What work had been you doing beforehand?
I had an extended profession as an artwork director in promoting and design in NYC.
After that, I grew to become a artistic marketing consultant for luxurious manufacturers in Europe.
Initially from Brazil, I studied graphic design earlier than transferring to NYC to finish my schooling on the Faculty of Visible Arts (SVA) and Cooper Union.
For over a decade, I labored with world-class manufacturers like Rolex, Chopard, and Tag Heuer as a artistic marketing consultant in France and Switzerland.
What are you doing now?
I’m a full time artist and I give yoga classes sometimes.
Why did you alter?
I reached some extent of maximum stress, on the verge of a breakdown.
The toll on my well being led to a persistent sickness, and I not discovered any sense of objective or pleasure within the work I used to be doing.
When was the second you determined to make the change?
Throughout the Covid lockdown, after a 20-year hiatus, I returned to portray and drawing.
What started as a want to create artwork for my very own partitions rapidly grew to become one thing deeper, a strategy to reconnect with the plush tropical nature of my Brazilian roots and discover a sense of house I had missed since leaving in 2000.
How did you select your new profession?
Artwork has all the time been my refuge since childhood.
Via years of remedy, I spotted how deeply I needed to return to drawing and portray.
Throughout these lengthy and tedious Zoom calls, I began sketching once more, very similar to I used to after I was bored at college.
That easy act regularly guided me from my profession as an artwork director to embracing life as an artist in my mid-40s.
Are you pleased with the change?
Immensely and I can’t look again.
For the primary time in years, I really feel aligned with who I actually am. My work not drains me, it nourishes me.
Creating artwork provides me a way of objective and connection that I used to be lacking earlier than. Despite the fact that the trail of an artist is filled with challenges, it feels genuine, alive and significant.
I lastly get up excited for what every day will carry.
What do you miss and what do not you miss?
I do miss the steadiness of a gradual revenue, however what I’ve gained far outweighs that.
The peace of thoughts, the advance in my well being, and the enjoyment I discover in working in my studio each day are really priceless.
How did you go about making the shift?
I spotted that working within the luxurious business was not for me.
It not aligned with my values, my artistic wants, or the stage of life I used to be in. My physique was additionally altering with perimenopause, asking me to decelerate, take higher care of myself, and spend extra time with my household.
I had realized a lot from my profession, 11 years in promoting in New York, adopted by consulting for luxurious manufacturers in France and Switzerland.
It was extremely enriching to assist create campaigns for homes like Rolex, Chopard, and Tag Heuer, collaborate with A-list Hollywood stars, and work alongside exceptionally proficient creators.
I acknowledge the worth of that have, and I do know I couldn’t have grow to be the artist I’m as we speak with out it.
As I started listening to myself extra, I began to shift. Yoga had been a part of my life for over 15 years, so I made a decision to grow to be a yoga instructor whereas regularly lowering my work hours.
On the identical time, I slowly started exhibiting and promoting my artwork, whereas additionally educating yoga sometimes.
Step-by-step, this opened the trail to the life I stay now as an artist, one that enables me to create, heal, keep true to myself, and make an sincere residing.
How did you develop (or switch) the talents you wanted in your new function?
I’m principally a self-taught artist.
I maintain a college diploma in graphic design from Brazil and in addition took artwork courses whereas residing in New York Metropolis for over a decade. That basis was sufficient for me to take the leap.
What mattered most was giving myself the prospect to pursue the dream I had all the time carried, though I wasn’t inspired as a toddler or younger grownup.
My years in promoting additionally grew to become an sudden asset. Having collaborated with numerous artists whereas creating campaigns and content material for greater than 20 years, I felt snug switching roles.
If something, I spotted I had a bonus, not like many extremely proficient artists I’ve met alongside the best way, I already knew easy methods to place and promote myself.
What didn’t go nicely? What incorrect turns did you’re taking?
I used to make a really snug residing consulting for luxurious manufacturers.
The 12 months I took the leap, I earned in a single 12 months what I used to make in a very good month as a artistic marketing consultant. That was robust, not only for me, however for my complete household.
I additionally needed to study humility. My earlier success didn’t carry a lot weight in a discipline the place I used to be primarily ranging from scratch at 44.
It wasn’t simple, and there have been moments of doubt, however my artwork grew to become my anchor.
It helped me heal, gave me vitality, and saved me targeted, permitting me to maintain transferring ahead regardless of the challenges.
How did you deal with your funds to make your shift attainable?
The transition was solely attainable as a result of I deliberate it over 4 years and had some financial savings.
My husband is now the principle breadwinner, which supplies safety, particularly residing in some of the costly cities on the planet, Geneva.
We’ve all tailored to the brand new actuality: much less touring, much less buying, and a way more aware strategy to spending.
It’s taught us easy methods to stay deliberately and prioritize what really issues.
What was probably the most tough factor about altering?
Essentially the most tough factor was to maintain believing in myself when most individuals round me didn’t.
I didn’t obtain as a lot encouragement from my household as I had anticipated, however possibly that’s as a result of I’m the primary in my lineage to depart a cushty profession to comply with a dream.
I couldn’t actually anticipate steerage from individuals who hadn’t taken that leap themselves. Typically I doubted myself too.
These interior voices telling me I wasn’t ok, or that the world doesn’t want any extra artists or yoga academics, had been onerous to silence.
However these of us who take the prospect understand it’s important to quiet these voices and maintain transferring ahead.
Some days are simpler than others, however each step is price it. In addition to, there are not any artists or yoga academics precisely like me.
There’s no want for concern of competitors if you’re being your genuine self.
What assist did you get? 
As I discussed earlier than, I had been in remedy for a while.
I additionally employed a coach who helped me make clear my objectives and priorities.
I took on-line programs on constructing a small enterprise, accessing state help, making use of for reveals and residencies, bettering my communication and messaging, and honing my artwork.
I additionally realized easy methods to join with and develop my viewers, and easy methods to use my work to help causes which can be near my coronary heart. That’s essential to me.
What sources would you advocate to others?
I’d advocate exploring podcasts, books, and programs that may assist flip a dream into actuality.
For me, The Good Life Mission by Jonathan Fields has been notably inspiring.
I additionally consider that self-discovery, with the steerage of a coach or therapist, will be really life-changing.
What would you advise others to do in the identical scenario?
Observe your coronary heart, as cliché as that will sound.
No matter your ardour is, discover it deeply. It’s not for nothing. You got here to this life with a novel set of items.
Ask your self how one can take small steps each day to maneuver nearer to it, particularly when you’re uninterested in your present job or profession and dream of doing one thing completely different.
To search out out extra about Clarissa’s artwork, go to https://clarissapvalaeys.com/
What classes might you’re taking from Clarissa’s story to make use of in your individual profession change? Tell us within the feedback beneath.