Self-directed. Collaborative. Team Player.
Art making teaches me about trust and acceptance; it’s a feedback loop which continues to fascinate me on a daily basis.
Living your life as an artist, as someone who makes art, takes guts. It takes practice. You’re invited to be curious and challenged to be flexible. The activities of creating take discipline, utilize method and compel you to express yourself authentically.
I co-wrote a book about collaborative art making with a woman I met on Twitter. This project was exciting and had a substantial learning curve. We did it in 10 months– wrote the book, designed the book and published it. Clear communication and good project management made that happen. Then, we met in person. All in all, it was a fabulous experience that taught me you can pretty much accomplish the outrageous if you say, YES!
Graphic Design, Digital + Print Production:
Some collaborations are better than others. I also designed and produced Little Book of Beer— a super cute beer tasting journal that could double as a weapon. Good design is an iterative process. It takes patience. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way, that some business partners can be unscrupulous.
Marketing Consulting:
My last semester in grad school I jumped ship out of the Education Department and into the School of Business, where I learned about multichannel marketing and met someone who is a wiz with Excel sheets. Together we developed a Branding Intake package for small business owners and helped them with branding, copywriting and social media integration. We assessed web presence and nerded out about metrics and systems.
Self-Directed:
I’m a life-long learner. I believe in the transformative power of education and embrace being self-directed. Before there was such a thing as majors in Digital Arts, I created my own course of study. I learned to code, wrote poems that changed with the wind and turn keyboards into sound and video instruments. I explored video and projection and printmaking, all while incorporating principles of design.
Contemplative Practice:
How we pay attention matters. As does how we show up. I used to have a hard time saying I was an artist. Making art is a practice. Now, I claim my creativity. It’s something I cultivate, eagerly. I embrace self-discipline and choosing over and over again to be my best self.