Episode 241 – Painting a Brighter Future with Amy Ringholz

You are tuned into the Jackson hole, connection, sharing, fascinating stories

of people connected to Jackson Hole.

I am truly grateful for each of you for tuning in today and support

for this podcast comes from:

I will begin today's episode with a quote from Coco Chanel.

Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.

And welcome to episode number 241.

Before we begin, thank you for tuning in today.

You can help others.

Enjoy this podcast by getting out there and sharing it by word of mouth,

Facebook, social media, that Instagram, however you listen to this podcast.

I appreciate all the sharing.

Send us feedback and any of those.

Channels to let us hear what you think of this podcast.

And my guest today is somebody that I've known since she drifted into town over

20 years ago, starting off working at dude ranches, Amy Ring Holtz, and most

people around town know Amy as the artist, and soon many people will know her.

As a writer of a self-published book today, Amy shares with us.

The back of the house of being a professional artist, what it takes to

earn a living as an artist, and why Amy puts in so much time how she takes

action and lives life with a heart of abundance through her generous giving.

What we see on the outside is not always what's happening on the

inside or on the back of the house.

And Amy had a dream and continues to dream today, and you have the opportunity

to hear from someone who knows what is involved, to take a dream to reality.

And that's Amy Ring Holtz

Amy, thank you for joining me today, here on the Jackson Hole Connection.

It's delightful to see you today and be able to have some time to sit

down and talk to you, versus just seeing you passing by on the streets.

thank you for having me.

I'm really happy to be here and talk about our town and what I do with the town.

Will you Certainly do a lot here for our community and we will get into that.

Before we begin, of you sharing your partnership and involvement

here in town in our community, I love hearing people's background.

So where were you born and raised?

Where did you get to be dirty and as a kid and rolling around in the mud?

and then how did you land here in Jackson?

All right, thank you.

I am an Ohio girl, born near Cleveland, Ohio.

I remain a big baseball fan to this day, and I went to school in, in

college at Bowling Green in Ohio.

I went to be an art major.

I also got a degree in art education back in the day.

and.

throughout school.

Kind of never had been out west.

We went down to Georgia as a family on our breaks and went golfing.

That was our family thing.

So after school or in college, I had the opportunity to a semester and travel

to a different college in the country.

And I thought that'd be exciting.

So I went off to the University of New Mexico for a semester.

And I remember I got off the plane there and I saw the sand

mountains and I was like, what?

How

one has ever taken me to the West or to the Rockies or to the

incredible, don't know, the drama of the landscape of the West.

that was it, man.

I was hooked.

I, felt like, you know, coming home, To a place you've never been before.

Hello, John Denver.

And was it.

So I went to school out there and then I came back to Ohio

to finish my senior year.

Hung out there a couple years teaching art and just could not get

the west out of my mind or heart.

just had a wonderful summer and when I wasn't cleaning, I was painting.

got into that, art association, art Fair at like Miller Park

I thought I'd won the lottery.

It was very exciting day.

I did that show August and I was just hooked on Jackson and

I, I decided to come out here permanently and see if I couldn't.

make it as an artist.

the guests that came to the dude ranch would go to town all day and go to

galleries, and then they'd come back to my little shack I stayed in and

they would buy my paintings there

Hmm.

say, we just couldn't find anything like what you were

doing, and we love your work.

And that's how I got started.

sold about 30 paintings that summer, and my roots began in Jackson Hole.

2002.

2002 kind of gathered all my things in a U-haul and a

motorcycle and a Honda element.

And I got out here and lived in a skid house and worked at the

airport throwing bags until I had too many paintings to paint.

Which has been an adventure in itself.

Amy, what did it feel like to say?

I now need to take the leap of committing all of your energy to your

art as a career source of income, and saying that, all right, I.

Don't need to be having a side hustle as well.

I'm not gonna treat art as a side hustle.

I'm gonna treat art as my career.

How did that feel?

You know, something you could never believe could actually happen.

I think of the, one of the advantages that kids get to have here in

Jackson is they get to actually see artists and know them and meet them

and know that this is a career path that people do make and succeed.

