Study Task 7

Camille Chew replied also

 Hi Jenny,

Here are my answers,

1.What inspires all your work?

This is a very broad question since pretty much everything I encounter in my life has the potential to give some inspiration. But some things I always find inspiring are witchcraft and the occult, mythology, street fashion, interior design (for color and pattern inspiration), and of course the artwork of fellow artists.

2.How have you found working freelance? What have you found are the biggest challenges? Have you needed to have other employment alongside this?

I really enjoy working freelance, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some great clients on projects that I really love. The biggest challenge for me is time management. As a freelancer I’m my own boss and have to figure out how to schedule my time between client work, gallery work, and personal work. In addition to actually making all this art I also have to deal with the business side of things; emails, invoices, contracts, etc. all of which I wasn’t taught about in art school and had to figure out along the way.

I had the privilege of living with my parents and having them support me after I graduated, so I did not need other employment as I worked towards freelancing full time. This is certainly not the case for everyone, and if not I would encourage getting a full or part time job, whether it’s art related or not, while you work towards a freelance career. Currently about half my income is from freelance work and half is from my online shops.

3.How did you start getting commissions or getting your name out there within the illustration/art world ? How would you suggest I go about making contacts?

I first started getting commissions after gaining a following on tumblr. Nowadays all my clients find me through social media (Instagram and tumblr are where I’m most active), my online shops, and other places online where my work has been featured. To get your name out there I would very much suggest you take advantage of social media—it’s free and it’s where tons of art directors, clients, and potential customers are looking. Focus on one or two platforms, have a separate professional account that is specifically for sharing your art (of course some personal posts to let your audience get to know you are good too), post as regularly as possible (I aim for once a day when I have new work to show), follow and engage with fellow artists to build community and make contacts in the industry. Attending conventions and participating in group gallery shows are also ways gain an audience and start making contacts.

4.Do you think it’s important to find a niche and have particular style or be more versatile? What makes a strong portfolio?

If you’re working inhouse being more versatile may be beneficial (I don’t have personal experience in this though). If you’re freelancing I’d say it’s better to have a distinct style, that’s what will set you apart from other artists and give clients a clear idea of what to expect from you. But don’t get too caught up in “trying to find your style,” which is something I think a lot of young/beginning artists worry too much about. An artist’s style is something that develops over time through just making tons of art. There’s no need to force a style or impose one on yourself, If you feel like you haven’t found your niche just keep experimenting and making more art. And you should never feel limited by your style, it’s something that will always be evolving and growing.

A strong portfolio is about quality more than quantity, include only your best work and regularly go through to add new work and get rid of work that is no longer relevant/doesn’t show your current skill level. You should put only the kind of work you want to be hired to make into your portfolio. A strong portfolio site will be easy to navigate, cleanly display your work, have links to social media, and have your professional email address easy to find for clients.

5.I know you make and sell a lot of your own work. Do you prefer working like this as you can have more free reign? Or do you prefer working on a project like the Basic Witches book and working with others?

I like having the balance of both. Client projects give me the opportunity to collaborate and work with others, often resulting in final artworks that I wouldn’t have come up with on my own. It also lets me work on a scale that I can’t on my own, like having my work published in Basic Witches and sold in bookstores across the country. Personal work is great because I only have myself to please, it allows me to explore the things I’m really interested in, and to experiment and play. Most often it’s my personal work that draws in clients. It’s important to take time for personal work as it helps you grow as an artist, and it’s a reminder to yourself that art isn’t just work, it can be fun too. Any personal work you make can also be monetized by selling or licensing it.

6.How was working after education and what tips would you have for me as an illustration student graduating next year?

The biggest change after leaving school is that you no longer have anyone telling you what to do, no one giving you assignments and no one making sure all your work is done on time. Freelancing takes a LOT of self-motivation and self-discipline, these are important skills that you should cultivate as you’ll need to be able to initiate and complete projects all on your own.

