Dr. Amara Pope

Like I had told you in our past conversation, I grew up in a really small town where there was not a lot going on. And my brother and I were very close. And I found a really cool hobby that I picked up, which is drawing the cartoons we saw on TV. And that just evolved into a passion for art. I would volunteer my time to draw with little kids.

And that also led me to pursue one of my two majors in my undergrad is fine arts. And I kind of so I did that during my undergrad, enjoyed it so much, but I ended up going down more of the academic route in communications and media. And as you know, on my corporate side, I'm more in marketing and communications.

And that also led me to pursue one of my two majors in my undergrad is fine arts. And I kind of so I did that during my undergrad, enjoyed it so much, but I ended up going down more of the academic route in communications and media. And as you know, on my corporate side, I'm more in marketing and communications.

And that also led me to pursue one of my two majors in my undergrad is fine arts. And I kind of so I did that during my undergrad, enjoyed it so much, but I ended up going down more of the academic route in communications and media. And as you know, on my corporate side, I'm more in marketing and communications.

But I always found that fine arts helps me learn like compositional analysis that that affects the way I create social media posts or marketing campaigns. So those soft skills resonated with my academic work as well as my industry career. But it wasn't until I was wrapping up my PhD that I was able to pick up that paintbrush and kind of ignite that passion in me that I had time. PhD was done.

But I always found that fine arts helps me learn like compositional analysis that that affects the way I create social media posts or marketing campaigns. So those soft skills resonated with my academic work as well as my industry career. But it wasn't until I was wrapping up my PhD that I was able to pick up that paintbrush and kind of ignite that passion in me that I had time. PhD was done.

But I always found that fine arts helps me learn like compositional analysis that that affects the way I create social media posts or marketing campaigns. So those soft skills resonated with my academic work as well as my industry career. But it wasn't until I was wrapping up my PhD that I was able to pick up that paintbrush and kind of ignite that passion in me that I had time. PhD was done.

I was married. Everything was kind of like falling into place in life. And I took that time to really explore that creative side of myself again.

I was married. Everything was kind of like falling into place in life. And I took that time to really explore that creative side of myself again.

I was married. Everything was kind of like falling into place in life. And I took that time to really explore that creative side of myself again.

For me, when I do take on a commission or there's one piece that I'm working on, it's just that it's in my head. I have to get it out. That becomes kind of the focal point of my life for those couple months, however long it takes. And I think it's because I really like to wrap myself up into one piece at a time. I tend to kind of block out everything. We have an unfinished basement.

For me, when I do take on a commission or there's one piece that I'm working on, it's just that it's in my head. I have to get it out. That becomes kind of the focal point of my life for those couple months, however long it takes. And I think it's because I really like to wrap myself up into one piece at a time. I tend to kind of block out everything. We have an unfinished basement.

For me, when I do take on a commission or there's one piece that I'm working on, it's just that it's in my head. I have to get it out. That becomes kind of the focal point of my life for those couple months, however long it takes. And I think it's because I really like to wrap myself up into one piece at a time. I tend to kind of block out everything. We have an unfinished basement.

So I go in there, plug my headphones on. Around me is very chaotic and it's a mess, but because it's unfinished, I can make a mess. And I have all of my paintbrushes around me. And that tends to be when I'm outside of work. So in my evenings and on the weekends when I just want to wind down. Because to me, art has become a form of meditation. So I'm very busy. You're very busy.

So I go in there, plug my headphones on. Around me is very chaotic and it's a mess, but because it's unfinished, I can make a mess. And I have all of my paintbrushes around me. And that tends to be when I'm outside of work. So in my evenings and on the weekends when I just want to wind down. Because to me, art has become a form of meditation. So I'm very busy. You're very busy.

So I go in there, plug my headphones on. Around me is very chaotic and it's a mess, but because it's unfinished, I can make a mess. And I have all of my paintbrushes around me. And that tends to be when I'm outside of work. So in my evenings and on the weekends when I just want to wind down. Because to me, art has become a form of meditation. So I'm very busy. You're very busy.

You understand the need to kind of decompress and have that downtime. So for me, it's either the gym or it's painting. Yeah.

You understand the need to kind of decompress and have that downtime. So for me, it's either the gym or it's painting. Yeah.

You understand the need to kind of decompress and have that downtime. So for me, it's either the gym or it's painting. Yeah.

Yeah. And usually both.