Why do what you love

Aug 29

Passion \’pa-shen\ n 1. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement either for something or about doing something you would love to do constantly.

I hope you know that feeling. The one where you find your words suddenly sparked with enthusiasm and you feel surprisingly animated. Many life coaches and spiritual teachers remind us to ask ourselves “What brings you most alive”? Others teach the way to unleash your passion is to follow your curiosity. Take note of those moments. What are you learning and sharing? Where are you? Who are you with? As you say YES to those moments and NO to the things that are NOT THAT, doing more of what you love begins to take shape and life can be more joyful for you and those around you.

That feeling is telling you something important. When you are doing what you love, it’s good for you, and your well-being and inspires others to take surprising new action. It can lead to a fruitful, symbiotic relationship.

**Susan Kaime Reese**

Follows her passion by bringing art and life skills to families and has defined the role of:
Art Barn Adventure Guide
Photo cred: Gary Reese

Here we celebrate the generous spirit of our pioneering Adventure Guide, Susanne Kaime Reese who has laid the foundation for Art Barn Workshops in Clark County at the home of the Mt. Charleston Library by doing what she loves. Susanne has taught us it’s not hard to do magic with what you’ve got.

From May through October 2024, Susanne packed her Forester full of art supplies and drove a 60-mile round trip to the secluded art sanctuary in the library in Mt. Charleston. What began as a destination favored mostly by locals evolved into a happy discovery for visitors from Las Vegas as well. Traveling guests composed roughly 50% of the weekly participating audience of about a dozen ‘Explorers’- those who take a few moments to jump in and explore the power of creativity in a 90-minute celebration of all things art.

While Susanne can talk stories about a varied and rich career in Las Vegas and Nevada, it is all things art that bring sparkle most alive in her eyes. By saying YES to a life of creating and teaching others to create art, Susanne has demonstrated more than the rich teaching of the weekly mixed media workshop. By staying TRUE to what she loves to do, she is modeling the effects of living her passion. Her passion for art and creativity is the springboard for activating wellness and strengthening the community. That passion is contagious and inspires others to discover qualities like self-confidence and practice social skills while creating something that didn’t exist before! By honoring her passion and weekly commitment to the weekly program, Susanne has proven how continuity builds community.

**“art makes you smart”**

Susanne volunteers her time and resources because her lifetime experience has proven this truth.
Brains of all ages develop with practice and doing new things.
Photo cred: Susanne Reese

Listen to the enthusiasm in Susanne’s voice below as she shares her recipe for the weekly Art Barn Workshops, featured in our calendar as “Mixed Media Art Workshop for Families with Susanne Reese”.

“Multi-media is our delight. Each class offers an opportunity to work with pastel chalk, charcoal, sketching techniques, colored pencils and paper arts, watercolor, and acrylic painting. We draft value sketches and apply them to building compositions and colorful landscapes. We explore techniques of watercolor. We discuss art galleries and practice sharing our ideas about an image and contemplate different artwork.

Our Summer art workshops included art history and telling stories about the historic artists. Since art classes are all about teamwork, patience, and finishing what you start, we all practiced those important social skills and work ethic in those chats.

Our holidays included Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. We created personal pages describing parents’ hobbies, discussed what they enjoyed and we thought about their dreams and responsibilities. Our cards included a montage of pictures telling each parent’s story.