We recently connected with Andrew Wong and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’d like to share the difference between making money from creative work/ art vs making a living on creative work/ art.

I had the opportunity to make a full time living out of fashion design, a profession that I thought I’d love for the rest of my life, until I got completely burnt out. Circling back to making art now makes me realize the differences in terms generating income.

I was completely burnt out because I hated what I was doing, I was offered the opportunity to go back to China to develop my own clothing line partnering with one of the largest denim factory owner in southern China. I was living in a small depressing town that everything you see was only about garments, specifically anything related to making denim, I was eating very unpleasant food and staying in “ hotel “ that was full of roaches in the room, in terms of design, I was basically making things I wasn’t even liking that much, all because I NEEDED to. I thought I had to do the designs to please the market, I thought that was what I needed to do in order to make money and survive in the industry. This lifestyle lasted for about 3 seasons and I got very exhausted and wanted to have nothing to do with fashion anymore.

I went on with life with numerous different jobs and small businesses and even driving Uber, but The Covid 19 pandemic shakes things up and changed life priorities, we all had to stay home and I just wanted to create again, but this time it wasn’t for the money. I was genuinely making things that just pleases myself and hopefully would make my kids’ smile. One thing lead to the other and this cardboard activities turn out to become a solo art exhibition and winning awards and granted me the opportunity to travel the world and making new friends. Honestly, I still don’t make enough money from art to be my only income yet , but I m so grateful and content with my life. I m making art that I don’t care if they sell or not, I m making things for myself and I have completely freedom and control over it. That’s the difference

In hindsight, I made the best works that people appreciate when I don’t had the intention of making money, I have come to realize the difference between design vs art which is creating for others vs creating for myself.

We all have to make money somewhere, but when your life essential is depending on that one income, chances are we don’t have much freedom but ought to do what is expected. There is nothing wrong with having a full time living out of creative work, but keep in mind that is a job and it is ok to dislike your job sometimes, i am having a great time separating the job from my creative passion at the moment, if art can be the only full-time income would be a dream , but it is only great if I have the freedom to create, for myself.

Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Born and raised in Hong Kong in a family practicing traditional Chinese culture, Andrew Wong (b. 1979) is an award winning visual artist who currently lives in the United States.

With a BFA from Parsons School of Design, he spent over a decade as a fashion designer in Europe and the USA before transitioning to visual arts.

What began as playful cardboard projects with his children during the Covid-19 pandemic evolved into intricate portraiture and relief sculptures. He uses paper arts to address the complexities of identity, cultural assimilation, and social disparities facing minority communities. Through artistic expression, Wong aims to challenge stereotypes, empower marginalized communities, and find a genuine sense of belonging in his adopted home.

With a technique he developed and called “lifting” , these pieces of paper are standing on edge above the canvas. Light, shadow, color, and space interplay with one another to produce an image that appears to be elevated off of the canvas. Lifting the subject matter off of the confines of the canvas into a new plane of perception, symbolically ‘lifting’ those under-represented cultures in America.

Most proud of professional achievements so far was having my solo exhibition in 2022 shortly after acknowledging myself as an artist.
The pieces I developed for that show has brought many other opportunities like winning international award which was organized the United Nation Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, showcasing my works digitally in New York timesquare as well as in an international art exhibition that has brought me to Sharjah, UAE.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I can’t think of anything else more important than freedom in life and most rewarding aspect for me being an artist is having a completely freedom when I create, it is the time when I m creating and also what I am creating,

Have you ever had to pivot?

We always hear successful people say follow your passion and do what you love, but the hardest part ( for me anyway ) is knowing what the passion and love is.

The Covid-19 pandemic was absolutely pivotal in my life and I m grateful for that. We all had to stay home and out of boredom I picked up cardboard boxes and create ( again ) , it was a way out for me to stay positive and sane. I didn’t know I had a passion for paper art until I started making it.

What I m trying to illustrate is that we don’t know the passion by thinking, you will only find out by doing. If you haven’t find the passion yet chances are because you haven’t done enough, keep searching by doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.10past9.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/10past9?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/10past9art

Image Credits
Vero at Noonlight Studio