We recently connected with Aislinn Evans and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Aislinn, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

It’s so difficult to earn a living as a fulltime creative, especially in a city as expensive as New York City. When starting out we often have to choose between spending our time doing the creative thing we love for little to no money, and spending our time waiting tables or in the service industry making just enough money to get by. And to make that jump from relying on the “survival job” to making a full time living from our creative work is not only difficult but scary! You’re taking a risk and giving up the little stability you had from that minimum wage survival job and putting your full faith in your ability to hustle and make money off your talent. Often times I have found myself taking jobs that I may not have any real passion for, but I took them because they pay money and utilize my acting or modeling talents. And I’d rather take an acting gig over waiting tables any day! Even if I’m not passionate about that particular project! The real magic is when the stars align and you book that job that you ARE passionate about, that scratches that creative itch, AND it pays! And then when you begin to find yourself working only (or at least mostly) jobs that all feed that fire of inspiration, that’s when you know you’ve really built something special. It is such a rare treat to make a full time living doing exactly what you love. And I am happy to say I feel like within the last two years (especially this past year), I have officially crossed that threshold. I am now lucky enough to work on a constant stream of projects that inspire me AND pay the bills. To get there, you just have to keep moving forward, trust yourself, and trust that the journey will ultimately lead you to your goals.

Aislinn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I guess a brief summary of my timeline would be I started out dancing when I was just 6 years old. I immediately fell in love with it and trained all the way up through college, following the path to become a professional dancer. After I graduated college, however, I decided I wanted to branch out within my performing and entertainment scope. I moved to NYC in 2018, began modeling, which naturally led into commercial work, which eventually pushed me into what I had ultimately always wanted to explore, Acting! Acting is now my full time focus and main source of income, which I’m incredibly grateful to be able to say. Along the way I wore many hats: model, actor, dancer, host, livestreamer, and content creator (to name a few). Currently, my days are filled with being a live shopping host on the shopping app sune, working with various marketing agencies to create short form ads for various companies, and have a TV show coming to a major streaming platform early next year. Ultimately what makes me stand out is my unwavering passion for optimism and joy of life. I bring it into everything that I do. That mixed with my unrelenting willpower, determination, and discipline makes for a powerful combination. Once I set a goal, I’m going to reach it.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

On Halloween night of 2021, I fainted, full blackout, resulting in a trip to the emergency room, six stitches in my chin, and a severe concussion. The doctors asked me “have you been really stressed lately?” Why yes, I had been. Of course I had been, I had been pushing myself and operating on fumes for months. That’s just how I was, constantly over scheduling myself, trying to be as productive as possible, accomplish as much as I possibly could with no work life balance or boundaries. My body couldn’t keep up and so I literally fainted from stress and exhaustion. The resulting concussion and recovery forced me to take a step back and hit pause on a whole bunch of work and projects, something I do not like to do, and filled me with anxiety that I would somehow fall behind or miss opportunities. But this forced step back allowed me to reanalyze HOW I was working, and what I was prioritizing. I then decided it was time to restructure how I worked. I created daily routines that took time to prioritize myself and my wellbeing. Exercising, meditating, reading, eating well. I was spending less clocked time on “work”… yet all my work started to become more efficient. I was able to get more done in less time. All because I was making sure to take the time to take care of ME first and make sure I was the best version of myself when I was working. It took me working myself into the literal ground for me to slow down, regroup, and come back stronger and more sustainable.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think creating art is the highest most noble and most rewarding purpose one can strive for in life. If you hone your craft well enough, poor yourself into your artistry, you may be lucky enough to create something that will change the way someone sees the world. That is immense power. You can change it for the better more positive outlook, or a hardened cynical perspective, or maybe you are speaking truth to an experience they never knew anyone else ever understood. But here you are, and here’s your piece of art, and it is capturing the truth of their experience and suddenly they don’t feel as lonely. They feel understood. Or they feel inspired and in return create something else that gives back to the world. Or they get angry enough that they mobilize to make a change for the better in this world. Whatever the effect, the power to change someone’s perspective on the world through your art, and to touch them with a deep truth, I think, is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aislinnevans.com
• Instagram: @smilin_aislinn
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SmilinAislinn

Image Credits
Rob Klein, sune, Michaus Photography, Jeff Smith, no credit, no credit, no credit, sune