In Ohio, no one had ever heard of something like that, so, I took my time

in, in working at the airport part-time, to just make sure my bills would get paid

and then I'd paint more and more and more.

And then that feeling one day of like, man, I just cannot get these

paintings done by keeping this job.

And that's what you're waiting for with that side hustle where you

can't any longer do the other job.

And I was only at the airport maybe two years.

Yep.

I was too swamped with artwork and remember all of the excitement and the

kind of disbelief that I was now going to.

Be an artist full-time and kind of really assume that title and understand

what that job required, which is, you know, your own, your own drive and

self-discipline and desire and, and also kind of staying true to yourself.

it's a really wonderful job that it's so challenging and yet, it just keeps

you on your toes and keeps you growing every single day, 20 years later.

How cool and.

You said that first summer you were out here, would you produce

30 paintings, did you say?

I hear that correctly?

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

How many do you produce now a year?

I guess on average over the past many years that I have my own gallery, artists

all do it differently, which is why it's such a beautiful career is that you can

skin the cat in many different ways.

when you're showing in several galleries, you know, and you have a show there a

year that's about 20 paintings, a show, you know, a hundred paintings a year, I

would say what an average has been for me.

Now that's one every three days.

So, it's a, it's an interesting job that's kind of misconstrued where

some might believe the artist kind of just lays around all day and then

maybe something comes to 'em and they hit the studio up for an hour.

you can't just roll into the studio and something that you're super proud of.

It's such a, it's a battlefield sure.

And you're going into, of compete with the painting and there are times when it is

winning and times when you are winning.

And, uh, the goal is to, to win in the end without overworking the piece.

So, just kind of job evolves.

Yet there is a dedication to making a painting every three

days that you cannot let up on, no one else can paint it for you.

Talk about Go pro.

Wow, . I think a lot of times people see the results of professionals so

they see your results of your artwork, but they don't see how we'll say the

grinding of the sausage takes place.

and to produce a painting every three days is mind blowing to me.

I mean, that's just remarkable.

Talk about that is professional.

Yeah.

the overnight success story, which is hilarious, you know,

that that does not really exist.

It's it's kind of the grind.

And I don't wanna make art sound like a grind, but have to find

the energy when you're losing.

to go get back in the game, and it takes that kind of a,

I haven't slept in 20 years.

I love saying that to people because that's what it took to kind of get here.

I would work the job, which is plenty of marketing and business in

strategy and emails and run around and chaos and clean the studio and

get the supplies and order them and carry them in, and then carry them.

The gallery, unload to the gallery, I mean, a full on labor job.

then when all that work is finally done and you're exhausted now, eat dinner, have

a cocktail, say goodnight to everybody and head back in there to make your work.

So that's how I have pulled this off is don't sleep a lot, but

also, I'd have to clear my mind from all of the to-dos the lists.

and, um, all the obligations order to have a space to actually breathe

and pull something out, that's important to me to make a painting.

So, I don't know how others really do it.

I'm, I'm a pretty quick worker, which is a key element to actually making it in

art because you have to be able to produce and, the walls filled and, make your

deadlines and your shows and deadlines that come six months before the show.

Uh, but you also have to have a, a spirit and a heart to create good,

good things in the world, which that can be really challenging sometimes.

you said every, you go through the whole process.

You're running a business, you're an entrepreneur.

You have the business side in addition to the creation side

Yes.

and to get in the creation, how do you clear your mind to be

in the space for you to create?

Uh, this for sure has been a balancing act that I have not

been very good at all these years.

the, the key is that you are putting out so much.

There's so many.

there's so much coming from within and going out on the canvas or out into the

conversations or filling or checking off the list that you have to find a

way to refuel in order to create again.

And, um, I guess in life, I, I like to play sports.

I'm still the Ohio girl, where I like to golf, play softball, play tennis.

That's kind of my scene here in Jackson.

but later on recently I've got, I got a little tiny farm going here.

I got some chickens.

I got a nice garden.

got three dogs that are looking at me all the time.

And uh, this really beautiful couple acres that's like heaven on earth to me.

And so I would say that now I refuel by homesteading and I'm building build.

I'm always building kind of something.

And this is kind of a.

