We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristy Edgar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kristy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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?

I went to college for Education and English. For the last 12 years after I graduated, I was a teacher. During my time in the classroom, I taught English, Spanish, and American History to some of the most inquisitive minds and alongside some of the most inspiring educators. But that changed when we moved and I made the decision to leave education and pursue art full-time. And it has been a struggle. I constantly feel like I’m not trained for this. I have no business experience, I really don’t know how to manage my time, and budgeting? Never heard of it. Imposter syndrome is my biggest enemy. As a result, I feel like I’m always working. Between planning out social media posts/stories, organizing shop updates, shipping orders, communicating with clients, working on new designs, and restocking supplies, I never feel like I can take a day off. When I was in education, scheduling my time was easy – because it was done for me. But now? It’s hard.
So, to answer the question, yes for the most part I’m earning a full-time living with my art but at the cost of working very very hard.

Kristy, 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?

Art has always been a part of my life. Ever since I was five and I finger-painted my first self-portrait, I knew creating things was something I was meant to do. From drawing comics when I was 7, to designing my own card game when I was 10, to illustrating an ill-conceived soap opera about my friends when I was 13, my childhood was perpetually speckled with spouts of imagination. Through practice, patience, and paper, I have been able to fine-tune my discipline into one that I’m very proud of. It took some time to embrace the new title but now I confidently say I am an artist who specializes in capturing the likeness of a person with the use of paper, resulting in (what has been described as) a cute, charming, and mostly accurate portrait. From making fan art of shows and movies I love, to creating promotional pieces for clients like McDonald’s, Evernote, and Dancing with the Stars, to making custom wedding cake toppers on commemorate a special day, I love creating these little paper pieces. My style is minimal, and the process can be long, but the joy is genuine in every picture I make.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I wish I could unlearn is being a people pleaser. When I first started out I said yes to everybody, I created any piece anybody wanted, and I definitely know I sold myself short in terms of valuing my time. I didn’t take into consideration the cost of resources, labor, or my own creative designs. I was just mostly worried about making sure my clients were happy. And, while I still value my clients feelings and I definitely want them to be satisfied with my work, I definitely do value my time substantially more. I like the expression you’re paying me for the years and not the hours. What takes me perhaps only two to three hours to create took me over eight years to learn.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Honestly, I have a love hate relationship with social media. Because so much of small business growth involves creating a digital presents and sharing work via various venues, it’s a necessary tool I think to be successful. I’ve found that the most successful methods I’ve used is consistency of work and vareity of sources. I don’t exclusively post to one site, I try to vary it as much as I can to expand and broaded my audience. That said, social media can also take a major toll on an artist’s self esteem and motivation. There have been several times when I’ve posted something that I and especially proud of, but it didn’t get the engagement that I hoped it would. There are so many unspoken rules with algorithms, timing, consistency, hashtags, just to name a few that contribute to the success of a post. Not to mention, the people that feel it necessary to give their negative feedback anonymously can really be a downer as well.
My best advice is that social media is a resource but shouldn’t be the only source that determines your worth or success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://khageru1.wixsite.com/frompentopaper
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frompentopaperstudio/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/frompentopaper2