​​​​​​​This month’s guest has harnessed the power of reinvention quite literally. Anne Del Core was an experienced TV Exec before decided to pivot to an entirely new path. She is now an innovative and award-winning artist, specializing in glass mosaics. “It’s really a metaphor for life—I love the process of breaking something and putting it back together in a whole new way,” she says.

Anne grew up in small town in Western Maryland with her parents and four brothers. Her father and mother were college professors. Anne knew she always wanted to be a television reporter and landed the job while still in college. After college, Anne started her career as a reporter and quickly realized it was more lucrative to become a salesperson for a television station. She worked her way to a General Sales Manager position with WKRT-TV in Norfolk, VA as part of a larger network owned by the New York Times. “I was appreciative of the career I did have and was afforded lots of opportunities and training,” she says.

She had her first retirement when she stayed home to raise her three children. Her husband was a Radio Exec and the family moved quite a bit, including from Austin to Atlanta to Sacramento. As her kids grew older, she started delving into her own interests. Some neighbors invited her to make mosaics in their garage and took her to a glass store. “It (the art) just sparked something in me. I fell in love with the material.” Then a photographer friend encouraged her further so she started making and selling pieces, which led to a website and commissioned work. Now well-connected within her art community, Anne’s pieces often sell for high price tags. “It was a slow build-up….I gained confidence….these touchpoints changed my life.”

Anne now says she embraces the title of “Artist” full-on. Her work is featured in galleries and auctions and she's about to introduce a new themed series of work. “I found something that gives me joy, even keeps me up at night—sometimes I’m thinking about what I want to do the next day, I think how fortunate I am that I found something that I can do for the rest of my life, that I want to do, and I’m producing something!”

Anne’s (Un)Retirement Tips:

• Creativity zone: "Often my husband comes home after work and I'm still in the studio and I'm really in the mode of cutting this piece the right way and get these last pieces in before dinner. She has embraced a new Dinner Can Wait philosophy. He's very supportive and I appreciate that."

• You don’t have to do everything yourself: “It’s about being resourceful. We’ve all had experiences in this life that have brought us to this moment and using resources is key at this point (in life) so you’re doing what you want to do.”

• Expect the unexpected: “So in trying something, you don’t have to be good at it or excel right away, but I think if you try something and it leads you down a path in a certain direction, follow that. If it doesn’t work out, you can try something else. I love the concept of reinventing!”

• More about Anne Del Core​​​​​​​

• More about Story Glass Mosaics

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Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog.

Tags:    Blog   Anne Del Core   TV Exec   Artist   Second Act   Creative Spark   Glass Mosaics   Carl Landau