Uh, I don't know, probably a part that most artists feel is that they wanna

create not always exactly in the same way.

So, building a garden and building a chicken coop and designing this

room and wallpapering that room.

And I just did a mural and, you wanna make things, build things,

design things, dream things.

And so I kind of refuel by making other types of artwork.

Hmm.

and, I, our gallery has turned into a event place in the evenings well,

because I love to throw a party.

I love the, the, uh, the planning and the layout and the tablescape and the

dishes and the lighting and the music and how you feel when you walk in the room.

I'm creating art a different way.

I, I love it and.

, you're creating art in a different way, and I've known for many

years and seen for many years.

You are heavily involved in the community to support especially in

that, high school realm where they're going to college to become help.

Raise money for them to go to college to find their path in the world of art.

Yeah, I was, when I moved to Jackson, of my mentors told me that I, in order

to live here, which I love and I'd love to like put this out there in

the world, but in order to have this amazing gift that you get to live in

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which we are also.

Just so lucky to be here.

He's like, you gotta work and contribute.

You've gotta have a job.

You've gotta contribute to this place, then you have to

give back to your community.

And those two things just have always stuck with me.

And I think that's such a great thing to teach our kids.

And be a, a citizen of a town is to, um, not only do your part, but then also.

your part as far as contributing to making this a wonderful place?

So, off the bat, it's been a long time.

I have been in some way donating or giving to many, many, many, many

organizations that come that work in Jackson, and been a privilege to be

able to use my talent to not only, you know, keep our bills paid here, but to.

Continue to make Jackson special and also show that I do care about the people the

animals and this and this town's future.

So after doing that for a long time, finally I felt like I'm always pushing

for the dreamer cuz that's what I am is.

I say Dreamers, don't sleep because I'm up at night working, but working.

So I thought that starting my own art scholarships would be the coolest

way to keep encouraging the dreamer.

They also played a giant role in my life and the direction of my life when

I won a couple scholarships in college I really shouldn't have I was an art

education major, I was competing with the fine artists for these scholarships.

And when I won them over them, it really hit me that I, maybe I've got something

here, maybe I've got some talent here.

it really helped me, you know, go home and say to my parents, I, I really

think I wanna try to be an artist first.

So it, it totally turned.

My life's direction because I didn't have that direction from

a mentor or a parent as a kid.

So these scholarships have been a big deal.

ring holds art supply awards.

The rasa supplies are very expensive for artists, so it's hard enough just

to make things, but then you gotta go pay for a paintbrush that's $40.

So I

of them a year.

been complete.

honor and delight to be a part of 10 different people's lives every year

and give them a tiny bit of financial help, but really give them that

push that I got, which was sees what I'm doing and they believe in it.

And that's, that's all I need.

So what I continue to do.

I, I work with the rotary, uh, club in Jackson and, um, I work with my old high

school and then I give out five across the country to artists of all ages,

and it's just such a, a wonderful to my life and full circle part my story.

Very gracious and kind of you to, go back to your roots.

That's just phenomenal.

I love it.

so how did you get involved to give to or other scholarships around the

country that weren't related to your high school or related to here in Jackson?

I kind of tried to start my own foundation a few years ago and then

God bless you, all the foundation people out there, that's a lot of work.

Mm-hmm.

high, nonprofit people, that's a lot of work and it's, it's a full-time

job, so I wasn't able to keep up all the and regulations of the nonprofit,

so I just moved into a private.

privately funded.

Um, I let a a hundred people apply a year from around the country I pick five

winners and they get, a little scholarship from me and a little boost every June.

get to just kind of see what kind of art's going on out there.

And I pick people based on talent.

hard work and heart.

So I have them answer a little questionnaire about those things

and, and look at their portfolios.

And then, you know, kids have won my scholarship are

coming back to intern for me.

will write to me or thank me and tell me what they did or how they passed on that.

kind of that good karma onto others and, you know, I'm just trying to do good the

world in whatever capacity I can handle.

That is leading with a heart of abundance and

you.

beautiful,

Thank you.

And you have some other.

Cool projects going as well.

And I, before we get into that, you, you get it about the generosity, the

abundance, the heart of, of giving and teaching other people to be a part of

the community, to be good citizens.

