Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexis Fleigel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alexis, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Ever since I was a little kid I knew wanted to be a cartoonist or illustrator, really anything to do with art. Growing up I loved cartoons, anime and comics, you name it. I knew back then I wanted to be just as good as the artists that made my favorite cartoons. My family supported my creativity for as long as I can remember and would often supply me with what ever art materials I needed. My parents told me I started drawing on the walls since I was two years old and never stopped. I would draw anything and everything I saw. But At the age of eight I was diagnosed with stickler syndrome and Cataracs and was loosing my vision. Had to go under four major eye surgeries. Even so, I still never stopped drawing. Through the trails and tribulations of my disability, I was able to recover from surgery and work my way back up with my education. Towards my junior/senior year of highschool, when everyone was getting ready for college, I knew I wanted to do art professionally and nothing else.
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 name is Alexis Fleigel but I now go by Maddness. I’m an independent graphic designer/illustrator, mix media artist and social media content creator born and raised in Chicago IL. Growing up, I spent some time living in Ghana with my mother and grandmother and would travel between Ghana and Chicago. I’m a self taught artist and originally started with ink and pencil mediums. I’ve been drawing for as long as I could remember despite my disabilities growing up. Being told by multiple specialists that I was okay when there was clearly something wrong with my vision was difficult to handle for not just me but my family as well. I lived most of my childhood not being able to see clearly and didn’t know it. Back then, school was very hard for me for the most part. I was very delayed in my education because of my surgeries and learning disabilities, so art was my outlet for many years. As I was recovering, I spent a lot more time drawing and developing my skills. The more I grew in my craft the more I branched out to different mediums like graphite, acrylic paint and markers. For about 19 years of my life I was a “traditional” artists before I went digital. During highschool was when I started sharing my art on Instagram, also when I started to be known as Maddness. Slowly but surely my art page grew and I started going viral from a couple of my pieces. Around Spring of 2020 I was a full time student at the School of the Art Institute Chicago (SAIC) in my second year and was working two jobs at the time. I had an impulse decision to trust myself and see where that takes me. So I got myself an iPad Pro, quit my jobs, dropped out of school and become a graphic artist/content creator. It was scary at first, specially starting my business in the middle of a pandemic but it was worth it. I’ve been a successful independent artist for 3 years now. I encourage everyone that’s looking to go into this field independently to trust yourself and keep pushing no matter how hard it gets.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an artist for me is having people share their creative journey and to hear how I inspire them to keep going with their craft or to go back into art. Being able to illustrate beautiful moments in my clients lives and in a way, be apart of that. I love being able to help other artists learn and grow when they ask for help or guidance.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Growing up at a young age with stickler syndrome and cataracts, I didn’t really understood what that meant. Being told when you’re 6-7 years old that your loosing your sight and probably wasn’t able to see clearly from birth was also very difficult to understand at the time. Stickler syndrome is a genetic disorder that can cause serious vision, hearing and joint problems. Before and even after my surgery, my doctors told my parents there’s a possibility that my sight wouldn’t get better. I lived my whole childhood being told how I probably can’t do much or won’t do much and I lived my life proving that statement wrong. With dedication, and not knowing when to quit really, I was able to eventually start my business and live a life I wanted to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/maddness108?fbclid=PAAaZ7JK4oSD1xpQhHF1DVRR2dtiNBqlLZ4_3N31NRoOWKqdrGqkEoPEjaPT4
- Instagram: @maddness108
- Facebook: @maddness108
- Twitter: @maddness108