When Nadeen joined Meraki Art Institute in September 2024, she was ready to reconnect with her creative voice. A multidisciplinary abstract artist and yoga instructor, she had the passion and vision, but she was feeling creatively blocked and unsure of how to turn her art into something sustainable. Like many artists at the beginning of their journey, she carried the weight of financial uncertainty and the question we hear so often: How do I actually make this work?
 

Inside Meraki, the first shift was not about algorithms, sales, or perfect branding. It was about helping Nadeen express her story with clarity and confidence. Within her first thirty days, she landed her very first commission and made three times her program investment back. She did this without a website, without a large online audience, and without a “perfect” portfolio. At the time, she had fewer than ten thousand followers on Instagram. What she did have was authenticity, courage, and the willingness to apply what she was learning.
 

We guided her through the foundations of what we teach at Meraki: showing up as herself, sharing her journey in a grounded and intentional way, speaking to collectors with clarity rather than hesitation, and using our proposal template to communicate professionally. That single project became the doorway into a new chapter. One commission became her first four-figure sale. Then another. And another. One of her highest paintings recently sold for just under $7,000.
 

What makes Nadeen’s story powerful is not only the financial growth, but the transformation in how she views herself as an artist. She learned to take up space, to stand behind the value of her work, and to speak about her art with conviction. She no longer waits for permission. She leads with confidence, and her collectors feel it.
 

Today, Nadeen is not just creating. She is thriving. She consistently sells four-figure paintings, and she has emerged as a leader in our Meraki community, uplifting others through her art, her vulnerability, and the wisdom she has earned along the way.
 

Her journey is gentle proof that you do not need a massive audience or a perfect online presence to build a thriving art business. What you truly need is direction, strategy, support and belief in your work. At Meraki Art Institute, we are honored to walk beside artists like Nadeen as they step into the fullness of their creative purpose.