Boss Mom Spotlight – Amanda Anderson
We want you to meet Amanda Anderson
Amanda is a watercolor artist and founder of Sketched and Sealed
While enduring postpartum depression, Amanda turned to art to help her heal. She graduated from San Antonio College with her art degree in 2018 while expanding her family. She now has four small children and paints around sleep schedules.
Amanda has recently become a certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach to help other women find the healing powers art has to offer. While teaching watercolor, she advocates for all things women’s mental health and encourages women to always take time for themselves.
Share a bit about your Boss Mom journey:
I almost lost my life to postpartum depression in 2016. I was admitted on a suicide watch and I was completely broken. While I was in the hospital, I found myself creating, doodling, coloring. It was a major part of my recovery. After that, I was determined to find my purpose in my life. I felt God inspire me to go to college. I needed something for ME. Two years later I graduated with honors, completing my art degree.
Since then I’ve used art to help me through dark times, but I always felt like there was a much deeper purpose. I needed more than just coloring in a coloring book. I harnessed all the things I longed for during that time. I wanted a way to express what I was feeling and dump it all out on the paper in front of me. I needed a PURPOSEFUL creative outlet. And most importantly, I needed a community of women who just UNDERSTOOD.
I paid extra close attention to my heart and I’ve now created that for other women. I run a self-care art membership, founded from my experience with postpartum depression and how I used art to help me heal. I have recently become a certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach to continue to support the women in our community. Our mission is to guide women through overwhelming emotions, find balance within themselves and encourage creative freedom through artistic expression and experimentation. To support the awareness and resources for women’s mental health, we donate a portion of our revenue every month to Postpartum Support International, a nonprofit supporting maternal mental health.
This work is beautiful and there’s so much passion behind what we do. I know we can help a lot of women. I want to rally around them and let them know they are not alone in this journey.
What makes you excited about becoming a Boss Mom Spotlight?
The Boss Mom community is so amazing! I love the connections we make here. In fact, I met one of my best friends on the Boss Mom’s Facebook page. The amount of support and love in this community is by far above anything I’ve seen on other entrepreneurial Facebook pages.
I’m also excited to help spread awareness on women’s mental health. I know there are so many women that we could help. I want to rally around these women and raise them up in support, raise awareness on maternal mental health, and end the stigma. I want other women to know they are not alone.
One piece of advice for moms who are starting a business
Give yourself some GRACE!
Girl, you cannot do everything. You just can’t. Assign 2-3 tasks every day and if you achieve them, great! If you don’t, great! Overloading yourself is not worth the stress. Remember to take time for YOU. Because you are worth it. And you deserve it.
Where do you go for inspiration?
I bounce ideas off my amazing husband and my wonderful teammate, Jess. The two of them keep me grounded but encourage my growth.
Also, Pinterest. 😉
What are you currently reading or listening to?
I love me some Amy Porterfield. Her Online Marketing Made Easy podcast is actually where I found Dana and the Boss Mom community. I just finished reading Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. And I’m now listening to Rising Strong by Brene Brown on Audible.
I want to live in a world where…
I’d love to live in a world where my children go to bed the first time I put them down.
All joking aside, I’d love to live in a world where mental health is normalized. Seeking help is encouraged. There are more available resources for mental illnesses. And don’t even get me started on the improvements I’d like to see in our postpartum healthcare. Overall, women need more support. I strive to do my part to make that difference.
This is what I know to be true…
You are worth the effort. You’re worth fighting for.
YOU, yes YOU were created on purpose, for a purpose. And you are so loved.
One thing you can’t live without…
I cannot live without my paint brushes. In them, I find so much peace, tranquility, and purpose. My life changed when I picked up a paint brush. My life would not be the same without a paint brush in my hand.
What is the big milestone that you are hitting that you are celebrating?
Everything in my business is so new and so exciting! We just launched our art membership. We have 33 beautiful members and rising. My podcast is up and running. We’re contributing to a nonprofit. All of these things have been put in place in the last three weeks and it’s so exciting. We’re creating movement and its empowering.
Website and social links:
https://www.sketchedandsealed.com
https://www.instagram.com/sketchedandsealed
www.facebook.com/sketchedandsealed
www.facebook.com/groups/freeartclub
Connect with Amanda’s work:
Essentially, we are a beautiful blend of mental health and art. So we rotate our content calendar between YouTube art tutorials and our Podcast, Safely Spoken.
