Hi there.

I sat in the miserable heat of my house, feeling nauseous, worried about my 4 year old human and my 7 year old dog, wondering when we’d ever get our power restored.

The good news was our house was untouched.

The bad news was we were given no timeline for power restoration.

Recently, Hurricane Beryl hit Houston hard, causing the largest power outage in the city's history.

As we looked to neighboring towns to see if there was any place to stay (there wasn’t), I finally said, “Screw it. I’ve always wanted to go to Austin. How far away is it anyway?”

That’s when, with the help of a friend (thanks Sandy!) we booked an amazing little AirBnb in Hyde Park that was child and dog friendly.

Instead of 4 more days in super hot and humid weather in a house without electricity we made a weekend of it and had an impromptu holiday.

That’s how you turn lemons into lemonade.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of the hurricane continues to impact us. We just had our power restored, and now we're dealing with restocking our home and catching up on chores. (You should see the size of my laundry pile?!). The exhaustion from the heat, stress, and recovery process has been overwhelming.

I want to ensure you have the best experience with Embark on Art: Paris. And this is where the lemons and lemonade come in. To do this, I need to delay the program's release from July 20th to August 20th. This extra time will allow me to build the program more thoughtfully and include your input.

🍋 The Lemon: I will delay the release one month to open it on August 20th.

🍹The Lemonade: The good news is that now I can build it slowly and mindfully, and include your feedback to ensure it's the best experience ever.

Each week, I'll send you an email with a sneak peek of the program, showing you behind the scenes and asking for your feedback. You'll have the chance to vote on art materials, activities, and more to help shape Embark on Art: Paris.

In a world that often pushes us to hustle, I choose to prioritize quality and well-being over rushing. This is the example I want to set for our community. I aim to be an art teacher and facilitator who models resilience and the ability to make sweet lemonade when things go sour.

So get ready! Every Friday, I'll share a delightful tidbit about this exciting new adventure.

I can't wait to build our travel adventure together.

Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.

Together, we are Artist Strong.

Carrie

P.S. TLDR? I'm reaching out to share some important news: I need to delay Embark on Art: Paris' release from July 20th to August 20th to ensure you have the best experience. Until then, each Friday I'll send you an email with a sneak peek of the program that also asks for your feedback. Thanks for your patience as I try to return to my life post Hurricane Beryl and do my best to serve you in the Artist Strong community.