We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Isabel Clancy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Isabel below.

Isabel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today 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 greatly dislike the capitalistic lens that everything is looked through today. I believe art doesn’t deserve to be looked at through it. It is too special and much more meaningful than money ever will be. However, in today’s world we do not really have a choice. For me, I learned pretty early on that I wanted to protect my art from the bounds of profiting from it. It is a hard decision, and I still debate it constantly. I support myself with a full time job as an architectural designer. This career allows me to be in a creative field that supports me financially and creates a security. I do all of my art in my free time, (granted, I wish there was more of it). I have a second job at a glassblowing studio that I work at every other Saturday. This is a way for me to learn and gain experience in a way that is affordable to me and doesn’t overwhelm my schedule too much. I hope one day I can have the privilege of being a full time artist. I think the trickiest part about earning a full-time living from your creative work brings dangers of inauthenticity. When I make things for other people, or simply just to make money, the art is much less soulful. I want to make meaningful art that has a greater goal that just supporting me financially. So for now my 9-5 is separate from my art, but my art definitely influences my architecture work and vice versa, which I am grateful for. Ideally I want to steer my career to blend the two even more.

Isabel, 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 am a multidisciplinary artist, lately with a focus on stained and blown glass. All my life I have tried different mediums. I was a painter and drawer mostly when I was young. I also greatly enjoy silk screening, printmaking, and ceramics. I was able to take an intro to metalsmithing class in college and fell in love with that as well. It wasn’t until my last semester at school that I found glass for the first time. I was doing a lot of collage, combining paint with other materials to create abstract pieces that resembled the thoughts in my head. When I picked up a sheet of stained glass and realized I could cut and combine those pieces together, I was hooked. Light and color has always been my interest and favorite part of creating art. The way it can change how you feel excites me so much, and glass is the absolute perfect medium for it. I taught myself the basics from YouTube videos and buying second-hand tools and equipment from eBay. There was a lot of resources online, but then I decided I should look up if there were any studios near me. I found one and signed up for stained glass classes. I quickly fell more and more in love and it has been an obsession ever since. I apprenticed my teacher for about a year and worked in the studio on the weekends and after my day job. I was really interested in furthering my education and found Pilchuck Glass School. The stained glass class was full and they reached out asking if I would want to take a blowing glass class. With little to no experience, I flew to Washington to take a two week introduction class. I fell in love and have been obsessed ever since. My aunt and uncle are full-time glassblowers so I have grown up visiting and watching them work in their studio in awe. I worked for them last summer, assisting in the hot shop. Now, I work at a glassblowing studio on the weekends that is only 5 minutes from my apartment. I make stained glass out of my little studio setup in my one bedroom apartment- glass has taken over more than half of it! I occasionally sell my work at artist fairs/markets and have sold it in an artist collective store, as well as take on many commissions.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to see the world from a different perspective. Artists notice things other people do not. We know how to look, how to notice, how to observe. Making art is a very therapeutic process for me, it really helps me work through the struggles and feelings I have going on inside. I was diagnosed with ASD in my adulthood and making art has helped me in so many ways. It is also a privilege to share it with the world and see others reactions. When somebody else connects with a piece I have made, there really is no comparable feeling.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think everybody is creative. Sure, maybe some people label themselves as non-creative, but I don’t think that’s true. “I can’t draw,” so many people say, but there is SO much more to being an artist than one’s ability to draw realistically. Being creative simply means to put something out into the world that was not there before you doing so. It can be a thought, an intention, an idea. The more you can think outside of the box, the easier it becomes. It takes curiosity and asking questions and sometimes defying the norm of what everybody else is doing. You learn a lot about yourself and other around you simply by being creative. You learn what you truly value. I think every decision in your life leads you to where you are now. From what you eat for breakfast, to how you choose to travel to work, I think there are opportunities to be creative every single day. I think for me, treating my entire life like a work of art is what makes my days meaningful.

Contact Info:

• Website: isabelclancy.com (coming soon)
• Instagram: @iclancy.jpeg