We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aileen Bennett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aileen below.
Aileen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
A Little Book About Fire
In 2019 I was diagnosed with cancer… I know that’s a the start of a story you hear all too often these days.
I went through 6 months of chemo, and found myself a little lost. I’d always relied on my quick creative mind and English wit (and sarcasm) and I was scared of losing them. I remember showing up at my Oncologist’s office with 6 pages of research into chemo brain and lots of questions.
That summer I napped a lot, I also found my love for just drawing again. I always say I finished Netflix and opened Procreate, but it’s mostly true. I drew for fun again, like a kid, not knowing what was going to happen. I also wrote, mostly messages to myself. One of those messages became my latest book. A Little Book About Fire, A reminder that the fire we have inside never leaves us.
Seeing that little book find the people that need to read it has been so joyful.
I’m currently working on the animation.
Aileen, 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?
If you had met me when I was 5 or 6 and asked me what I wanted to be I would have shyly but confidently stated, “A Graphic Designer”. The reply I was often met with was “ohhh an artist?”, “No”, a designer I would say, “it’s a very different thing”.
My whole childhood I worked towards that singular ambition, even when the School Careers Officer told me that people from towns like these (a new town outside London, England) didn’t get jobs like those and told me I was clever enough to work in a bank!
I worked in design for many years, often freelance because I loved the freedom. Somewhere a long the way I also became a Professional Speaker and combined the two.
I became known for having clever creative ideas, and once I moved to the USA (having met some guy on the internet – we’ve now been married for nearly 25 years) I got to do lots of varied projects and started picking the things where I had the most fun. I think I was already headed towards illustration but after cancer (I’m fine now) I threw myself into it and have since illustrated 4 children’s book, and written and illustrated my own all ages book, A Little Book About Fire. I have also had a few Art Exhibitions and turned a whole Art Gallery cafe space into a giant illustration.
More recently I have found hyper-realism – mixing the simplicity of pencil drawing and my obsession with ordinary things and food.
I am loving the balance of illustration projects with my own work. I get to travel both for illustration and speaking which keeps me having fun and learning new things.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think it’s easy to suggest things for ‘society’ to do to support us artists, “Buy our work’ we cry. Share our stories. Appreciate us!
The truth is that maybe that’s not up to society. It’s up to us.
A lot is self-belief, that our art matters (spoiler alert – it does). We are the thriving creative ecosystem that is so needed in the world.
When our work makes people smile, makes them feel something, makes them question something, makes them remember they belong, or that they stand out, when it does something then we are artists, and they will come.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I’d known about other creative people more. and how important they all are. Obviously when I worked in a design studio I was surrounded by them but as I worked solo and traveled more I found myself working alone. Just being in a room with other creatives is an energy builder and the conversations are my favorites. I now treasure my groups of creative people that I can brainstorm with, reach out to, and be there for.
I also used to hide my geeky side thinking there was little place for it in creativity. While at college in the UK I secretly read every John Steinbeck book in order. Now I embrace that ‘I need to know stuff’ mentality and use it in my work (I call it Everyday Curious). I am currently reading a book about sardines (expect illustrations soon)
You and the strange things that fascinate you are the best resource.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AileenBennett.com
- Instagram: @aileensnotebook
