Erika Person - Life Coach & Artist

07/29/2026

Apparently tonight brings a full moon in Aquarius. Someone on the internet recommended pulling & donating clothes I don’t wear to make room for new opportunities.

It’s been a season of releasing. Slllooooowwwwly. But I finally feel ready to call in something new.

The deaths of my parents changed EVERYTHING. My work, my address, my day to day, my heart, my human suit, my mental health, my identity…ALL OF IT.

Grief is a weird thing. It changes how we experience time. It tethers us to the past. It makes us want to skip ahead into some future when our heart is no longer shattered. (Good luck with that.) All at the same time.

It has been easy to identify who & what I want to be in this new paradigm. It has been harder to get there, with more than just one foot stuck in the past.

I read something else on the internet a few days ago about decluttering, a topic that has been FRONT & CENTER in my brain since Eric & I moved into my childhood home 4 years ago. We moved a 2BR apartment into a fully furnished house with 50 years worth of stuff. I was drowning in grief, and drowning in STUFF.

Anyway, the thing I read was: Don’t ask if an object sparks joy. Ask “is this a job I want?” Thanks to Tessa @ Spatial Awareness Home for this solid gold nugget!

Because let me tell you, maintaining my parents’ wooden avocado trophy from a random cribbage tournament is not a job I want. Keeping the little beige globe 🌏 they accumulated somewhere is not a job I want. Holding onto my wardrobe from my opera days is not a job I want. Even if the clothes are beautiful.

For that matter, being a parentless daughter is not a job that I want. Unfortunately, I can’t get out of this one. But releasing my attachment to the objects that load me down with MORE jobs I don’t want leaves me with more room to do the jobs that I DO WANT.

Like being an artist. And caring for my body and my environment with intention, integrity, and devotion. The things I’ve been deferring because I have been overwhelmed with jobs I do not want.

Today I’ll spend some time clearing out my closet so I can drop off my donation tomorrow. I had been thinking I would try to sell off my better pieces, but honestly I don’t want that job either. I just want the space to make room for the prosperity I’m calling in. I’ll let my new favorite thrift, In the Making in Boyle Heights, do that job & reap the rewards. My opera career & life in NYC have already rewarded me richly.

If you want to hear me & my hero Jodie King Art talk about art & grief & transformation, click the link below. (Heads up, we both curse a bit. 😉)

May we all be bathed in the light of a rainbow glow today. May we BE that light. ♥️

https://youtu.be/1yUjHHL9UpM?is=ELHlemqCjWBPRatt

07/29/2026

Last spring, my life changed when I traveled to the Dominican Republic with Trades of Hope to meet the Batey Girls.

This was not the DR known for its 5-star all-inclusive resorts. Except that it was.

Roughly the size of West Virginia, the DR is home to ~11.6 million people (WV’s population is ~1.76 million). The UN ranks the DR as having the 3rd-fastest growing human trafficking industry in the world. Globally, human trafficking generates $150 billion annually and $9.5 billion is generated just from the DR.

I did spend a day at the beach…with a group of girls, most of them minors, and all of them survivors of human trafficking. These girls had experienced unspeakable trauma, and because they had been rescued and given a safe, loving, & family-like home, they were able to be girls — their squeals of laughter & delight cracked my heart wide open.

We also visited a church in a shantytown (no toilets, just a hole in the ground), to let women at risk of being trafficked know that there are people who want to help.

This Thursday, 7/30, is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. I’m telling you because awareness is a critical part of the fight to . You can join the fight by:

💙Educating yourself and your family. Know what to look for. There are great resources from A21 and IJM, among others.

💙Donating to “boots on the ground” groups like Batey Rehab Project. They are actively involved in the rescue & recovery of survivors.

💙Shop fair trade. S*x trafficking is only one aspect of exploitation. Labor trafficking is pervasive & is becoming more complicated & rampant due to cyber-enabled fraud. Shopping fair trade ensures that people are paid fairly for their work. (I can hook you up with home decor, accessories, apparel, & bath & body products that empower survivors. 🔗 to my in bio.)

💙Use the hashtag & wear blue.

💙If you are looking to grow your art collection w/ intention & impact, I’ll donate a portion of my art sales through 7/31 to Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking and BRP. The piece I’ve shared here is called DIGNITY. DM me, as it’s so new it’s not even on my website yet. 30x40”, $2,100.

07/21/2026

The Honest Art Podcast with the AMAZING Jodie King Drops Tomorrow! I’ll be watching along with you — I haven’t seen or heard it yet. I’ve been painting for about 8 years, shedding decades of perfectionism, learning how to navigate the art world, and letting my life speak through my art. Jodie has been at this for 20+ years and is a whiz in the biz. She’s on a mission to bust the myth of the starving artist, and I’m here for it. I hope you will be, too!

Going from selling to friends and family......to selling to compl...

07/11/2026

Come visit me in front of for Second Saturday Artwalk! (In between Johnny’s & Highland Cafe.) Just me and my small art today — I have some fun new pieces and limited edition prints of “Pancake Hollow,” which I painted in 2021 based on a photo I took in on back in 2010.

I’ll be here until at least 2pm today — and then I’ll be at TONIGHT 7/11 with at the (5105 Hermosa Ave, 90041). I’m going to sleep so hard tonight!

Save the Date: Sat. 7/18 (11a-6p) for my fair trade artisan partners’ jewelry, home decor & more.

Thanks to for organizing today’s event and to Maribel @ Pastport Vintage for your hospitality! 🩷🩷🩷