Meet Amber Simpson | Minister for the Arts & Creative Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amber Simpson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amber, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
From a young age, I learned that you have to work in order to live. My parents worked from sunrise to sunset in order to put food on the table for me and my three sisters. I guess, in a way, poverty teaches you that work is the only means of survival. With that survival mentality, I spent the beginning of my adulthood working myself sick. I had given my life to my work.

In 2020, my workaholism, paired with a new global pandemic, made me physically sick for weeks. Wise friends and mentors lovingly encouraged me to look at the boundaries I had for work. Now that I was working from home, there was no way to differentiate between work and home. My workplace was my home. Like so many others, I had to recognize my addiction to work and rethink my relationship to my job.

As I settled into pandemic life and shifted to my career as an artist, I have had to learn how to set appropriate boundaries separating my work time from the rest of my life. I have also had to decrease the value I gave to my work. By no means is my work less valuable than it was. It just does not dictate every other aspect of my life. There are other things with higher priority in my life now, like my tending to physical and mental health and spending time with my family.

This balance is not perfect and is still a work in progress. However, I am invested to striving toward a healthy work life balance that gives me the opportunities to experience all that this life has to offer.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a self-taught artist with a deep love for vibrant, warm and color-soaked abstracts. I dabble in all kinds of mediums, but I am most drawn to alcohol inks. They are super playful and force me to let go of control and intuitively move with the fluid ink. It’s the most frustrating and wonderful tug-of-war.

What sets me apart from others is my ability to help others recognize the creativity inside of them. I do this through lighthearted, stress free workshops which empower participants to lovingly open up and explore their gifts. Even the most skeptical person leaves encouraged.

I am most proud of and excited about my current job as an artist in residence at a church while pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree in Theology and the Arts. These avenues have allowed me to practice all of my gifts of leadership and creativity within a wonderfully sacred context.

I am where I am today because of the people I have surrounded myself with– Mentors, friends, and people who really love and see me. They have made the difficult times more bearable. They have made the great times even greater. I have learned to glean from their wisdom while discerning the next steps on my path. They stoked the fire within me when it was barely lit and it created a blaze that is now inextinguishable. My loved ones are how I have overcome the challenges of my life and if I have learned anything in life, it is that the “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” mentality is false. We are meant to live and thrive in a community of love and support.

When it comes to my brand and my story, I want the world to know that I believe that everyone has a creative perspective that is unique to them and there is room for their voice and their art in the world. I will make room for it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was in the area, I would take them to a Hawks Game (ex season ticket holder, here) then over to Hudson Grill for drinks. I would have to take them to Ponce City Market to eat some of the best Bang Bang Shrimp I’ve ever hand at Jia followed by decadent French pastries at Saint Germain. We would have to cook at least one night after scouring the Atlanta farmers market for hours because why not?!? We would also have to hit up local shops over in Decatur and Kennesaw searching for antiques and fair trade goods and local artisans.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I shoutout to my parents who gave me everything they could to help me succeed. To my mentors, friends, teachers, pastors, and anyone who has walked this journey with me. I am grateful for you in so many ways.

To my son who is the light of my life. He inspires me in so many ways. To my husband who is my biggest supporter, encourager, and confidant. He is glue that keeps me together. I wouldn’t be here without him.

And to specifically shoutout the Women’s Leadership Initiative Cohort (my UNAs), Rev. Dr. Molly Marshall, Rev. Dr. Elieen Campbell-Reed, Rev. Dr. Amy Mears, Rev. April Baker and the 2019 summer trip to Matanzas, Cuba with which I was woken up to the gifts I have to offer the world.

Website: www.ambersimpsonart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amber_simpsonart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ambersimpsonart1