What if you hadn’t been an artist or creative?

by Angela Blaha | Apr 28, 2025 | Art, CanvasRebel

An interview with Angela as seen on CanvasRebel

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angela E Blaha. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angela below.

Angela, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this very question, and for me, the answer is clear: I’m happiest as an artist. The moment I pick up a brush, I’m in my true zone of genius. It’s almost like stepping into a different world—one where time doesn’t exist, and I can fully channel energy into something tangible. I don’t just paint; I open portals. It’s like I tap into this flow of energy, and that energy transfers directly into the work. My paintings are far from just images on canvas. They’re portals—windows into other realms—that can shift the energy of a room, a home, even a person.

Every painting I create carries that energy. I’ve seen firsthand how people respond to my work, how it impacts them in ways they can’t quite explain, but they feel it. It’s as if the art does the work for me. When people tell me that something in my art has changed their mood or brought them a sense of calm, it confirms that I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do.

I’ve had regular jobs in the past. My background is in Psychology & Counseling in Education, so I’ve spent years working those 8-4 jobs. I’ve also been a business owner for a good portion of my life. But through all of that, I’ve realized that art is where I truly belong. In my art, I bring my background and experiences with me. I use my training and intuition to create deeper meaning within my work. My ability to channel energy has become one of the greatest advantages I have as an artist. It allows me to connect with my creations and my viewers in a way that feels beyond the ordinary, almost like there’s a greater force guiding the process.

So, even though I’ve experienced the structure of regular jobs and business ownership, nothing compares to the sense of fulfillment I get from creating art. Art is where I can fully express my true self, and that connection is irreplaceable.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an artist and guide who works at the intersection of creativity and deep personal transformation. My work weaves together art, psychology, energy healing, and HeartHealing™—to help people access the parts of themselves that are often hidden beneath layers of conditioning, trauma, or self-doubt.

I didn’t exactly “get into” this work in the traditional sense. It’s more like it emerged from me, piece by piece, over years of inner work, soul-searching, and a relentless need to understand the deeper threads of why we’re here and what it means to truly thrive. I’ve always had this quiet but unwavering knowing that my role is to ignite transformation—and art became the language that allowed me to do that.

With a background in counseling and energy work, I’ve spent years exploring the unconscious and what lies beneath the surface of what we think we know. Recently, Art has become a way to translate that inner landscape into something visible, something felt. Whether it’s through an abstract encaustic piece or a symbolic oil painting, each work is designed to act like a portal—something that awakens memory, feeling, and sometimes even grief or longing. Not for the sake of discomfort, but for the sake of becoming more whole.

Through my creative offerings, I guide others to reconnect with their soul’s blueprint by making your mark in the world. It’s not just about painting or healing—it’s about knowing who are in your depths. My clients often come to me when they’re at a turning point—when they can feel something shifting but don’t quite know what it is. Together, we work through that threshold, using intuition, HearthealingTM and creativity as the vessels to go deeper than words ever could.

What sets my work apart is its depth and subtlety. It’s not surface-level inspiration or motivational fluff. I’m not interested in quick fixes or trendy affirmations. This is soul work—raw, beautiful, and often messy. But it’s also the most empowering thing I know: to witness someone return to themselves, to see their own wisdom, and to begin creating from that place.

What I’m most proud of is that my work doesn’t just sit on a wall—it moves people. It changes them. I’ve had people stand in front of a painting with tears in their eyes, saying, “I don’t know why, but this feels like me.” That’s the magic. That’s why I do what I do.

If there’s one thing I want people to know, it’s that you matter. Your inner world is worthy of being seen. And when you allow yourself to go deep—when you stop hiding from the truth of who you are—you don’t just change your life. You change the world.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

There have been several pivot points in my life, but one of the most significant came when I realized I couldn’t keep splitting myself between what felt “safe” and what felt true.

For years, I worked in roles that made sense on paper—I was a counselor, educator, college instructor and leader in my field. But underneath the structure and titles, I felt like I was hiding. I knew there was something more I was meant to express, something more creative, more soul-aligned—but I didn’t yet trust that it could become the foundation of my work.

The real pivot happened when I finally let go of trying to make everything fit into a neat little box. I stopped trying to separate my artistry from my spiritual work, my academic training from my intuition, my inner world from the outer one. That’s when things started to flow.

Instead of choosing one thing, I chose to integrate everything—my background in psychology, my deep sensitivity to energy, my love for color and story—and let it inform both my art and my offerings. That was the moment everything shifted. My work became more magnetic. Clients started finding me not because I offered a particular service, but because they could feel something in what I was creating.

Pivoting, for me, wasn’t about changing direction entirely—it was about giving myself permission to build from that place. Looking back, I’m grateful I listened. That pivot didn’t just change my business—it changed my life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

At the deepest level, my creative journey is driven by one mission: to empower people to know who they really are.

Not in a surface-level way, but in a soul-deep, unshakable way. It’s about guiding people to their truth—beyond the roles, the stories, the expectations—and helping them claim the parts of themselves they may have forgotten or silenced along the way.

Everything I create—whether it’s a painting layered with symbolism, a moment of silence in a session, or the energy within a color choice—is infused with the intention to awaken something. I want people to feel themselves again. To see their truth reflected. To realize they are more powerful, more whole, and more sacred than they’ve been led to believe.

This mission comes to life not just through my artwork or HeartHealing™ sessions, but especially through my retreats—like Rooted. I’ve watched people walk in unsure, overwhelmed, or disconnected… and leave changed. Not because I gave them anything, but because they remembered themselves. They leave with a clarity and wholeness that shifts everything—how they create, how they love, how they live. They begin to build lives that actually support their soul—a life of thriving, not just surviving.

That’s what drives me. Every brushstroke, every session, every gathering is an invitation to know yourself. And when someone does that? It changes everything.