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

Dejan, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I have been sculpting professionally since 2015, when I founded an art company, called Dejan-Art. Its main activity is artistic creation (original and custom-made sculptures and paintings). In the beginning, I only did commissioned sculptures made of fiberglass. I got orders once every few months, these were usually advertising sculptures and mascots.
Мy biggest mistake was that in the beginning I didn’t make original sculptures but waited for someone to order. I thought “who would be interested in the works of Dejan Zdravkovic”. I know now that self-confidence is important for success.

The business was unstable with ups and downs but I managed to live only from sculpting, until the pandemic. When the corona virus pandemic started, there were no more orders. In the absence of work, my wife came up with the idea to sell original artworks online. We started posting drawings and paintings on several art-selling sites, which was not successful until we opened an Instagram account. Due to lockdown, I could not obtain the materials I normally used for sculpting so I began to sculpt using wood as the only available material. My wife and I divided the work so that I do the sculpting and she does the social media. This has taken our business to the next level.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts. I have wanted to do this for as long as I can remember and I have never given up on that idea. I’m currently mostly sculpting original and commissioned sculptures, usually made of wood. The sculptures I make are handmade and unique. Some of the most popular sculptures are ravens, horse heads, screaming faces. Also I’m making all kinds of commissions, like city monuments of the notable persons, made of fiberglass. I believe that most people follow my work on social networks because I show the process of making a sculpture. I work with the simplest tools and try to show how you don’t need expensive tools to make a good sculpture. I use tools such as axe, fire torch as well as carving and woodworking tools.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media – specifically Instagram, is an important part of the business. From the beginning of the corona pandemic until November 2022, we have gained over 80 k followers. Then the account was hacked, and half an hour after it happened, we created a new account. At the time we lost the account, business was at its peak. We currently have over 3 k followers on the new account.

This cannot be done alone – at least two people are needed. My wife and I divided the work so that I do the sculpting and she does the social media. She also photographs the sculptures and films the sculpting process.

The benefits of this work must be seen in the long term – it is impossible to build an audience overnight. It takes months and years of continuous work. It’s easy to get discouraged on social media, it often seemed to us that we were working for nothing, but it’s important not to give up.

For those just starting to build the social media presence, I would emphasize that teamwork is the key to success. It’s important to find one or more people to do the jobs you don’t know how to do or don’t have time for. Quality of content and continuity are necessary to keep people following you for years.

Because of Instagram we have reached a large number of people all over the world and it has brought the business to a new level. We never paid for advertising: we invested our time and effort.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that people like exactly what I make and the way I make it. Customers have no complaints and my sculptures really make them happy. I don’t have a boss and I have the freedom to do what I think is good whenever and however I want. I’ve dreamed of doing this all my life and now it’s not a hobby for me: I support my family from this job and I bought a house. It’s an amazing feeling when you know that people all over the world know about you and your work. By chance, a few days ago I came across an article in a Japanese magazine that I didn’t even know existed. recently a student wrote a term paper about my sculptures. they sent me photos of people who tattooed my sculptures. Very often people send drawings and painting of my sculptures. I never imagined that being an artist could lead to those things. That means a lot to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dejanart.rs/en/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dejan.art.sculptor/

Image Credits
Andjelka Zdravkovic