Hey All!
So recently I’ve been really working to not only really focus myself as a creative but take time I never really did to focus on branding . A lot of that has been developing new approaches,being more organized and serious about my creative endeavors, and just focusing on my goals and the future. Since I started my Patreon I’ve been gradually researching and moving toward redefining more of an image of myself as a creative. I’m really moving toward a creative future based on clear communication,cleaner design on my various media sites, and a more focused set of creative goals.
Part of that has involved my main site as well. It’s transformed over the last few months into a much cleaner look that is more reflective of the creative mind I’ve grown into.
Now if you aren’t in the loop, I’ve been mostly hopping from one medical and/or financial crisis to another since late 2017. My life was completely flipped and spun around when my misdiagnosed bipolar was corrected to me being on the autism spectrum. Adjusting to being an adult on the spectrum has been as enlightening as it’s been difficult and I’m finally starting to gain some perspective after losing my previous job,realizing I couldn’t return to traditional work, and discovering my real calling is as a writer. Reshaping my life and finding ways to reinvent myself and stay afloat has been a day-to-day challenge but I’m slowly climbing back up from rock bottom and with a lot more perspective than I’ve had in the past about who and where I want to be in life.
Do I still have legal,medical, and financial problems? You bet! But I’ve come to the conclusion that this can be a learning experience so I’m starting to build myself back up and reach out for help to get my life back together and build experiences and a life I’m truly happy with.
What does that mean for this site? It means I’m going to be moving HaevenArts toward being more reflective of who I am now and that means purging old blogs,redesigning old pages and reassessing what projects really matter to me so I don’t have extra fluff on my plate I’m not really passionate about.
Moving forward I really can’t hold down traditional work but I can’t sit and do nothing so I’m going to be moving toward being a full time creative and finding ways to gain income from some of that. Right now the first and I think biggest component of that is my Patreon but it means exploring things like online storefronts,commissions, and really pouring energy into my pursuit to be a published author as well. It’s a very scary prospect that at the moment I have no reliable income but my husband is being very supportive of me and I’m working hard to really achieve my goals because of the push from being in such a big hole right now. It’s really lit a fire under me when it comes to doing something with my creative talents.
It’s also kind of freeing because the more I explore my creative outlets,the more right I feel. I think as a person on the autism spectrum my keys to success lie a lot in doing things that align with my special interests. I was very nervous when I first started the Patreon and announced pursuing the self-publishing because it was risky and it was new just allowing myself to completely be out there. I had a lot of problems accepting being on the spectrum because it’s very different from what I’d been used to and unlike a diagnosis that I can sort of soften with a pill,autism is just part of me and how my brain functions. I am getting to a place where I realize it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It just makes me unique and there are a lot of awesome things about me and ways I can can succeed in a way that suits me as a person.
HaevenArts has evolved from my casual project site and started becoming a creative portfolio that truly highlights me as a person. The more I move forward in truly allowing myself to blossom as a creative I’m finding the areas where I’m really passionate and able to shine.
One of the things that was amazing for me was looking back to my older posts and seeing my dream to build an oekaki site grow into my dream to build an artist community. It was a dream that was one of my first really passionate milestones in being a creative. I’m not sure where that project will go and I’m not even sure how the site went from that to opening so many other doors for me and now providing a place for me to fully explore my avenues as a creative.
So to wrap-up I want to do a few things.
First I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to the creatives I’ve met over the years and the ones I’m discovering more and more everyday. I’ve been inspired seeing so many people using the world as a springboard to follow dreams and I want to be part of that movement. The technology and the community of modern creatives is an amazing thing to behold. I’m slowly learning to network and appreciate the sense of community I never noticed before. I hope with the strength and support of the creative community I can become something great in my own right.
I want to thank the teachers who inspired me to keep creating and the inspiring people who have taken the time to show interest in my creative dabbling over the years. In hindsight there are so many things that shape a person not just into an adult but into the person they are. My creative life has often saved my life and I have no doubt it can do that now.
Second, I want to invite you. You may or may not have an inkling of who I am now but you will. I’m fully determined to go from being a flash in the pan to a success and I hope you’ll join me on my creative journey and feel inspired to go on your own. Let me reintroduce myself! My name is Melissa K. Vassar-Belloso. I am a creative enthusiast with many hats and an adult on the autism spectrum. I’m an evolving hobbyist artist,passionate blogger in not just creative but also mental health and life topics,and an aspiring author looking to innovate the art of character design with my upcoming book the “Character Designer’s Journal”.
I want to help lift the stigma on disabilities by proving one creative work at a time that we can all contribute to society in a unique and special way,not as a diagnosis but as people just living their lives and trying to achieve their best life.
I currently blog weekly in my series “Thoughts of an Aspie” with practical mental health and life topics tempered with a personal insight. You can also read a sample of my upcoming book under the works menu of http://haevenarts.com .
You can find me on Facebook at http://bit.ly/mkvbonfacebook . I manage two project pages on Facebook as well that you should check out. I also have Twitter which I’m going to be organizing and utilizing a lot more moving forward so check me out under @themeinav for daily creative tweets and more!
Welcome to the new HaevenArts and stay tuned for greatness!
