Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amanda Hawkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I feel so lucky to be passionate about what I do: art, music, web design and development. The honest answer is that I couldn’t have sped it up; the years of making things are what got me here. I’ve built more than 100 websites, my band wrote and recorded one song a week for an entire year plus numerous other albums, and my shelf is full of completed art journals. I learn and grow the most by creating consistently and as much as I can.

It’s a small thing, but I wish I would have explored different mediums more in the very beginning so I could have discovered my love of acrylic paint earlier!

As an artist, the most essential skills I learned were in drawing classes in college, learning to make marks with charcoal and loosen up through blind contours. I still actively try to stay loose, by holding a pencil so that I have less control, or closing my eyes and making the first marks on a page. I approach music the same way: by feel, rather than getting too technical.

The obstacles were mostly internal. I’ve spent so much time worrying about what people think. I’m still working on letting go of that, but it is getting easier with age.

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’m Amanda: an artist, web designer, WordPress developer, musician, and business owner. I always have a project in motion. Right now I’m in the beginning of my fifth 100-day project, creating and posting an art spread daily. My bandmate and I are slowly making plans and working on songs for a new Rushmore Beekeepers album. And I’m building a website with a friend around films, using dynamic relational data so that every piece of content is connected and reusable. These creative and technical outlets keep me motivated and give me a lot of room for experimentation.

Through my business, Little Bird LLC, I build custom, thoughtful websites for artists and small businesses. Because of my diverse background I am as comfortable digging into a complicated code puzzle as coming up with a unique homepage layout. I love translating the process into clear language that my clients can understand. Doing all parts of a website, without subcontractors or managers, sets me apart and makes the whole endeavor more approachable for clients.

The thing that means the most to me isn’t a specific project, but the longevity. Many of my larger web projects come from repeat clients. I care a lot about building relationships, being a trustworthy member of the team, and putting out work I’m genuinely proud of.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I built my first website in 2005 using Dreamweaver to apply for a job. The website was not great and (spoiler alert!) I didn’t get the job. I spent the next couple of years redesigning my site every three months while working part-time as a graphic designer. I was also making a lot of art at the time, and designing on the web felt like painting with words. The online space really felt magical back in those days.

In 2007 I was working as a graphic designer at a construction company that also put on a nonprofit music festival every year. I had recently discovered WordPress, upgraded my basic site to a blog, and was completely obsessed! Somehow I convinced my manager to let me build the festival website that year, and that’s when I knew for sure that building websites was the only job for me. And here comes the actual pivot, which should surprise no one at this point: I left that graphic design job, got a position at a small web agency building websites, and never looked back.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Social media is its own ongoing lesson in unlearning. The community of artists I’ve found on Instagram is incredible and watching everyone support each other is so joyful. And at the same time, the algorithms are exhausting and it’s too easy to fall into mindless scrolling. Sharing art gets even more complicated; am I creating for myself, trying to make sales, or just chasing likes and views? The truth is I don’t know why I make art or where it even comes from, but I’d like to think that I’d still be sitting here painting if no one ever saw it.

I try to remember that analytics are not a measure of quality and every week or two I delete Instagram from my phone, just for a breather.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ahhh.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oh_amanda/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandahawkins/
• Other: https://rushmorebeekeepers.bandcamp.com/