What is the feeling you have that you could share with people?

I think this is said over and over again, but it's so

important to reiterate it that.

Fame slash making some money.

That feels pretty good.

I mean, usually you're so tired, you can barely, um, enjoy those two things.

But know what really feels good?

Like really helping somebody out and really making a difference for

somebody really being there somebody.

Um, the act of giving is so underrated sometimes that.

That's the best feeling you're probably ever gonna feel.

And it's, you know, it just is, it's so nice to complete the circle of feeling,

the gratitude of how I've gotten here.

The people that have helped me, the collectors that have bought my paintings,

have gotten me to this amazing place.

You know, without them I wouldn't be here.

And now I can, you know, turn back and give what I can to help.

Keep those circles continuing.

I can be the person supporting someone else.

So I would just say that, you know, when you're down and depressed, where

I've also found times and places they say to go out and help somebody else in

those moments, cuz you're so wrapped up in your own pain, in your own strife.

And I have found that yes, that can help pull you out is by

focusing on some other people.

Doing other things, and I think that's just the heart of that

giving emotion and feeling it.

It's powerful and everyone should give it a try.

So true and a beautiful statement.

And one which we should all remember.

because how you see someone respond from your generosity, it's priceless.

it is.

priceless.

Amy, we're gonna take a quick break to get a word from one of our sponsors,

and then we're gonna come back and talk about the big project that you

have going on, which is very exciting.

Amy, welcome back.

You just were sharing with us how you feel when you are giving

to others and helping others.

And as I mentioned and you have shared with me, you have a

little project, a big project.

I don't wanna call it a little project.

It's a big project cuz what you've done, not many people have done.

And it's happening very soon, where if you've done it, it's

just being released very soon.

Why don't you take the mic here and share with everybody

what's, what's going on there?

Okay.

This is pretty exciting.

this kind of came to me in the middle of the night.

If you can imagine about four years ago this story, That pretty much kind

of summed up my life as a dreamer, following a dream As a rabbit, way

more interesting if you're an animal.

I'd go back and give talks to my college and I'd, and I'd talk to

the kids about, you know, kind of following a dream and what that takes.

And had, uh, things that are gonna stop you from getting there.

And I call 'em the dream killers.

That was in my lectures.

And so have a story of how the rabbit achieved his antlers

and became a jackalope.

We're all wondering how they got there.

So it's, it's great that somebody's put some thoughts to that.

I made a, a children's book.

it's really an adult book disguised as a children's book.

And someone just recently said to me, aren't they all, which

I loved that little thought.

and so Rabbits and the Crown of Dreams has finally showed up

on my porch after years and and writings and edits and rewrites and.

I painted 14 beautiful paintings that went that go into the book.

Um, they're super special because they are kind of Amy Ring holds as an illustrator.

it kind of just shows me in a different light, once again, being

creative for me in a new way.

And then I got to be an author, is still a fun word to say that I

never thought I would say, I got to tell this wonderful story about,

you know, feeling a, a calling.

actually before the calling, feeling like, is this all there?

Is, is this it?

Is this the only reasons I'm here?

What are they?

And a calling to go be more who you are and more, more

than what you have to offer.

And then, uh, Jack left goes on his journey and, learns his way through

life to achieve something special.

And then maybe.

that that, that that thing wasn't exactly what he thought it would be anyway.

And maybe it's even more than that.

So I'm really proud of this first adventure with, with putting words to,

to art and, writing this story, which I feel is, a common story the Dreamer.

but it's also told in a really fun way that relates to us here in

Jackson that the Tetons show up in the book, but they're never mentioned.

but all of us from here will, will, will know the, the viewpoints of the, of

the mountains you'll all feel connected to this is a, a story from our place.

I'm very excited that it's here.

It's beautiful.

It came out.

a beautiful hardbound book with 14 gorgeous acrylic paintings painted

on with a, with a lovely storyline.

So I hope that everyone will of fall for it when you see it.

we are going to release that book, May 13th at the gallery, we're

having a kids show in the afternoon.

So I wanted the kids to feel like they were going to an adult art opening at a

gallery, there'll be a lot of cake pops.

and we're gonna read the story and I'm gonna dedicate the books.

