Founder Backstory Pt. 2: Underground Artist Showcases & Live Painting Epiphanies

Hey Earth Keeper,

In case you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read my Founder Backstory Pt. 1 here!

Let’s pick up where we left off...

To fund a move from the Inland Northwest to the Colorado Rockies, I screenprinted my animal drawings on t-shirts. I was drawn to Denver’s burgeoning dubstep and arts scene, plus access to world-class hiking. Settling into my first year, I began live painting at underground DJ battles, pop-up art shows, fundraisers, parties, and music festivals. 

I found myself able to reach a flow state while painting in these formats. It felt wild, raw, and spontaneous. Live painting was sacred medicine to me - feeling the music, the energy of the crowd, and creating something in the moment from a blank panel.

I got a part-time job managing an art gallery in the heart of Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District. Soon, I was scouting talent and coordinating multidisciplinary artist showcases in Denver and Boulder, teaching paint-and-sip classes, and showcasing my own body of work at group shows in Denver and San Francisco.

After a while, something inside me shifted. The late nights started to burn me out, coupled with working early shifts as a barista to support my artistic endeavors. The rowdy club scene and cliquey festival circuit no longer matched my rhythm. I still loved making art, but I needed deeper roots, feeling a tug back towards helping people with their health. I needed real healing — for myself and for the communities I loved.

So I let go. I stopped painting and stepped into the world of plant medicine, signing up for a three-year program in Boulder, Colorado.

And so my life changed.

Next time, I’ll share how I became a Clinical Herbalist and how studying Western vitalist herbalism and nutrition lit my path toward founding Earth Medicine Apparel Co.

Talk soon,
Cloudsong
Earth Medicine Apparel Co.
🌀🌿