Renaissance Woman: A Case in Study

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Take a peek into the life of a modern day Renaissance woman who has followed her heart to design the life she loves. Read on to meet Gina Hoenke-Wilcox, creative, entrepeneur, gardener, animal lover and educator.

I know you have heard some version of this more than once – “find your passion and follow it”, “define your passion” or “your passion is your calling”. But what if you don’t have a passion, but you have many passions? What if your passion is multi-faceted and encompasses many interests or crafts? If that is the case, you may be considered a Renaissance woman!

What is a Renaissance woman?

A modern Renaissance woman knows herself well enough to know that she is happiest when she is pursuing more than one passion. According to several dictionary definitions she is

“a woman who has broad intellectual interests and is accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.”

The Free Dictionary; Your Dictionary

Does that sound like anyone you know?

You might also recognize the modern Renaissance woman as someone who:

• is not afraid of change
• dares to follow her dreams
• is a lifelong learner
• defines her own vision or path
• lives fully and intentionally
• knows where to look for help to broaden her knowledge
• shares her knowledge and expertise freely

Wow. In other words, she’s a bold mover times 10!

Meet Gina Hoenke-Wilcox – a modern Renaissance woman

I am so excited to introduce you to Gina! I think once you read her story, you will see exactly why she fits the profile of a Renaissance woman and a woman who makes bold moves in life.

Life-long friends

Gina and my sister have been friends almost their entire lives. They were in the same prek class and then they spent their entire school career together. Gina was one of my sister’s besties from kindergarten to graduation! One of the benefits of growing up in a small town with a k-12 school is consistent friends that become life-long treasures. Being the big sister, by *ahem* a few years…..I had a view from a distance of their journey through school. But, now that we are all connected by the wonders of social media I can see what Gina has been up to in her latest endeavors. And I am always inspired and amazed by her resourcefulness and the way she builds the life she loves around her intentionally (see list above, lol).

What does the life of a Renaissance woman look like in practice? What can we learn from someone that knows what she wants and sets about pursuing it? Join me in taking a peak at this real life Renaissance woman’s passions that are lived out on the daily.

Tell us about the creative pursuits you have going on now. 

I am a Tiny Turtles Yoga teacher, a certified children’s yoga teacher with Kidding Around Yoga.

I also have a VsEclecticShop with several of my crocheted items for sale there. When I crochet, I do not use patterns so the items are all unique, original designs. In addition to crochet, soon I will be adding original jewelry pieces made from precious metal clay (PMC) to the shop. For the last few years, I have been taking classes from Tracy McComic at Wired and Sassy. My mom recently gave me a kiln and some PMC supplies so now I will make and fire my original pieces at home.

Additionally, there is Lucky H&W Farm that my husband, Dan, and I own. We run a small hobby farm in South Bossier, Louisiana with a cabin listed on Hipcamp. On the farm we sell eggs and birds (quail, chilckens, turkeys and ducks). I also sell heirloom plants that I grow from seeds.

For my day job, I am a Brain Trainer which involves training students to improve their cognitive skills.

(all of that AND she has a day job! I am certain she must know the secret to having about 45 hours in a day!)

You made a significant shift in your career. What was the impact of that? 

After 20 years in public education, I decided to work in the private sector as a Cognitive Behavioral Specialist. The flexibility in this job allows me to focus on and expand my other interests and creative pursuits.

What encouraged you to make these bold changes?  

This latest decision all started with 6 chickens! I lived in the city of Bossier and thought I did my research about the regulations of owning chickens in the city. One day I had to call animal services to come pick up a raccoon that we had caught. She informed me that the chickens had to go or she would have to remove them.

So, after much discussion and I have to confess, a few tears, I took my chickens to my friend’s house in the country, for a mini-vacation until the heat cooled down.  