And I love it if the kids want me to dedicate something to them specifically,

like a certain sentence, like, you know, go, go number 32, go Bronx, whatever I'm

dedicate for the kids.

And then that evening, um, have some surprises for our adult

release party, on Saturday.

So I'm hoping that people will, know it's a busy day, like every

Saturday in Jackson Hole, but swing in there for a minute, a minute and

and, and take a look at the book.

And I hope you, you know, either can love to have this in your own home or think

of someone that would love this book.

we're excited to share it with everybody.

We're gonna start it locally just at the gallery on the 13th.

What time is that for the kids?

The kids starts at noon and I'm gonna read the book at one.

the adult show starts at four and I'm gonna read the book at five

My kids will be in school

on Saturday.

on the 13th.

No.

No, we could do that.

Yeah.

I didn't realize it 13th.

I had to look.

Thank you.

Yeah.

on Saturdays,

No, no, we do not have our kids go to school on Saturdays.

That's nice.

Good Dad.

Mm-hmm.

, Well, congratulations.

Um,

Thank you.

I'm, I'm interested.

I'm, I'm a details guy.

My brain goes in that direction.

Um, how many books did you have to buy to have it published?

well, I self-published this round.

That's about all I can afford and I'm hoping that it's a, a success and we

may have to do a second edition print.

Mm-hmm.

. Cool.

One thing that's kind of cool about Children's Book, when I tell people

that a lot of people immediately say, I have a, I have a story

I'd, I really wanna make a book

Uhhuh

And I love that.

I love that thought that we all have had, you know, a storyline in our

lives that we think is important enough that it's worth repeating and sharing.

And so I just wanna take that little two seconds to encourage everybody out there.

If you do have your own story, You know, don't wait.

Don't wait for the perfect printer and the perfect artist

to tie up with it, write it down

Yeah.

and share it, you know, with, with your, with people and

with your kids and all that.

But I love that we all have a story, so I just wanna set that out there.

And all of those, pictures, the 14 pitchers, what's

what's happening with those?

Are they gonna, I think,

I, I'm excited about this as also a gallery, an artist and gallery owner

that we, I wanna sell these 14 paintings because they're lovely and I think

people will fall in love with them.

so I've decided instead of you coming in the gallery and there's a red sticker

on there and you're heartbroken that it's sold, the coolest invest thing to

do would be to have an auction for them.

So gonna let the book, um, come out for the summer and let everybody see

it, and hopefully fall in love with the page and maybe find a place for a

page in your heart and in your home.

then we're gonna do a live auction August 19th in the gallery.

that's also gonna be something that's online.

So if you don't live in Jackson, you can also have that opportunity to

bid on a painting then everyone will get a, get a fair shot at each piece.

And then I just wanna like reiterate the specialness of that, that these paintings

are gonna be seen by thousands of people in these books and how, how cool to have

original from that book.

especially if it really speaks to you or one of the images

really touches your heart.

just, I think there are 14 very, very special pieces.

and there's only one original, so it's just a great opportunity, to

collect something special that maybe this book could go on and on and on.

And then in these, and these images would be just, um, highly regarded.

So very excited about the second half of the book, which is the artwork.

And with your heart of generosity, is there a plan that you have for the

funds generated from the sale of the book and or the sale of the paintings?

Well, um, I guess I haven't really gotten there yet.

I am gonna give

to all of my scholarship winners this year.

So that's a

Mm-hmm.

Possibly they could lead that, that some funds from that could lead back to the

scholarships as well, cuz that's what

following.

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

and curious question.

You said, did I hear you correctly that these are painted on wood?

Yes.

These

acrylics on wood

panel.

Okay.

Acrylics on wood panel, is that normal?

Your, A lot of what I've seen you do is on canvas, are you doing wood as well?

What I'm able to do on wood is, um, I'm, I use pencil and I can get more

detailed and more of the environment.

in a more detailed way around the animal.

So a lot of my paintings are oils on canvas and they have to do kind of

with being close up to the subject.

And then these book pages just really, they needed to show

so much more of the story.

And the best way for me to do that is with a pencil.

And the most interesting way for me to do that is to draw on wood.

