A few months ago Lexy Correia walked away from a job as a corporate administrator to become a freelance artist a move some people considered suicidal in the current poor economy.Not only did she survive the leap, she is thriving. Her first solo show, ‘The Elements’, opens on Sunday at the Bermuda Arts Centre in Dockyard.“Art was something I was doing but I don’t think I had enough confidence in my own ability,” said Mrs Correia. “Friends and people who had seen my art, encouraged me to do it full-time. It was scary to walk away from my job. I am lucky that I have support from my husband, Dion Correia.”Her husband made a similarly courageous move a few years ago when he started his own business, Fusion Design, Marketing and Printing.Said Mrs Correia of her path: “We felt we were at a place where if I didn’t make the switch, I was never going to do it. We manage to pay the bills though. I tell people I am so happy. I am not rich, but we are happy. Life is about doing what makes you happy and doing what makes you happy.”She has already taken part in several group shows on the Island. To make the deadline for her upcoming show she worked from morning straight through until 2am the next day.“I think for you to do something and pursue, it has to be a passion and has to be something you love to do, otherwise it is easy to let fear cloud what you really want to do,” she said. “That is the biggest thing I can tell people is get over the fear and believe in yourself. If you know what you are doing everyone else will see that.”This show will be in acrylics, but she plans to move into oils. She also works other mediums such as fabric and jewellery.“I am completely self-taught in every medium I work in,” she said. “I’ve always had to create. Like many artists, I had self-doubt growing up. I was told, ‘You can’t do that for a living’. I dismissed much of that years ago and have focused mainly on painting for the past seven years [in my spare time].”As one might expect, paintings in ‘The Elements’ include many references to the Earth, fire, water and air. It also includes places such as Easter Island in the Pacific, known for its strange stone heads, and Stonehenge in England. She hasn’t been to either place, although she would like to go sometime.“I love surreal work and I love to make people think,” she said. “There are so many mysteries out there. Some of my work is humorous, but there won’t be any humorous work in this particular show. I will put that in my next show, which I am already planning.”She and her husband recently started an online art supply business, DNA Creative Shoppe.“It is starting off slow, but we are getting in what people need,” she said. “We deliver in the City of Hamilton free of charge. We live on King Street, so it’s not difficult. Our stock is kept at Bermuda Public Storage, because we just can’t afford to rent somewhere for a store, right now. For large items, people have to collect them.“I was in the hospitality industry for many years as I worked as a bartender, before working in a law firm. I know the importance of customer service.”Sunday’s opening is from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. The Bermuda Arts Centre in Dockyard is also holding its Small Works Christmas show, one of their biggest shows of the year. It is a “forever changing show”, which means that once work is sold, the artists must replace it with another piece. Both shows run til January 12. The Bermuda Arts Centre in Dockyard is open daily from 10am to 5pm.Useful website www.dnashoppe.biz