Lander University’s Business Week got a colorful start on Monday. Maya Ratcliff, founder and CEO of Hawaii Fluid Art, visited Lander to speak with students about the ins and outs of owning a business.
“I started my business by accident,” Ratcliff said.
“I was taking different art classes, and I was horrible at all of them, and I was painting a bird on a branch in front of a barn at one of those traditional painting experiences. And I thought 'I am never going to hang this up.' I went home that evening, and I started watering down paints and flowing them around a paper plate and I thought, anybody could do this. And I continued on, I started posting on Facebook, and it was born by accident. And here we are, three years later and I now have over 50 studios around the United States and expanding into other countries.”
Lander University President Richard Cosentino and First Lady Jessica Cosentino participated in a demonstration of Hawaii Fluid Art with founder and CEO Maya Ratcliff on Monday. Photo by Brett Tubbs.
She spoke to an audience of almost 500 in Lander’s Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium and demonstrated fluid art in action with the help of Lander President Richard Cosentino and First Lady Jessica Cosentino.
“What’s really important is for students to understand that you can do anything that you put your mind to,” Ratcliff said following the talk. “It takes work, it takes dedication, you can’t doubt yourself, you have to 100% believe.”
She said belief in oneself and finding something they connect with are the most important things a business owner needs.
Dr. Lloyd Willis, Interim Dean of the College of Business and Dean of the College of Graduate and Online Studies, said he wanted students to hear from Ratcliff so they could understand how passion turns into a business.
Later in the day, College of Business graduate students and faculty members participated in a roundtable discussion with Ratcliff and members of her team, discussing more detailed aspects of owning a business, such as franchising and marketing.
After the roundtable, the College of Business unveiled a piece of fluid art gifted to the University.
Experiential Learning at Lander University | Entrepreneurship Meets Art | Hawaii Fluid Art by University Relations