My tips for you as a student pursuing illustration are to:

• Utilize social media to connect with potential clients and customers, as well as fellow artists. (You're off to a great start with this on your IG account!)
• Try selling your work. This can be through conventions, local craft shows, online storefronts like Etsy or Big Cartel, or print-on-demand shops like Society6, Redbubble, etc. (POD sites can be a great way to earn a passive income, once a design is uploaded they take care of everything else. If you gain some popularity this has the potential to become a fairly steady stream of monthly income, which is nice with the unpredictability of freelance). I’ve also had several clients find me through my online shops.
• Find a way to support yourself while pursuing your illustration career, whether that’s living at home, getting a part or full time job, and/or creating passive streams of income.
• Fill your portfolio with the kind of work you want to be hired to do. Think of your dream projects and give them to yourself as assignments.
• Seek out resources on the business side of being an illustrator and educate yourself (invoices, pricing, contracts, taxes, etc.).
• The blog dearartdirector.tumblr.com has a lot of good information on having a career as an artist.
• And most importantly, keep making art! I began my career by just drawing constantly and posting it online. Creating consistently is what will improve your skills, get your name out in the illustration/art world, and help you start your career.

Hopefully this has been helpful!

Wishing you the best of luck in your studies and in your illustration career!

Camille :)

Study Task 7

Dasi- A community artist I know set up The Making Project and works with the homeless and prisons

When I was at art school I planned to go into illustrating colouring books and young children's learning books as I thought it looked fun and like a good bread-and-butter job, however on graduation from my illustration degree I secured a six month post in an arts centre set within a residential neighbourhood in Nottingham called the New Art Exchange part of the art centres remit was to be accessible to the local community and so my role involved looking after their 'community artist' Pops 

I never knew such a job existed, through helping him hang exhibitions I got to know him a bit and his enthusiasm infected me. I also noticed how joyful the participants were when they came for their class, like they'd really been looking forward to it and how non judgemental and encouraging the atmosphere in the class was   

I came back to Coventry and discussed with my friends, one of whom was running a project educating refugee women about how to access the NHS in pregnancy, she had the idea that I could use art to engage them in discussion, so we'd ask them their experiences (many would have language barriers or not understand English red tape, say) and I'd illustrate it on paper to make it more juicy, then we'd offer them alternative ways and illustrate those in very basic ways, this way it superseded language to some degree and was memorable 

I put out some feelers, and met with a careers advisor who introduced me to the existing community artist here in Coventry and we got acquainted, a couple of years later she left Coventry to build a home somewhere else which left a vacuum 

I decided to do a Masters in an unrelated subject and as part of this I interviewed some young people at a young person's homeless hostel then I started volunteering there doing art sessions which led to the activities co-ordinator introducing me to education providers who employed me, the most recent Crisis requested I obtained a PTTLs certificate which I did at night school

My working week encompasses 2 or 3 sessions each day Monday - Wednesday then paperwork and funding applications on Thursdays and Fridays 

Re attributes, I am a yes person and I very rarely turn down work even if at face value it isn't worth it (ie 2 hours in a prison setting is a long journey and earns you £50 in total but sometimes these things lead to bigger opportunities - so if someone offers an in and I'm inspired then I'm there) I volunteer a lot too (luckily I have quite low overheads so I have flexibility in that way) 

I would say networking and relationship building skills have been key, they say in this job people hire you as a person not necessarily what you can do, they become loyal to you and forgive you your weaknesses, in my case my timekeeping and planning skills leave a lot to be desired, I get bored easily and it shows, but I will go the extra mile for people and when I get excited about a project I'm fun to be around   

The hardest thing I'd say is lugging around lots of stuff, if I drove I'd have the fanciest storage solutions permanently in the boot of my car and it'd serve as an art cupboard! The best thing for me is seeing people years later and they still have what they made and it's precious to them 

If community art is something you'd like to get into - 

Establish where you'd like to be based and the types of people you'd be interested in working with, the ladies that lunch market is huge as are after school clubs and holiday activities - ask yourself how you're going to pay the bills, a little job on the side could work for you, would you like to be an employee or would you prefer to run your own project re the former charities like Bernardos or Crisis may have jobs or the local council sometimes have arts officer posts - to build your own project takes time, but the freedom is great 

