Life is full of challenges. It is hard but life is really beautiful too. We just have to learn to live somewhere in the middle of that and, exist in both realities and of course, do it well. For me, balance and peace comes with listening to intuition. It is important to be constantly listening, constantly weighing, and asking if this is the right path for me. And I found that if I don’t listen to my intuition, then I’m going to push myself further than I need to.
Meet Katie Davis, artist, florist and the all around creative powerhouse behind Ponderosa & Thyme. 16 years ago Katie started as a florist in the wedding industry but today she does so much more than just florals. Katie is a artist through and through and teaches other florists, artists and creatives all over the world about creative process. Her classes and workshops don’t just focus on doing but also on feeling and challenging those feelings and mindset into something that is an expression of art. Katie believes that the art of using creativity as a foundation for business success is important no matter the industry.
Like anything in life, things always come with a price. Katie talked about how at one point work and the long hours started to take a huge toll on her physically and her health suffered. That’s when she took a step back and started focusing on keeping her art a pure form of expression. She says, “I need my art to be for me first and then to love other people well with it. I used to be solely motivated by people and that’s when I started burning my art out. I realized that my art had to be held sacred for myself. And what parts of it I extended to the public was my own choice.” Spoken like a true artist.
Katie is an incredible creative. I have watched her make beautiful floral arrangement and installations from foraged twigs, branches and flowers. Goes to show that you can really create something extraordinary when you channel all the energy and mindset in the right way.
As always, I love hearing from other entrepreneurs on how they balance all the things that are going on in their lives. Most of people I have spoken to either don’t believe that balance in possible or have really regimented guidelines. Be it around office hours, time off and other physical barriers. Katie talked about mental boundaries which are sometimes the hardest to separate – channeling our thoughts and emotions to be at exactly the same place that our body is. Being 100% present.
There is just something about Katie that really spoke to me though out this interview. A feeling of calm, strength as well as the happiness in her voice. She says she loves to laugh and humor is a big part of how she likes to live her life. You can certainly sense and feel that smile in her voice throughout our chat.
I know you are going to enjoy getting to know Katie on this episode of CulturallyOurs.
{Photos by Kim Branagan Photography}
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