My Artistic Calling – by Sarea Wang
These days, I struggle with how to create profits in my business. I am confused about how to run a business and make profits. I feel the necessity of creating profits each month. So, today I took some jewelry or decorative stuff and decided to take photos and put them online for sale. However, when I set up the setting by arranging some beautiful fabrics, classical vases, and delicate jewelry. And at that moment, I just realized that why not paint them? Each piece of jewelry or home decoration was selected by myself, so it has my taste. And they look beautiful under the light. They are wonderful still-life settings for oil painting. So why not paint them on canvas and if someone wants them, I can sell them together. I mean the main point for me right now isn’t making profits but about sharing the special culture behind art subjects. and I feel I can’t stand out if I only think about making profits through selling each piece of jewelry or home décor. I collected each piece because I was initially attracted by each one. They are artworks to me. I selected each piece and added them to my humble collection. And they are gorgeous subjects to paint for.
When I started this business, I had an initial intention to promote Chinese traditional culture through ancient-style jewelry and home décors. I have been attracted to those classical traditional aesthetic subjects for a long time in my life. Since I was a little girl, my favorite TV dramas were Asian traditional dramas. I was fascinated by their clothes and accessories, the amazing architecture in the palaces, and the exquisite traditional home decorations. When I first time went to the Forbidden City in Beijing as a little kid, I carefully observed almost every room through the glass window. Maybe there is some spiritual connection between me and the traditional Asian aestheticism. They are like the hidden secrets in my blood.
After studying and living in different Western Countries, I feel the necessity of rooting in my Chinese traditional culture, for that’s the treasure of human culture and history. I also feel proud of my cultural background for it has nowhere to find the same aesthetic style in this world. In 2022, I started my oil painting study in the Classical Atelier at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. It offers me classical art training including classical drawing, grisaille, and color painting in oil. I feel the connection between Western classical art and my interest in Eastern classical art subjects. While the Western world was going through the Renaissance, China was in its highest development of the Yuan, the Ming, and the Qing dynasties. The communication between the East and the West in art history was not very common. Giuseppe Castiglione was probably the only well-known Western artist in the Chinese history. He was an Italian missionary who served as an artist at the imperial court of three Qing emperors. With Western classical art skills, he painted subjects in the royal palace, including portraits and still lives.
It is interesting to think about what if an artist traveled from the West to ancient China and painted some daily subjects in the classical style. I appreciate all the guidance and inspiration from God, for it feels like a destination for me to show the world the traditional Chinese culture, a treasure in human cultural history, through painting small subjects in Western classical realist style. I might face a lot of difficulty at the beginning, for example, I will take a lot of time creating and finishing a piece of artwork, and I don’t know whether I can be paid back for the time and effort I spent. I might face financial difficulty and mental anxiety when I face the reality of the slow process of delicate painting. However, I feel excited to give it a try. I am not usually a persistent person, but maybe that was because I didn’t find out my true mission or calling to do on earth. I used to have so many different interests, for example, I studied three majors in college, Economics, English Literature, and Art History. And I also minored in French. Then I got a master’s degree in management from a Business School in France. I didn’t know what’s God’s plan for me, but I followed my heart. I felt grateful that my family was able to support me to study all these.
Even with all these studies, I have been confused about my life. I like art and literature, but it seems that we also need materials to live in this world. I felt the necessity of knowing about business and finance in this world, but it was also because I felt I was good with Math, so I guess those subjects weren’t too difficult for me. However, when it comes to the real world, I don’t feel I have too much capacity to be a sophisticated businessperson. I guess I should follow my initial calling of art and literature. I even had mentally broken down due to the unconscious stress from this material world. But I feel that’s God’s will to make me switch my financial career path to my initial calling of art, fashion, and literature.
After that, I started to write poetries again and kept my diaries to record my thoughts and life experiences. I started to study classical oil painting in the academy, and I designed and sewed some bags during my free time. I got baptized and felt good with people in my church family. I feel grateful for my life. I know starting a business means you must think about profits and costs, but one reason I started a business is that I want to connect with this society and all kinds of people. I don’t want to be an isolated woman staying at home. I hope to communicate with this world. And I wish to become more independent both mentally and financially.
There must be hard times and good times in any career development or generally everyone’s life. I should be grateful for God’s plan for me to be able to go through the difficulties in front of me and realize my inner calling according to God’s will. With gratitude, I pray for a peaceful, joyful, and productive life.