We were lucky to catch up with Liz Walker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Liz, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I’ve had regular jobs. I’ve shipped robot parts, sold soap, been an office manager and a nanny, worked at an art museum, a salon, and an acupuncture clinic. Unfortunately, full-time work isn’t very viable for me for health reasons.

I’ll say that I wouldn’t be able to do creative work now without a supportive spouse. The US makes that unnecessarily difficult, particularly in terms of health insurance. So while I am thankful to have time to dedicate to creative things now, I do feel like we may over-glamourize “living the dream” over a more general sense of security. We all do what we can in this capitalist hellscape.

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.

Broadly, I consider myself an artist. I studied painting in school and still work with many of the same themes and subjects that started there two decades ago. All of my paintings are acrylic, some are mixed media, and are usually object portraits. I am interested in exploring my own bad taste and particularly in nostalgia. My paintings often celebrate the things that shaped us and brought us joy in our youth. I’ve come to realize that I am more interested in creating dopamine than I am in creating fine art.

More recently, I became interested in film photography. I am not a trained photographer, but was looking for something to do outside, away from people during the height of the pandemic. My style of photography is not very technical and relies a lot on chance, particularly when using experimental films with unpredictable colors. It’s really the novelty that motivates me, so I also use a lot of cheap point and shoot cameras. None of my photos are digitally enhanced or altered. I love getting film back from development and being surprised by what’s there. It started as something I was doing just for fun, but I’ve been surprised by a really positive response.

I suppose my other creative outlet is the podcast – I co-host Perhaps It’s You: An Unofficial Unsolved Mysteries Rewatch Podcast with my very indulgent friend Samantha. It’s (mostly) about the classic TV show Unsolved Mysteries and updates to those cases. We’ve been doing it for almost six years somehow and just started season eight. Our listeners are extremely lovely people and that’s really why we keep making it. We are in the top 1% of podcasts worldwide, which doesn’t sound true but apparently is.

I should also add that I am a freelance writer and that you should hire me. Let’s get some bills paid!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The answer is money. I moved to Minneapolis from Chicago almost eight years ago and difference in financial support for the arts is staggering. Here state money is distributed to artists and organizations through grants and the impact is tremendous. Not just for individual artists, but it also keeps art galleries, collectives, art supply stores, rehearsal spaces, etc. in business. I honestly don’t think the positive effect on the economy and the state’s character can be overstated.

But Minnesotans also show up for the arts in all kinds of ways. They take an interest and are vocal that it is important to them. This is famously true for live music, but is true for the visual arts as well. I currently have paintings up at the Hosmer Library in South Minneapolis in part because patrons were tired of the white walls and the library listened. This makes Minnesota a great place to live as an artist – creative work is valued instead of dismissed as frivolous.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I would recommend everyone watch a three part BBC special from 1999 called “Journey’s Into The Outside with Jarvis Cocker.” It’s a look at outsider art around the world and you can find it on YouTube. It’s extremely inspiring to me, because it highlights making stuff just because you want to, without concerns of practicality or how other people will perceive it. While Jarvis Cocker is a musician, he also has such a well-defined visual style, which comes across in the program. It’s the just the thing to shake you out of a creative slump.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybodylikesliz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everybodylikesliz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/everybodylikesliz/
• Other: https://perhapsitsyou.wordpress.com/