If you'd like to gain any experience and can get to Coventry do let me know and I can rope you in, or if you plan to stay in Leeds my Mum lives there and we may know some people to introduce you to 

I hope some of that's been helpful, please be in touch if any other questions 

All the Best 

Dasi 

Study Task 7

I've sent a few emails out to different type of illustrators who practice different areas I'm interested in. I've sent emails to Camille Chew (witchy illustrator), Cassidy Rae Marietta(illustrator), Emily Carroll (tattoo artist), Meg Langdale (tattoo artist) and Dasi (a community artist that I know). Cassidy Rae Marietta replied the same day and Camille Chew replied saying she can answer questions at the start of May as she is busy, and still awaiting response from the others. 

Cassidy Rae Marietta

1.What inspires all your work? 

I am forever inspired by nature and the world around me. I moved around a lot in my youth and discovered a friendship with the earth around me-- That is a relationship that I've nurtured all my life.

Illustration has been a way to narrate personal truths and it's a very meditative process.

Returning themes in my work include the position of women in modern society, sexuality and the role division between social normality, censorship and the rawness of human nature/human condition-

When I feel a deep connectedness with what I'm creating- inspiration comes w/fluidity.

2.How have you found working freelance? What have you found are the biggest challenges? Have you needed to have other employment alongside this?

Freelance is difficult. I won't lie about that. I've managed to grab hold of a couple lasting gigs that guarantee monthly income but hustle is in the equation month by month and at the end of the day nobody is going to pay your bills but you.  

I juggled a full-time job and an art career for nearly 10 years but that struggle made me focus harder on what was important to me and here we are. 

Not creating art was never an option but I have always pathed out ways to make money in the event people hated what I was doing. 

Work hard. Save money. Pay your bills. Be kind to people. Seems easy enough but common sense isn't always common and I'm still learning every day ;)

3.How did you start getting commissions or getting your name out there within the illustration/art world? How would you suggest I go about making contacts?

If you are consistent and putting solid work out that is personal to you (not necessarily following any kind of trend etc) you'll start to get attention. 

I've learned to make art for me and not necessarily an audience- And that seems to work for me.

A bit after college my husband (boyfriend at the time...we met at art school) encouraged me to start a Tumblr account. 

I hadn't really started any kind of art-world networking and he thought it would be a good place to get noticed. 

After a while, I was contacted by a reputable art magazine to have a blog feature. Feels like it's been uphill since then. 

Instagram and Society6 have been huge platforms for making contacts as well as sharing work. 

Also- look into any local non-profits where you live and see what kind of creative grants/opportunities are available.

Just remind yourself it doesn't happen overnight and try not to lose confidence. 

4.Do you think its important to find a niche and have particular style or be more versatile? What makes a strong portfolio?

A strong portfolio has a unique voice- No particular style or versatility per se but the artist is making a vivid impact. I want to see a smart and visually exciting body of work and maybe keep me thinking about it for a while. 

5.I know you make and sell a lot of your own work on Society 6. Do you prefer working like this as you can have more free reign? 

 Society6 has exceeded all my expectations. It is simple to use, the products are 100 percent quality every. time. And it's a great place to network, discover and be discovered. 

I spend a lot of time doing private commission work and when I'm not doing that I'm still drawing. S6 opens up a lot of time-- All I gotta do is produce the work. 

6.How was working after education and what tips would you have for me as an illustration student graduating next year?

There was so much societal pressure to be so many things at that time (not unlike current times...) w/ social media growing and false standards--

I didn't want to lose sight of the human element and started working at a youth center teaching art to homeless teenagers.

I learned that being an artist is a privilege and that not everybody has the luxury to express themselves or their minds freely. 

You're already blooming.

Take time for yourself to breath and level your thoughts. Be humble. Make an impact and connect with people. Be serious about your work but don't take yourself too seriously.

I'll absolutely check out your stuff. Hope this offers a bit more insight.

Best of luck and thanks for the support.

Cassidy