Hi Friends!

My name is Lee-Ann and I am the artist and creator  of Fair Maiden Market. You probably are wondering where I came up with such an unusual name for an art business lol. It's named after my beautiful daughter Lacey and my early beginnings at craft markets. I have taken some time to write out a bio and  I'd love to share my story and my art journey with you.

 Enjoy!

I was born in a small, rainy town on the West Coast of Canada called Prince Rupert, British Columbia. At the time it was a community built around its industries - fishing, pulp and the railway. Growing up as a single child in this small, rainy town gave me lots of opportunities (indoors lol) to use my imagination and be creative. I developed a love of drawing and became known for drawing cartoons for all my school aged friends. That love continued through high school even though I have never considered it seriously as a future career. When I graduated, I had big dreams of leaving this small town and earning a teaching degree in the big city. College was great...well the socializing was but not so much the hard work that I wasn't willing to put in...my heart just wasn't in it. So, I decided to do what I really loved. Travel! I took a year backpacking aroud Australia to "find myself". I'm not sure how well that went but it instilled the fact that anything to do with travel was what I wanted to do. When I was younger my parents always took me on trips around our province...then to Mexico, Hawaii, California, Europe...I was hooked. So, I decided to become a travel agent! Even though that's not what I do today...my lack of decision making has led me in all sorts of exciting directions. I am a firm believer of everything happens for a reason. I'm glad I did all that crazy stuff while I was young because now I'm a wife and mother and life is full and busy! My daughter is a teenager with Autism so you can imagine she is my world and my days revolve around her. I chose to be a stay at home, homeschooling mom and let me tell you all that equals a full time job lol. I still love to explore the world...now that looks like trips to Disneyland. Oh, and I guess I did become a teacher after all...that just looks different too!

 When Covid first hit a few years ago we also received some terrible news regarding my daughter's health. I was devastated. I spent one entire day in tears. A few days later we were walking outside and came across a painted rock. It had a hopeful message on it (well if I had ever been looking for a sign this was it!). My daughter was so excited and I felt good too. I thought we should continue this kindness movement and paint and hide our own rocks. Now I think we used nail polish and our rocks looked horrible...but we kept on painting and hiding. Eventually we invested in some good paints and got a little more creative. I started researching painted rocks online. When my daughter lost interest, I realized I was already hooked! Painting had become theraputic! I'd paint for hours and hours and during that time all my worries would just melt away. It had become a much-needed distraction. I felt happy. So, hours became days and days weeks...and I started posting pictures of all the rocks we would make. Soon people were asking to buy or order custom rocks. When I was looking online, I came across the most intricate stone and fell in love. A light went on...it was the aha moment. So I started following different artists on social media and I enrolled in my first courses. With lots of work and determination I opened my own online business, attended markets and was selling to friends and family. I started learning about all sorts of art mediums and creating everything from art to jewelry. It's been quite the journey! Now I teach classes to hundreds of students and I have grown my online business from 300 followers to over 6000! I'm so proud to own a successful business that allows me the means to also give back to the community by donating my art and also treating my followers to giveaways. Who doesn't love free stuff! 

Dotting has changed my life forever. It found me at a time I needed it the most. It saved me really...well you know what I mean. It has re-lit that creative spark and has provided me with an outlet. Now I have another coping tool in my life to move my energy and a canvas to put it on. Creating is so vital in life. Everything around us including ourselves is creation. Creating has helped me be distracted from the woes in life and the repetitive dotting motion has helped me relax and calm my body, mind and soul. Sometimes as a parent we also lose a bit of our own selves and this has helped me to remember I have my own interests and talents and add value to this life. And...the added bonus of being able to have my own business and connect with a community of art enthusiasts to share and inspire! If you haven't joined my Facebook page you're missing out!

When I'm not creating my own original designs, content or online classes, I can be found taking online courses. I really enjoy  supporting other artists and women in business. I'm also a firm believer in self development. We never stop learning. No matter how good we get we are always a life long student .I am always trying to increase my knowledge and skills so I can also pass that along to you! win win! My advice to my students and followers is to take classes, watch tutorials, follow your favorites and practice. If you are really passionate about your art...or maybe you are just getting started..Let me help you. I offer courses for beginners to advanced. With my classes you will gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to take your art to the next level. You can trust the process of your art journey and just know that I  believe that you can create anything your heart desires and it will turn out amazing. 

Most importantly believe in yourself.....trust me....you got this!