Left Vs. Right-Brained? Why Not Both?
As far back as I can remember, art has always been a part of my life. When I attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School, we always had art as a part of our curriculum every year and it still stands out to me as one of my favorite parts of school in elementary and middle school. I’m extremely lucky to have had those opportunities to expose me to something I would grow to love so much.
When I started high school, I knew I wanted to take as many art classes as possible. I enrolled in drawing, painting, sculpting and literally every art class I could be a part of. I look back on the art projects I have from high school and I can really tell this is the point where I really focused on my art skills and learned new techniques. I was getting really good at sketching with pencil, I got more comfortable with my painting skills, and drawing with markers and different pens became more familiar. I took a ceramics class that taught me the basics of throwing clay, glazing my work and showed me the process of glaze firing in a kiln. Those classes were really fun and I still have almost all of my artistic creations from high school.
I was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program in high school and I had a definite interest in science at the time. When it came time to start thinking about career opportunities and college experiences I was really torn between art and science. I always had an interest in dentistry because of my dad, and I slowly started to realize that this career could be the perfect mix of both worlds. I could utilize both my creative and scientific sides.
When I began my studies at Spelman College, I knew again I wanted to enroll in as many art classes as possible. This was difficult with my biology major, lab classes and pre-dental requirements but I managed to sneak in an art history class and a painting class where I got to experiment with new techniques and enhance my skills even more.
When I got to dental school, I didn’t realize how much my artistic skill would add to my overall experience. I remember the first time we were ever allowed to use a handpiece and we were asked to cut out small shapes in a plastic block. I was a little nervous at first but I cut out my shapes and asked my professor to come over to take a look. He looked at my plastic block, looked back at me and said, “Have you ever done this before? This is great.” From that moment on, I knew I had something special with my hand skills and I kept trying to perfect them.
I performed very well in all of my clinical and practical classes that involved preparing teeth, waxing teeth, dental anatomy, making dentures and really anything involving my hands. I was given the nickname “magic hands” early in dental school and it carried on from freshman year until my graduation. I was asked to tutor the classes behind me in several classes and I remember helping my own classmates before practical exams. One of my instructors asked me to teach her the technique I used to wax and carve practice teeth and she went on to incorporate it into the way she taught her other students. I was really good at the artistic side of dentistry and I honestly enjoyed that part of dental school so much. It made my experience a lot less stressful knowing that I could pull from within and lean on my artistic skills to match my scientific knowledge.
Ben’s Birthday was approaching one year in dental school and I was really having a hard time thinking of a gift for him. I decided to paint him a picture of Kanye West, who was one of his favorite artists at the time. This was the painting that I really consider the rebirth of my art career. He absolutely loved it and I went on to paint more portraits of famous artists. I had an eye for detail and I enjoyed the precision of portraits. I was in school so I would do paintings here and there when I had time but never really considered it as a true “side hustle” until I finished residency.
My friends and family have always been huge supporters of my artwork and asked when I was going to take it seriously. After much debate and thought, I decided to start my own art business, ILC Canvas Creations, in January of 2018 when I finished all of my training. I set up an LLC for my art business at the same time that my Orthodontic career began. When I decided to specialize in Orthodontics, there was a definite part of me that was sad I wouldn’t be using my hand skills as much as I would as a General Dentist. That was even more reason for me to take my art career to the next level and continue to enjoy something I love so much.
I was struggling with creating one of a kind pieces that were so time consuming while managing a new career. I researched the idea of having canvas prints made of my artwork to become more efficient and lucrative. I set up my own website and also created a shop on Etsy to sell original and canvas prints of my work. I now have a mix of dental artwork for dental offices of all specialties and creative artwork as part of my portfolio. My dad is a photographer so I’m fortunate to have him to shoot professional images for my website and for printing.
Custom pieces still remain my favorites and painting a new project still gives me so much excitement. The challenge these days is time. A custom piece can take anywhere from 8-24 hours from design to finish depending on the level of difficulty. Before my daughter Tatum was born, I could spend an entire weekend painting and knocking out a new project. I used to have an entire art room to be fully creative and expressive, but that has now turned into her nursery so I got bumped into the dining room.
After having Tatum, there was a period of almost 6-7 months when I didn’t paint at all due to trying to balance motherhood, a marriage and a career all at the same time. When I found myself home for 9 weeks when the COVID-19 pandemic began, I realized this was a perfect time to incorporate painting back into my routine and it honestly got me through the hard times. When I needed an escape or felt like I needed self-care, I started painting again.
Painting these days looks like 1-2 hour stretches when Tatum is napping or evenings after work. A new project can take anywhere from 1 week to over 1 month now, which is just how it is. I used to feel so much pressure when people asked for a custom piece. I felt so bad saying not right now, or I can get to it later. But I came to realize that’s the reality of the situation. I have a running list of commissions and I work through them one at a time. I can only do so much with all of the wonderful aspects of life I have to balance at the same time. It’s much more enjoyable now and is such a passion of mine to sit down and enter into my creative space and make a piece of art that my friends and family love.
I encourage you to find what you are passionate about and pursue it. If you’re scared to start that business, just do it. If you need a minute to yourself, take it and escape into your happy place for self-care. Find that one thing that helps you escape into your happy place. I have truly been blessed with a talent that not only enhances my career, but also allows me to use my left and right brain to the fullest.
You can check out samples of my work at www.ILCCanvasCreations.com
You can check out samples of my work here: