This Is Your Sign To Lean Into Your Spark!
Personal reflections on 2024, Looking forward to 2025
My Dear Friends,
Have you ever been through a busy season of life where you find yourself tackling just about everything… but the thing you love most?
At the start of this year, I made a commitment to pause all creation in my studio. I promised myself: no more sculpting, no more designing jewelry—at least for now. As 2024 began, I reflected on the year prior and decided, with a heavy heart, that I had been producing too much art. It felt as though I was assuming people would always want what I created, and the idea of this made me insecure. I started to worry that being so available might not only diminish the value of my work but also the joy I found in creating it.
So, I pressed pause.
For the first quarter of the year, I shifted my focus. I poured my energy into repairing and refreshing parts of my home, savoring the victories of projects like steaming stains out of my living room furniture and renovating my home studio. I organized beautiful celebrations for my daughter Alexa’s wedding—a once-in-a-lifetime whirlwind of cherished memories that truly defined the year. I also traveled across Texas, running trunk shows for my jewelry line and connecting with so many of you. I was busy and happy, but I couldn’t ignore the quiet, nagging sense that I had a need missing from my daily life.
When I finally allowed myself to return to the studio in the latter half of the year, it was like taking a deep, rejuvenating breath. I realized that, while I’d been incredibly productive during my pause, most of my effort had been focused on the “what”—the tasks, the to-do lists, the immediate goals. And while this is an essential part of life, what I had truly missed—and was so grateful to rediscover in my studio—was my “why.”
I relented to sculpting without fear—without worrying about being ‘too much,’ relatable, or even profitable. I let my hands move without hesitation, my imagination flow without bounds, and my ideas take shape without second-guessing their worth.
What came next was a joyful burst of unfiltered creation!
I relished in a sweet nautical dream in ‘Tale of a Seahorse,’ a piece brimming with whimsy and playful details.
I chased dragonflies with the light of a little child covered in ladybugs in ‘Fly Away!’
And most recently, I took a trip to space with ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ a piece with his own delightful story that I can’t wait to share with you soon!
As we head into 2025, my imagination is on fire and unapologetically ready to roll!
Sometimes, we have to take a step back to rest, recalibrate, and remember what calls us to our “why” to reignite the spark. The important thing is that, when we come back to it, we don’t edit ourselves for fear of anything but instead trust our honest, hard work to speak for itself.
May we all go into the new year being creatively courageous, chasing our spark, and uplifting one another’s dreams.
Happy Holidays!
With love,
Angela Mia
Thank you for your honest sharing. The Why for us creatives can be very different than others experience. This tugged at my inner heart.
Thank you for writing that. As an artist I certainly relate to your feelings. And by the way, your work is just glorious!!!