Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Schaefer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heather, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I knew when I was young I wanted to “be an artist” and I have always felt such a sense of joy and internal fulfillment when working on or finishing a work of art. Rarely does a day go by that I am not working on a painting in my studio – even if it’s just for 15 minutes as I walk by and look at what’s currently on my easel. When I was young I remember going to my aunt Sue’s house, who is a remarkable artist. I was enthralled looking at her work, and just hoped that someday I would be able to paint like her. The art gene definitely runs in my family in many ways – my Mom is a very creative and artistic person who always has a vision. Growing up with supportive parents and an amazing sister that helped to encourage and foster my love of art is something that I am so grateful for. They never once minimized my passion for art as something I couldn’t choose for my life path. They all did the opposite and encouraged my love for art and knew it was something I was meant to pursue.

Even as child, I was pounding nails in my wall and hanging up artwork all over my bedroom excited to display my work. After a while, my Mom didn’t care about the nail holes and just let me do what I was going to do, and knew when I moved out she’d repaint, lol! As a commissioned artist, I always have multiple projects going at a time. Sometimes it can be stressful to make sure I am getting things out the door when I told the client I would, but more than anything I am grateful that the opportunities continue to grow, and I get to share my love of art with others.

The level of challenge has greatly intensified over the years, from small drawings and paintings, to now much larger intricate paintings and murals. Many of my commissioned paintings are very personal to the client, are combining references that are meaningful to them, or have multiple faces of high level of detail in them. There have been moments that I worry before starting something wondering if I can even finish it to what the client is expecting, but then I get started, work through the first layers, and know that I will be able to get it done. This has been a rewarding experience for me, to know that I can more than likely handle any challenge that comes my way if it is something I want to do.

I am also an art instructor at Kimberly High School, and work to develop and bring to light the artistic side that many of us have, but don’t even realize it! It brings me so much joy to see others feel proud of themselves and see what they are capable of. I love helping my students break things down to steps, and “think like they have x-ray vision” to know the layering process to help them develop the mindset and skills of an artist. I truly feel like when people are taught with passion and in a way that helps them unlock the mystery of “how” to go about the process, they thrive and want to know more and care to try their absolute best! I love seeing my students surprise themselves and do things they never knew they could!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My art business began in a small way, mostly by word of mouth and doing artwork a little at a time for others. This lead to more and more work over time, by others sharing my work with their own family and friends, and referring them to me for other custom projects. Today I am a busy lady with ongoing commissioned pieces, and often have to tell others I won’t be able to start their piece for a month or two because I most often have a waitlist.

I am also grateful for the opportunity to display and sell my artwork at a few local establishments in the Fox Cities. I sell work at Copper Rock Coffee, Mohnen’s Family Restaurant, and Timber Lounge in Kimberly.

As an artist, I specialize in creating custom paintings or drawings to cater to the vision of what the client has in mind. I have painted on many different surfaces, such as metal, moose antlers, antique crocks, saw blades that have been in the family for years, glass, ceramic, wood, and of course many canvases. I love it when people come to me with an idea, and together we can work through their vision and what they want to give to someone, and make something extra special come to life.

I have also done live wedding painting, and this was an experience I really enjoyed and would be honored to do again!

My Facebook Art Page and website are always up to date with current projects, and a great way to contact me!
www.heatherlynnschaefer.com
Heather Schaefer Art – Facebook
[email protected]

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think we live in such a wasteful society, and we all likely fuel it in someway or another. I think to support artists, and our entire ecosystem, hiring artists to create more personal works rather than often going online for “personalization” it would do a lot of good. There would be less waste of packaging, transporting, and returning unsatisfactory goods. Often times the quality of what we are expecting from something personalized online is not nearly as quality as when an artisan does the work, where it is a much more personal experience.
If people would be willing to spend a bit more money to have something more personal and creative done for others rather than jumping on Amazon a week before something is needed, it would have an incredible impact on artists livelihood, as well as the wasteful idea that we can always buy something online last minute.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am currently working on a project that is by far the most detailed and challenging piece I have done to date with a total of 9 detailed photographs combined together, with a total of over 30 detailed faces to be painted. Being completely transparent, I almost didn’t know if I could actually do it once I received all the photos and put the photoshop collage together. After the first night of spending 6 hours on a small fraction of the painting, I came close to telling the client that it is just too much for me to handle. However I mulled over it a few days, and I knew in my heart I could do it, but it will take me more than double the amount of time I initially thought it would, so I had to have the conversation with the client to explain it’s going to cost more that I quoted him, if he wanted me to continue the work, etc. and he was more than understanding!

It’s a painting that will be given as a gift to the owner of a large business in Wisconsin, showcasing him and all the various ways he gives back to his community and to our youth. For confidentiality purposes of all the people and children in the painting, I am not able to disclose the full details, or ever show the painting publicly on my website or Facebook page. It’s more than I ever thought I could do, and it’s been taking up most of my “free time” in the last several weeks. It’s been a very rewarding process to go from thinking “I have to back out of this one” to knowing “I can do it, and I am going to be proud of this when I am done.” The client who hired to me to create this piece is an incredibly kind and influential person in our community and has had an immeasurable impact on so many people. So when he asked me to paint something so personal and meaningful, I was honored and ecstatic to be the person to do this. I am grateful to have to have cultivated the discipline over the years in my artwork that I am able to finish this piece to the best of my ability, and know that my resilience has been developed over decades of perfecting my craft and not giving up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heatherlynnschaefer.com
• Facebook: Heather Schaefer Art
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-schaefer-87626231