Rep at Metro Fire and Security.  I have been in Fire Life Safety for 20+ years it is a career that I am very passionate.  I love meeting new clients to discuss what there FLS needs are for their facilities.  When I am not at Metro to fill in some of my down time in the evenings and weekends, I have a fun little hobby which is slowly turning into a business. Which is fantastic because I have always had a great appreciation for art, and I loved painting as young adult.  However, when my children were born, I know longer had time to paint.  About two years ago I stumble upon a couple YouTube artists who were giving a tutorial on Acrylic Fluid Art. I devoured every piece of content I could find on the web.  I never knew that I had this gaping hole of untapped creativity. I have literal poured my free time into my newfound love of fluid art. It is quite difficult for me to describe even express the immense amount of joy that painting has brought to my ordinary empty nester life.  Every single piece I have created has taught me so much about myself and being self-aware. It has allowed me a sense of peace that help relieve my anxiety that seemed to be building inside of me without me even really knowing what was happening. Fluid Art is not for the faint of heart as it tends to be extremely messy and complete chaos until you figure out that there is a rhythm and cadence to this art technique that requires much patience with yourself and being able to let go of wanting to be in control.  There are so many techniques in this artform, perfecting a couple are a must before moving onto another technique. Every single painting is so unique they are difficult to replicate. The composition, the movement, the beautiful colors each piece that I create is a true reflection of who I am.  They represent my mood with the colors I select for my paints.  The flow of the composition and paint movement represent how my body is feeling that day as well.

Abstract art is a challenging art form. I once thought you just slap paint down and whalla you have art.  This is not the case.  I must be thoughtful and consistent, working every day at perfecting what I have envisioned with each piece that I create. The successful people that I admire most who have perfected their craft are always consistent in what they focus their intentions at.

Some of my most recent accomplishments this year are having three of my art pieces juried with the City of Maricopa which subsequently were hung in the City of Maricopa City Hall.  I also entered another juried exhibit for Artlink they select one out of three of my submitted paintings were selected which will hang in the FOUND RE from November 2022 – February 2023.

Some of the lessons I’ve learned is that I need to be patient with myself.  Just let go and go with the flow.

What would I want the world to know about my story?
Art has led me to have a better understanding about myself which has helped heal some very deep wounds. It has afforded me to have a positive outlook at another chapter in my life that I thought was not even possible. Life is so much better in a world full of color.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Old Town Scottsdale is a wonderful place to go the small compact area has fantastic unique shopping, art and dinning. Tortilla Flats for a beautiful desert drive with spectacular scenery with amazing surrounding lakes. The quaint little area has hiking/walking trails that renews the soul by being out in the Arizona desert drinking in all of the sites and sounds. If you are lucky enough to be in the area during the monarch butterfly migration consider yourself blessed because it is site to behold.

Website: www.jannablackburnartstudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jannablackburnartstudio

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jannablackburnartstudio

Image Credits
Personal Photo – Photography by: Jordan Lindsay Thayne

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