AUTHOR: Monica Lee TITLE: Interview DATE: 11:35 AM ----- BODY:

I was contacted by Sarah, a college art student who needed to interview an artist for a class. I am posting the interview because I think you might want to answer some of these questions yourself. It is always a good exercise. Even if you ask yourself "what is my typical day like?" You may realize that your days don't have a sense of purpose and as you answer "what are my words of wisdom?" You may realize that you really do have something to offer and then you might just set out to find a way to offer it...the universe needs you-you are like nobody else-it needs YOUR special talents. PS Zurich was sooo cold! I like Europe cities though, coffee never comes in a styrafoam cup even at the airport it is served in a glass coffee cup. They assume you are not hurrying. There are lessons there that Americans should be learning! 1.What is my educational background? I studied graphic art at a small liberal arts college in Oklahoma. This was in the early 80’s nobody was teaching much less using computer graphics. I actually hated the technical aspect of graphic art but received a good foundation in 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional design and a lot of Art History (yes, it does help) . I got the basics which I have been able to translate into many medium. My senior project was putting together a portfolio to be children’s illustrator. I just didn’t really know what to do with it once I was done with it. I spent countless hours in the library pouring over children’s books but didn’t know how you ever got form one drawing to being a published artist. 2. How did you get into this field and what is your experience? I got a bit side tracked in my illustration career when one of my art class girlfriends from college got hired for Pan Am as a flight attendant. She moved to New York City, she convinced me to do same. I got hired with American Airlines and moved to the big apple in 1989.We were busy hand painting clothing and jewelry on our days off. I made up some business cards and attended the National Stationery Show. Somehow someone wearing my art wasn’t enough of me-I wanted to be in print where all sorts of people could enjoy my art. This began my journey into owning my own greeting card company. I talked to other card manufacturers who started off small and had grown over several years. I even went out and priced printing for some card designs I put together. It seemed so expensive. I moved out to Southern California, my job as a flight attendant was keeping me VERY busy, but I always kept my fingers painting. I did some homework and bought a Graphic Artist Market and began sending off some of my greeting card samples to companies. I got very good responses and in my hunger to learn more about that business began working as a sales rep for other card companies. In a short amount of time I learned how other companies where running their business. Pretty soon, I made the leap and printed 20 of my own designs-this wasn’t cheap! 20k was the initial investment. Within a couple years I had 80 designs and was showing at the National Stationery Show myself. My greeting cards were actually reaching a lot of people. Much of my time was managing sales reps and packing orders. I wanted to create art also, it was a lot of hats to wear! After the birth of my son I decided to close my business and worked on remedying some of my personal life. On a whim I attended a SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. ( I am a big believer in investigating a new field before just starting in it) I was flying full time again and was single mom of a small child but I after much thinking I decided to put together a portfolio for children’s market. It felt risky, it was a competitive field and I had not been drawing for at least two years. 3. What qualifications are necessary for this field? You have to be able to draw and paint VERY well. My years of greeting card experience did not translate immediately into the world of illustration that ‘tells a story’. I joined the professional organization, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. (SCBWI) and soaked up every thing I could about how to package and market myself as a professional. I also had to rethink the way I drew! I had taken a 3 month computer graphic class that has turned out to be invaluable. I learned how to package my own materials and build my own website (I realized my husband is much better at so he maintains my website now). Being able to scan, optimize and work in Photoshop has saved me hundreds of dollars at Kinko’s! I came to the conclusion that I wanted to dip my painting fingers into many arenas. I still absolutely loved the gift and greeting card industry so I “did a little homework” and found a licensing agent tha I believe is a good fit for me. She will help me find different avenues to translate my art style into gift items. 4. What is a typical day like for me? A typical day is all about choices and how I am going to manage my time. I learned years ago that disciplining yourself to work at home was quite challenging. When I started flying less and staying at home more I thought it would come right back to me. But I was lonely! I began to network online with other illustrators and joined an illustration group that meets once a month, locally, through the SCBWI. Adding my “blog” or online journal to my website was just a way of keeping me focused on marketing myself and maybe keeping other illustrators and myself inspired so we wouldn’t feel as though we were working in a vacuum. I have figured out that I will spend days completely on ways to market myself and days just on illustrating and developing my style. 5. Do you have any words of wisdom? Do your homework! Investigate what type of art or illustration you think suits you, ask a lot of questions. Don’t be afraid to work in a related field, for awhile; just keep up your art skills. Set deadlines and goals for yourself. I had someone say to me-draw everyday! I don’t really lead that sort of life but if you find yourself in another job draw every week! Make a career plan that you want and stick to it. If you can, stay plugged into people that are doing what you want to do-they are good examples. And lastly, don’t lose hope. It took along time to get to my own sunny studio with a laptop, big drafting table and a Wacom tablet, a lot longer than I thought it would but my son is in school now, I am happily remarried and I am more sure now of the direction I am headed in. I love the type of work I am doing and really enjoy networking with other artists and creative types that are one their own creative paths.

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