The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

On DreaminSoul.com I interviewed Tony Snipes, a visual artist gives advice to other artists on discovering their creative purpose…

Author, speaker and ministry leader Tony Snipes helps today’s gifted artisans answer questions about their purpose and creative calling through his initiatives Art Lessons From God and Kreative Kingdom.

“What is it that you love doing that you wouldn’t even have to have anybody pay you for… That’s your passion…the beauty of it would be that if you’re pursuing that and you’re getting paid for it then it’s not even like work.” – Tony Snipes

Be sure to check out the resource links at the end of the interview including a free download of Tony’s audio resource “How To Identify Your Creative Calling: Your CALLING, Your CAREER, Your JOB…What’s The Difference?”

Most everyone has asked these questions:

• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• What should I be doing?

Artists in particular, from painters to musicians, may ask these questions regarding their gifts:

• Who am I as an artist?
• Why do I have this talent?
• What does God want me to do with it?

Tony Snipes, a gifted artist himself and founder of Kreative Kingdom, Inc. a non-profit faith-based art initiative, began asking these questions and created a resource to help other artists discover their creative purpose.

Tony’s project, Art Lessons from God delves into these questions of gifting and calling. The blog, workshops, books and other resources were created with the goal of helping artists and designers discover God’s purpose and plan for their artistic talent. Watch Tony introduce the site below:

Though the site is targeted toward visual artists it has much insight that could inspire artists of any type from writers and performers to musicians and filmmakers. Many of the topics explored can apply to a variety of arts, like “Anointed versus Talented: What’s the Difference?” to “Discovering a “God” idea vs a “Good” idea.”

Often in our society we acknowledge the “how” regarding talents of individuals but may not always consider the deeper questions involved with “why”. In this interview Tony Snipes discusses his background in the visual arts and gives advice to other artists in figuring out their “why” and God’s purpose for them:

Dream in Soul: Hi Tony, thanks for speaking to me today. Can you tell us a little about who you are: What is your background in art and your profession?

Tony Snipes: Well prior to going into graphic design and illustration I have been drawing and painting all of my life but especially kind of training myself to draw and sketch from my comic books as a kid. So I did a lot of drawing back then, and am professionally trained as a graphic designer – graphic design and illustration…that’s pretty much my professional background with art…

Visit my website Dream in Soul (www.dreaminsoul.com) for more updates and inspiration, and check out the latest posts from the site below:

I originally posted this on my youth motivational site DreamerENT.com, click here to visit the site.

Recently actress and singer Demi Lovato did an interview with Good Morning America where she is open and real about some of her struggles with an eating disorder and overcoming difficult times in her life. She looks vibrant and confident, and it’s awesome how she shows strength to be who she is and to overcome. Below also watch Demi sing ‘Skyscraper’ from her new album Unbroken:

Demi’s honesty makes her so relatable to other girls who may be going through something similar. She also wrote an open letter to her fans, it’s so moving, watch it below:

Click here to watch

Corbin Bleu has been one of my favorite actors and performers since I was a teen watching him in High School Musical (you may even say I developed a slight crush back then – but I digress;). I love his approach to his work and how he doesn’t just label himself as a dancer, singer or actor but as an artist.

Here’s a quote I was inspired by from a recent interview he did after his stint at the Hollywood Bowl’s “Hairspray,” talking about music and how it connects us, and his advice to aspiring performers:

“I’ll never understand why…we can’t all feel free to sing whether good, bad, trained voice or not. When it comes to a profession, yes we should want the best of the best voices. But our society has made us feel as though if you don’t sing well, you shouldn’t.

“I recently visited Fiji and I experienced one of the most incredible things. Every person in the country will sing to you. They have native songs that everyone knows.

“For example there is a goodbye song, and every place I left in Fiji everybody sang this song to see us off. Music and singing are such inspirational and freeing tools. Everyone should use them!

“Words of wisdom for aspiring performers? Til the day we die, we are always learning. Who we become depends on how we apply what we’ve learned to better our lives. As performers, our position is to know and portray the lives of others. So the amount we can learn is multiplied.”

From an interview on Playbill.com

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world.”
— Harriet Tubman

Love this quote; Harriet Tubman was one woman yet had so much impact on history and our world – proof of what just one dreamer and doer can do. What are we waiting for?

This design is available as a T-shirt or print from my Envibrance Dream Creations Store. Click here to visit the shop…

This TED Talk from a few months back featuring designer Jessi Arrington is so creative and quirky. Jessi is a self-proclaimed “color-loving…outfit-obsessed Brooklyn designer” who is determined to feed her love for passion only by shopping secondhand at flea markets and thrift stores. She also photographs and blogs a different “colorful, crazy outfit for every single occasion.” I love her care-free take on fashion to express herself, and how she doesn’t take her outfits or herself too seriously (which she shows in one of her tips: “Embrace your inner child. Sometimes people tell me that I look like I’m playing dress-up, or that I remind them of their seven year-old. I like to smile and say, ‘Thank you.’)

Visit Jessica’s blog to learn more about her take on the TED talk and her passion for fashion, used and unique.

” Jessi Arrington packed nothing for TED but 7 pairs of undies, buying the rest of her clothes in thrift stores around LA. It’s a meditation on conscious consumption — wrapped in a rainbow of color and creativity.”

From Jessi’s TED Talk
“…Confidence is key. If you think you look good in something, you almost certainly do. And if you don’t think you look good in something, you’re also probably right. I grew up with a mom who taught me this day-in and day-out. But it wasn’t until I turned 30 that I really got what this meant. And I’m going to break it down for you for just a second. If you believe you’re a beautiful person inside and out, there is no look that you can’t pull off. So there is no excuse for any of us here in this audience. We should be able to rock anything we want to rock.

“…Developing your own unique personal style is a really great way to tell the world something about you without having to say a word. It’s been proven to me time and time again as people have walked up to me this week simply because of what I’m wearing. And we’ve had great conversations…”

“So obviously this is not all going to fit back in my tiny suitcase. So before I go home to Brooklyn, I’m going to donate everything back. Because the lesson I’m trying to learn myself this week is that it’s okay to let go. I don’t need to get emotionally attached to these things, because around the corner, there is always going to be another crazy, colorful, shiny outfit just waiting for me, if I put a little love in my heart and look.” – Jessi Arrington

More About Jessi

Jessi Arrington is a founder and owner of WORKSHOP, a designer firm in Brooklyn. Her favorite color is rainbow and her default answer is YES. She’s taught Design Fundamentals at Touro College and given guest lectures at NYU; she’s a board member of AIGA/NY. Before co-founding WORKSHOP, she carried out branding for Brooklyn Brewery, Tomato Records and Lion Brand Yarn under the direction of Milton Glaser. She makes a hobby of wearing nothing new (except undies).
She blogs at LuckySoAndSo.com about design, consumption and color.