Dan and I started looking for houses outside the city limits that had a few acres. We looked at two houses and found the one that would allow us to grow our farm. Although we knew the previous owners built the house and it had some issues, the house was really unique. We loved that no one else would have one like it, plus it came with almost four acres. The property had plenty of open areas for us to expand our garden and farm. We added a fenced area around the house for the dogs and two fenced areas for the hooved animals.  The previous owners didn’t spray chemicals on the yard so it was great for starting a garden. 

What is one lesson you learned during big life changes?

Do what makes you happy and don’t worry about what other people think. Most of the time they are focused on themselves. 

How have the bold moves shaped you as a person or as a business owner?

 As a person, I think I have become more patient. Part of that came from being a classroom teacher and learning to pick my battles and let the little things go. 

As a business owner, I have become more organized. I realized when I am organized I can handle a flexible, changing schedule and still get everything done.

What qualities do you think every creative entrepreneur needs?

A lack of fear. Don’t be afraid to fail. 

Creativity- it is hard to stand out. If you are creative and can come up with an original or beautiful idea it goes a long way. 

Passion- love what you do. Figure out what makes you happy and incorporate that into your business.

(Is it just me or does anyone else see the resemblance to a Renaissance woman? see list above. lol)

What are the challenges of running a hobby farm/rental? 

• Taking care of all of the animals can be a challenge. Just getting everyone fed and watered and their areas clean is a big job! Plus buying all of the feed and going to the store takes alot of time. 
• This year my garden was a challenge. It did not do well at all. It can be difficult to find time for the garden when your first priority is the animals. 
• When I got a greenhouse I thought that keeping it warm would be the issue. Wrong. It got up to 150 degrees in there this summer. 
• We haven’t really had any challenges with the rental yet.  We use hipcamp for booking and to be honest my husband handles the bookings. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a similar business?  What resources have you found helpful?

• I recommend connecting with other hobby farmers. I went to the homesteading conference in Arkansas and they had wonderful seminars. 
• Find online and local classes about farming and gardening to take. To be honest most of them just pop up on my Facebook page. Recently, I completed a free butter and cheese intro class. 
• Youtube videos are very helpful. Just do a search for whatever you need help with. I do like MiGardner and Roots and Refuge. They are very informative for gardening and homesteading. 
• I love the local second hand book stores and thrift shops for canning books.
• Your local farm and garden or feed stores are great resources and have bulk seeds that are way cheaper than other stores.

Describe a typical day on your farm. What do you love about it? 

I love all of the animals! All of our animals are very tame and loving. Many of them are rescues and they all get along beautifully. One thing you have to really watch is to make sure all of the animals get along and we are very lucky. 

There really isn’t a typical day. Everyday is different. Some tasks are daily, like feeding everyone, and making sure they have fresh water. Some days the tasks are dictated by the weather.

 In the summer they have to have their water changed at least every other day because the heat causes green slime to build up. When it is really hot we make sure that the birds have pans of water to put their feet in to cool themselves. Some days I even put frozen bottles of water in the pans to keep the water cold for them. 

When the winter storm hit this year, we had to go out and defrost all of the animals’ food and water. That challenged us because we are not equipped to deal with that kind of cold. Dan and I had to take boiling water to all of the animals and defrost their water every morning and again in the afternoon. To keep Bubba, the pig, and Mary Cup, the smallest female goat, warm we brought them in the house and kept them in kennels. We wrapped up all of the chicken coops with tarps to keep the heat in and fed the chickens cracked corn, also called CHOPS, because it takes them longer to digest and helps keep them warm.  

https://www.hipcamp.com/louisiana/lucky-h-w-farm-hatchery-cabin/lucky-h-w-farm-bed-and-breakfast

It takes teamwork

My husband, Dan, and I have arranged our schedules so that one of us has time in the morning or is off work, in order to take care of all of the chores. The weather also affects what we do. We don’t typically get terrible weather, but sometimes tornadoes are spawned and we have to make sure all of the animals are safe, comfortable and fed.

