The Challenge

Art has always been part of my life though, funny enough, I did not think about making it something bigger than my casual creative release. However, three years ago I was inspired to create the Mavi Canvas, a personal business where I could sell my art and build my brand as an artist. Wanting to expand my reach, I decided to showcase my art with the community and find new customers by creating a social media account and building a personal website.

The Process

As I was reflecting on my own creativity, I realized that art was a big part of me -why not make it official? I started the Mavi Canvas journey by making my social media account, and slowly I started creating a small community. New clients started to reach out and asked to learn more about me and my process which led me to build my website. As I began to cultivate this new business, I reached out to mentors and small business owners that guided me to apply my business knowledge and created a consultation process for commissioned art pieces. Once I selected the website tool and built the content, I had a group of people test the website to ensure my customers  satisfaction. Although this is still in the beginning phases,  I am excited for what is to come for the Mavi Canvas brand.

The Impact

In the last three years I have painted 12 commissioned art pieces and exhibited my art  in 5 studios across the Houston area.  I have also partnered with a local business to support my community through t-shirt designs.  A large component of my intention behind my art is to support the LatinX community, which I did this year by donating part of my profits to a college student scholarship and hope to continue these efforts in the future.

Self-Reflection

I leveraged my organizational and managerial skills acquired at work to develop this personal project. Also, I discovered new mentors that have guided me through the process which has allowed me to expand my customer reach and business skills.  I gained experience in driving a personal project plan, creating contracts, and developing a process to create commissioned art pieces. As I continue to grow, I want to reach new customers from different cities and exhibit my art across the country.

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