In the last couple of years, I’ve played with various ways to be more creative. I jumped at the chance to teach art in place of a “normal” core subject job. I thought I would enjoy it and I actually ended up LOVING it. Now, instead of 400+ kids, I’m teaching myself some new things! I’ve decided to step out into new territory, inspired by what I’ve learned these last couple years of teaching.
A little more than five years ago, I started writing my first novel, which led to designing illustrations for the main protagonist, a child in the story. At that time, I started taking some online courses through Sktchy, Domestika, and practicing techniques to improve my art. My Grandad was a huge inspiration, as he was my very first art teacher in middle school. My sister and I created a book with a story about our Grandad called, Flowers for Friends.
I continued scribbling, and a couple years later wrote a script for my first graphic novel (to be finished by the end of 2024). Then two years ago, I accepted a job as an Art/Music/Spanish teacher at a school and actively pursued techniques to raise the bar. Some of my plans worked and some fell flat. Still, outside of school, I worked on methods that interested me, and even got my art teaching certification for Kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Fast forward to the present. I’ve been making more of a concerted effort to carve out time for art. A couple months ago I started taking an in-person course on figure drawing to help improve my graphic novel elements. My goal for this illustrated writing project is to have the book ready for publication by the end of the year.
All this to say, one thing led to another, and I’ve decided that it’s time to step out into more art. My plan is to attempt a semester without a “real job” and see how it goes. I will find time for creating art and completing my novel drafts. In the very long term, I hope to be a full-time author and write books to make a living. Until then, I’ll aim to supplement my income with art jobs that I find close to home. I’ve calculated how much I would need to make and how long I use savings to live off of my art. It is by no means a steady thing yet, but it is something I’m hugely passionate about and I envision ways that it will become successful.
I’m a little nervous about jumping into something new because it is not the expected thing. At the same time, I am enormously exited! I feel like the last couple years teaching children about the history of art has built a love for the arts that I had pushed aside. I am ready to work towards my art. I’ve been considering this path ever since beginning to teach art in 2022. Now that I have several upcoming opportunities to show my art in galleries or to share my art in shows, I’d like to give it a real shot. Creative steps will lead to more creativity, even if might look different than I imagine.
During the limbo of summertime, I’m setting goals for the next week, month, three months, year, three years, and five years. Each of these I will visit periodically as I develop how people respond to my art. I’ve discovered that in-person demonstrations bring even more people to my site, and that word of mouth is probably going to be my best bet for maintaining consistent commissions each month. At the same time, I’m looking forward to getting to know more of the art community around this area and to support other local artists as much as possible.
For June and July I’ll tweak things on my site, but not change a whole lot until early August. I have a couple shows in late July and beyond, so summer is a great time to experiment and explore! I’m curious to see what new writing and drawing inspiration emerges as I aim towards being a full-time creative. It’s a scary thought when taken as a whole vision, but I’m attempting to make a single step. Then the next. And the next!
Keep building your vision,
Hannah Marie.