And then I used wood stain.

acrylic paint to kind of build up these paintings.

So the pages look like they're, they're on a woodgreen, so it's got this

cool illusion where the page looks

and it just kinda added a, a depth to, to each page in the, in the, in the book.

I've, I use wood and I draw on wood in the gallery and I sell that as well.

But these are just different that there's an illustration piece to it that's,

um, something fresh and childlike.

I, I, I love it, Amy,

Hey, thank you.

dreaming.

It's so important and.

I can just hear, Hey, get your head out of the clouds.

Stop dreaming.

But it's dreams that bring about new things in life.

would we be without dreams?

Exactly.

That's the start.

the creativity and the dreams kind of go hand in hand.

And then when I say dreamers don't sleep, it means because they're

up working, they're not laying in bed, having amazing dreams of life.

They're up working on those dreams, which hard work and a

dream can maybe get you somewhere.

I'm gonna challenge what you just said.

You said maybe it can get you there, get you somewhere.

I, I think the dreams and the hard work can get you somewhere.

It might not be where you originally thought you would go.

think we have to all be prepared with, once when we start taking action and

putting in that hard work for our dreams, we could in end up in a different

place, but then we have a new dream.

Yep, that's true too.

Yeah.

And then maybe that giving back that, um, that good karma plays a role too.

I feel as though it does,

and as a Rotarian thank you for all the years of your commitment

to the Rotary Scholarship Fund.

That is for,

um,

been.

Which is, I am just still in awe of you producing on average, you know,

it comes out to three, painting a painting every three days.

Yeah,

a painting can take you a week or two weeks depending on size or how hard it is.

So I have several going at the same time and you know, some don't make it,

some are in detention in the back of the barn, uh, They're gonna remain there

until they're allowed out of there.

They have their face against the wall.

So I didn't just get all that bad

the room.

I haven't had a weekend off, let's just say that.

I don't have a, there's no week and weekend in my life.

So,

the job.

the job, that's how I can keep up is, is I work a lot and luckily I love my work.

So that's kind of my lifestyle.

Well, would you say that when you love your work, it doesn't feel like work

maybe work has a bad connotation to it.

You know, work doesn't, work isn't bad.

Work is you're growing

No.

becoming,

know, a better you and hopefully learning and succeeding.

And there's a lot of great things with working.

Mm-hmm.

know, if you're working with a bunch of paint all day, it can't be that bad.

I work with a bunch of bottles all day.

It's not that bad.

Love

Yeah.

Well, Amy, what is a great way for people to contact you and to keep an

eye out for this August 19th auction?

And I would guess that they can buy the books on your website too,

in addition to being in the store.

Will that be possible?

Okay.

son.

We're just waiting for the release date so that um, everything can be ready to roll.

So May 13th, you know, probably early in the morning they'll be available online.

We'll ship 'em to ya they'll be available in the gallery.

just keep an eye on Ring Hall Studios.

We'll be in the paper and we'll have shows throughout the summer.

Um, we have events at, in the evenings if you need a place for

an event, a small dinner party.

It's really lovely space to be downtown and.

Close to an after party at the Cowboy Bar, let's say.

and then the book, hopefully we'll start at the, the gallery and then

move on to some shops in town.

hopefully you'll be seeing it around.

And then anytime I'm around, I'd love to dedicate it for you.

So if you do get a book and then you're, in the gallery later on

this summer and I'm around, I'd love to write in there for you.

So that's kind of a fun thing to do too.

But we are on Broadway.

We have our website@ringhallstudios.com and uh, we'd love to see you.

We're open every day, 10 to four.

Thank you, Amy, for

your kind heart, your, your generous outlook and abundance of living.

Thank you for having me.

It was fun.

You got it.

We'll see you soon.

Bye.

To learn more about Amy and her book Rabbit and the Crown of

Dreams and the other works that she's done, visit the Jackson hole

connection.com, episode number 241.

Thank you everybody for listening today Get out and share this

podcast with your friends and families, Instagram and Facebook.

If you know, if somebody would like to be a guest, send us their name.

We'd love to have.

Take care everybody.

Look forward to seeing you back here for the next episode of