Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Fernanda Paredes Guapo.
Nadia Fernanda, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved from Mexico City to Los Angeles in 2010, in part because of my love for the Arts. Before leaving Mexico, I had spent many years trying to fit in the world of Psychology and something always seemed off – that is until I encountered Art Therapy. What a revelation! I had discovered a way back to my love of art, without having to be what society calls an “Artist”. This jump into Art Therapy launched my path to understanding how incredibly powerful Art is on many different levels. I started to notice how having a daily art-making routine during grad school was helping me overcome years of physical symptoms related to stress, such as insomnia, never-ending heartburn, persistent coughing, and muscle contractures. I witnessed how creating was more effective than I thought when I stopped taking daily dosages of medication.
Upon completion of my Master’s as an Art Therapist, I continued deepening my clinical knowledge and practice while working with immigration and cultural adaptation in the Latino community – even though it became clear that what I really wanted to do was to create more art.
At my most desperate hour, when I was feeling bored, frustrated and most importantly, disconnected from my true self, I started looking for classes that could teach me how to use art as a pure expressive medium. I did not want to go with technical skill Art classes that were not giving me what I wanted from the Art World. I was craving raw creative expression, not aesthetics! I felt ready to become the artist I was meant to be and not continue to fall prey to what society wanted me to believe.
I immersed myself in Intuition Painting® classes and fell in love with the process, as it combined Visual Arts with Movement and Sound. Three years later, I completed certification as a facilitator and started designing smaller workshops that include Expressive Arts to help people increase their self-knowledge and awaken their dormant creative.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Following your dreams is hard. SO HARD. In the end, you see, it is worth it and you laugh about some of your struggles, but sometimes fear is inevitable. It doesn’t mean it has to stop you. You decide that instead of letting fear take the steering wheel, that you will be the one in charge. Most of the time, I realize that fear is only trying to protect me from my insecurities: What if I go out there and people confirm my fears that I am not a legitimate professional? What if they tell me that art is not helpful at all? That my experience with the art and its healing ability is something that only works for me? If something I have learned from being in the process art business is that living in the process means feeling the feelings and whatever comes with them and then letting them go.
Also, I am aware I have come across failure many times during my business development. On several occasions, I have been about to facilitate community-building events or workshops and then things don’t go as I hope. Many people cancel last minute or things just don’t go the way I planned them (one time the access to the place where I was about to conduct a workshop closed! Imagine that!). Being a solopreneur in these cases suck. You have no one to share the pain with, you feel isolated and I even dare say, like a failure. There are times when I have decided to embrace the pain and just cry it out due to the disappointment and frustration. Sometimes, I can’t make art about it: I am just done. But after a day or two, I feel much more rational and then, I start the process all over again. It is still painful, but I try to gather the lessons learned and move on with the next project.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Art.Food.Dreamers – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We work with women who fall into the ”perfectionist trap” and are going through a transition in life but are hoping for an overall healthy evolution without losing their individuality in the process. Working with me as an individual, or in my “Art-Making for Self-care” or “Conscious Creating” group programs, women learn how to cope during stressful times by using art-making as a road to mindfulness and self-awareness, gain access to a group of likeminded people and discover how to stay grounded throughout the entire process.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
I believe our ability to connect to our emotions is one of our greatest strengths! This allows us to be more empathic and therefore have leadership abilities that can change the world. I believe emotional intelligence is where the future us heading, and us women can take charge of this movement. I believe female energy is naturally connecting and creative. If we were to take more leadership roles, I believe we could solve many of today’s problems, such as Isolation and Individualism, which I believe is what is taking us in the wrong direction. I am hopeful as I start to see a rise in a movement to make our voices be heard and encourage other females to take leadership roles and start working on improving our communities. I am certain we can do this together.
Pricing:
- $15 for Introductory classes
- $75 for Individual work (better pricing available through advance packaging)
- Workshop prices vary depending on length and theme
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artfooddreamers.com
- Phone: 3105977515
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naiscreativejourney
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Art.Food.Dreamers
Image Credit:
David Moreno, Jorge Arevalo, Isabel Harvey
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