Episode 3: Positioning Yourself As An Educator with Dani Ives
A Hobby That Became So Much More
Dani Ives has a Degree in Biology and a Masters in Conservation Education and was working at a zoo as a conservation educator when she found herself desiring to do something creative in her free time. A conversation with a co-worker about needling felting changed Dani's whole life as she started to create in this new medium.
Needle Felting is a process of tangling or combining wool fibers with a barbed needle, which can be done in a 3D or 2D format.
It wasn't long until she tried selling her needled felted figures to support her new obsession of a hobby at local craft shows and on Etsy. She soon found herself working 40 hours a week at her day job and another 40 hours a week to prepare for shows and keep her Etsy shop stocked.
However, when she discovered she could work in 2D she became way more artistically fulfilled and filled the artistic hole in her life. This propelled a whole new drive in her business as she started to make highly realistic portraits and pictures in wool. In 2014, she slowly started to make an income when she started offering pet portraits and in 2015 she left her job as a Conservation Educator to pursue her art career full time.
Leaning Into Education
When Dani was at craft shows, people would naturally ask how she made things as she worked on projects at the show and she realized that was actually a demand to learn this process. She started by teaching a group of friends to gain some experience and then she started traveling to teach at venues around the country. It was during this experience that she really fell in love with teaching.
Teaching online courses eventually came into play when people were not able to travel to learn from her or she couldn't get to them. So Dani started teaching online to reach her audience more effectively.
Believing In Yourself and Pioneering A Path
Her technique of “painting of wool” hadn’t really been widespread before she started teaching. Instead of seeing this as a hurdle, Dani saw this as an exciting opportunity to pioneer the way. She loves the idea of being “the first” to do something and took on the challenge. When she started to teach her technique of "painting with wool" she started to gain a lot of attention for her work and has also grown a large social media following.
Despite this, Dani still feels imposter syndrome from time to time and has had to grow into feeling comfortable with the term “expert.” She has often felt the “who am I?” feelings because she did not go to art school, and did not have any formal training yet she is trying to elevate needle fleeting to a more artful form. But she is comfortable with the art she is making, and the way she teaches, and over time imposter syndrome has become less and less.
A key statement that has been an anchor for Dani when she launches or teaches anything is, “You are not responsible for other people’s feelings.” She explained that she can only control how she feels about what she makes and the value she is delivering. The simple truth is that she can only put good things in the world and see what happens.
Dani also spoke on fear and how she has had fear creep up when launching courses such as, "Can she produce something useful, and are people really going to buy in and join?" As she has re-launched courses the fear that always creeps in is that the last launch was the last good launch she will have or that maybe her audience doesn’t like her or her work anymore. This fear hasn't gone away, but it has become easier to fight over time.
Dani explains that she wasn’t an expert when she started teaching and that you only need to be a few steps ahead of your students. She would encourage you if you have the desire to teach to go for it as it has been so rewarding for her. Start by teaching a group of friends and have them ask questions, take notes, and get feedback. Create a mini curriculum or a step-by-step project you can share and then reach out to your local community at venues you to start teaching.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
It’s ok to grow slow and take things one step at a time.
If it hasn’t been done before, don’t let that stop you. You could be the one to pioneer it!
When the question comes up, “Who am I?’” answer “Why not me?”
We can forget our gifts and talents because they comes naturally to us, but if we allow ourselves to see our gifts from someone else’s perspective we can see how valuable it really is.
You are not responsible for other people’s feelings or other people’s reactions.
You don’t have to be an expert to teach something, you just need to be a few steps ahead.
Dani's "Painting With Wool" course is always available and her "Best Portrait Course" is open for enrollment TODAY (September 13-20, 2022). Join her newsletter to stay informed of upcoming courses!
Dani Ives is an award-winning artist, author and educator. Her primary art medium is fiber, and she creates highly detailed and representational art with wool fibers and needle felting techniques in a process she calls “Painting with Wool.” Through her art, she strives to make emotional connections between humans, animals and nature. She draws inspiration from outdoor explorations and her background and academic degrees in biology and conservation.
Dani’s work has been featured by Martha Stewart, Fiber Art Now, The Oprah Magazine, American Craft, Colossal, and more. She also shows her work in galleries and art shows across the U.S. Along with creating artwork, Dani teaches her techniques and helps others create more confidently in her popular online courses and during in-person workshops around the world. She also wrote a best-selling book called Painting with Wool: 16 Artful Projects to Needle Felt, which is available wherever books are sold. She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband and adorable dog, June Bug. When she’s not needle felting, she spends her time working in her sketchbook, reading, or hiking along the woodland trails near her home.
Find Dani on instagram at @begoodnatured and on her website www.daniives.com.
