So. I went, I saw, and I added Candee’s blog to my favorites list. I garnered myself a collection of beautiful samples of Candee’s digital artistry which she was freely giving away and wondered why she wasn’t selling it somewhere. And, along the way, I became interested in the woman behind the art. I thought you might be too, so I asked Candee if I might ask her some questions and write about her. She graciously accepted.
When I asked Candee to describe herself, she admitted to being a tad over fifty, divorced, mother to three wonderful grown children, and delighted grandmother of three grandchildren who she described as "perfectly perfect." A New York native, she grew up on the beach there and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada twelve years ago along with "children, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!" While the idea of having all the family together in one place is a decision she’s pleased with, Candee said that the decision to live in Vegas might be called "Good Ideas Gone Bad." I had to laugh when she called living there as "living on a ride in Disneyland, only Mickey is drunk all the time." It certainly puts a vivid image in your head, doesn’t it?
No, Vegas doesn’t seem like the kind of place you’d move to for a peaceful retirement. Like me, Candee found herself "retiring" early due to health issues. Born with scoliosis, the condition became sufficiently disabling by 2002 forcing her early retirement. Prior to being forced into retirement, Candee had earned a degree in early-childhood education but soon discovered that teachers are "horrifically" underpaid. (A sentiment I agree with one hundred percent!) The last twenty years of her work history were spent as an emergency room secretary. Nothing like going from one stressful job to another.
The bright side of all this is that her retirement has given Candee the time to indulge her muse. She grew up in a very artistic family and has always been interested in the arts - all of them! I could visualize her grin as she explained: " Frustrated that Broadway hadn’t ‘discovered’ me by age 9, I turned to crafting anything and everything I could get my hands on." As a teenager, she worked part-time in a ceramics store, took part in juried art shows, and even opened a shop with her sister in which all items sold were designed and created by the two of them. The shop was actually too successful; the sisters couldn’t make supply meet demand.
Candee is very much a self-motivated individual with a drive to succeed. She’s never had any formal art or computer training. Her aesthetic is innate as is her determination to teach herself anything she wants to learn. Candee had done paper scrapping for about ten years when she reached the point of having to face her disability. Her daughter introduced her to Paint Shop Pro. Unlike other things Candee had taught herself, she didn’t find learning the program easy. However, her daughter persisted in teaching her and, as Candee began to feel comfortable with the program, she joined activities in her daughter’s PSP signature tag making group. That’s where she discovered others using digital scrap booking supplies. After doing a little researching, Candee was hooked!
Mermaid’s Haven blog was started about a year ago. Candee planned it as a place to share her thoughts and her writing but soon decided it would be a great place to get reactions to digital designs she was developing. People downloading her freebies left positive comments about the quality of her work which Candee appreciated. She was encouraged to sell her designs. When she found that her freebies were being downloaded 5000 times, it was time to move into professional designing.
Currently Candee sells her work under the trade name of CanDesigns exclusively at Stone Accents Studio ( She uses Corel PSP to create these designs.) Her favorite style is "shabby chic;" when she first began designing she was the "grunge queen" and her motto was "sometimes it’s ok to get a little dirty." Her style is evolving; she’s expanding on the style of designs she offers. Candee feels confident about being able to produce most any style or theme someone might want, but there are two areas she’d really like to conquer.
One area Candee would love to improve in is the production of natural looking metal. She explained that this is difficult to do in PSP and she finds that frustrating. The other area is being able to put her whimsical thinking into designs that reflect it. She feels she just doesn’t have that right yet, but she’s working at it.
When you talk to Candee (or "chat" on-line with her) several things quickly become apparent. She is warm, friendly, wonderfully direct and straightforward. She doesn’t mind telling you that she can’t draw. She accepts this and moves on to find a way to accomplish her goal. With appreciation for their artistic gifts, Candee says she uses a lot of designer resources (commercial use products) from artists like Bannerwoman, Cindy Doerksen, and numerous Scrap Girls designers to assist her in creating her kits. I really love the way she describes the use of such resources: "To me, it’s like baking a cake. These ladies do the shopping for the perfect ingredients for me, and I bake it the way I want to and put the icing on the cake."And such beautiful "cakes" she bakes!
Naturally, budding designer that I am, I had to ask Candee for advice to want-to-be-designers. She was happy to answer, saying she believes in "pay[ing] it forward." First, she suggests you apply to join a few creative teams. You don’t design when you’re on these teams; you get the opportunity to work with the kits of various designers while creating scrapbook layouts that are used to advertise their products. What does that do for you besides give you free digital scrap booking products? Several things: your name becomes known; you observe differences in style and quality among the designers you work with; and you learn a little about the business.
Second, if you want to be a professional designer, you have to think and act like one. You’ve heard the expression, "fake it ‘til you make it"? It’s not faking to "act as if," that is treat your job on the creative team, or whatever dealings you have with the digital scrap booking industry, in a professional manner. As Candee put it, "treat it like a job even though it feels like playtime." To this she adds something I always hear from professional writers when they are questioned about writing for a living: don’t let a day go by without doing something related to your dream. If you want to be a professional designer no day should pass by without you working on your designs, being in contact with your stores ( and there is much to be done there), or posting on your blog.
Third, be prepared for rejection and criticism. Don’t despair if your work is rejected somewhere. Instead, learn from it. Ask what you might do better and listen actively to what you are told. Remember, your work is not your worth. Everyone makes mistakes as they try to learn to do something. Next time, you’ll do better. If you handle rejections and criticism in a professional manner and make it clear you want to learn from your mistakes, that you are determined to succeed, you might just find yourself a mentor. I know Candee won’t mind if I tell you that she regards Michelle, owner of Digi By Design as such a mentor. Although she had to cut down on her design stores due to health reasons, thus leaving Digi by Design, Candee is very grateful to Michelle for seeing her potential and helping her learn from her mistakes. In her turn, Candee is certain to mentor others – another of the joys found as a member of the digital design community. In fact, Candee is doing this already through a series of well received tutorials on various aspects of layout techniques. These tutorials are featured in the Stone Accents Studio forum.
Now, what are you waiting for? You’ve got to see some of these designs!
I'll give you a peek.
This one is called "Elegant Autumn" and was just released.
This kit is on sale at 50% 0ff Novemeber 7 -14. Just follow this link:
Here is "Autumn Wind":
Want to buy? Go here: http://stoneaccentsstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=272
And look at "Adorable Kitten":
If you're a cat lover, you've got to have it!
4 comments:
Sherry it looks WONDERFUL!!! Thank you so much for considering me interesting enough to write such a wonderful article about...lol. I'll be linking this later on today.
xoxoxoxoxo
Great article Sherry! You're right though, she is very talented.
Very interesting read! Love reading about different designers. Love her newest kits too, I do love autum!
I've learned so many new things about one of the most talented and creative people I know. I'm fortunate enough to be on Candee's CT, and she is truly as incredible as your article states. You've done an excellent job writing this and I will be tuning into your blog often...very interesting reading! Thanks so much!
Hugs from the heart,
Jeanette
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