Some days I have time to do “extra” things like make sourdough and do canning. It just depends on what time of year it is and what we have available. For example, I really enjoy making dandelion jelly. It tastes just like honey, but it is definitely a labor of love!

What motivates you to create?  What are your favorite crafts/artistic materials? 

I love fiber art! I usually work on crochet when the weather is cooler. It gets hot here in the summer and I just don’t like to crochet in the summer. I don’t know how to read a pattern. I am sure I could if I took the time to learn, but I just like to make things. Crocheting is way more forgiving than knitting. It is kind of like Bob Ross says, you can make happy little accidents when you crochet and they make the piece fun and unique. 

I have just started working with Precious Metal Clay (PMC) on my own. I really enjoy working with that material and I am becoming more and more confident with the medium. Currently, I am working on some farm themed pieces and some mandalas. 

Which came first….the entrepreneur mindset or the creative mindset? 

It has to be creative for me. I feel that I have always wanted to create. Even at a young age, I loved making loomed potholders with my grandmother or tempera paint pictures in kindergarten.

See some of Gina’s creations here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/VsEclecticShop?coupon=LUCKY10

What motivates you to keep creating or working in your own business?

The enjoyment that I get from watching the visitors to the farm interact with the animals is quite rewarding. Like I said, our animals are very calm and loving and it is nice to watch people get to interact with them. 

As far as the jewelry and crocheting go, I just do it for the love of creating things. Even if I don’t sell a piece, just making them makes me happy.

And I love to grow things! I just think it is amazing the amount of food that can come from one tiny seed. I love sharing unusual plants with people. The seeds and plants that are available now are amazing. I have a small seed addiction. I have managed to accumulate two photo cases full of seeds and a ton in my freezer that I bought at the farm and garden stores.

What do you offer guests if they visit your farm?

Guests can rent the cabin of course, and then we have add ons like the big farm breakfast, cinnamon rolls for two, treats for the animals, or guitar lessons by Dan. My husband has an online guitar shop (Ark-la-tex Guitar Emporium) and is a Cajun musician so he is available for lessons. Guests could also add on a dozen eggs, a cheese board or enjoy a dip in the pool. The cabin itself has wifi, several streaming services available on the tv, a mini frig, coffee pot, toaster oven and a microwave. There is a new grill and picnic table that we just added under the pergola.

Check out Dan’s guitar shop at: https://reverb.com/shop/dans-gear-emporium-484

You are a wealth of information and have a broad repertoire of skills.  Any advice to women who want to broaden their horizons?

• Take classes and watch videos. Ask people for help – they are usually flattered and happy to help. Share what you know with others. 
• Don’t be afraid of going out of your comfort zone. The first time I pressure canned I was worried that I would blow up the house or poison someone! Now it is easier.
• Beware of chicken math! It all starts with only a few chickens!
• Figure out what makes you happy and research it. I can talk about growing tomatoes all day!!! I learned from others. 
• As my grandfather told me: “an education is the one thing that no one can ever take from you”. 

Wisdom from this modern Renaissance woman

Dear readers, are you taking notes?! There is so much to glean from Gina’s experience and mindset. The lessons here seem obvious, but I am going to highlight some that stood out to me anyway. (what? you knew I was going to, didn’t you?)

First of all, did you catch that point about Gina being a creative soul from her early childhood years? I could write a chapter or two on that subject! If you are a parent or grandparent keep in mind that the heart to create can be fostered and encouraged in the early childhood years. Once a creative child with problem solving skills gets started, just stand back and watch what he or she does. These kids are our inventors, scientists, creators, and world changers.

Gina also encouraged us to be fearless! Stop worrying about failing and just get started. And PLEASE don’t worry about what other people are thinking. What action will take now?

Get your notebook out and make your own list of things that inspire you about being a Renaissance woman.

Remember Mary from our previous interview? You can read about her courageous moves here