We recently connected with Amanda Rakoczy and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I have loved art for as long as I can remember and I always had a particular interest in calligraphy. Looking back at my journey, I very much wish that I had started my creative career sooner! I was letting my fears of failure and rejection have too much power and I ultimately missed out on years of joy by waiting. When I finally did start sharing my art on social media, I was shocked to find how welcoming and kind the art community online was. I have made so many amazing friends and found an incredibly supportive network that is constantly encouraging me. I have been able to learn so many new techniques, styles, and mediums that I might not have organically come across in my old “normal” life. I wish that I had taken this chance on myself and opened up this world so I could have experienced all of this sooner. The important thing, though, is that it’s really never too late to start and finally taking the leap has brought so much joy, inspiration, and friendship into my life. My advice to someone thinking about pursuing something new would be to stop doubting yourself and go for it. You never know until you try and there could be something amazing waiting for you!
Amanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m an artist based in the Orlando, Florida area who specializes in watercolor and modern calligraphy. I have long been fascinated by calligraphy and can still remember my dad buying me special calligraphy pens to practice with. I love looking back at my old sketchbooks to see what I was inspired by at the time – most notably traditional calligraphy and Disney characters. It seems fitting that I now call Orlando (the house of THE mouse, if you will) home! My calligraphy style, however, is one thing that has really changed and evolved over the years since I now take a much more modern approach to calligraphy style. I also love getting caught up in a good book, which has inspired my more recent work in bookmark art. I love creating these small, functional pieces of art that you can take with you on any adventure!
I graduated from the University of Central Florida, here in Orlando, with my BSBA and MS in Accounting and became a CPA in the state of Florida. I went on to work in external and internal auditing as well as corporate accounting. I have always had a love of math and numbers. There’s just something very satisfying about knowing there is a black and white answer to something. Of course, accounting isn’t always so black and white, but, for the most part, I found a lot of satisfaction and comfort in that line of work. It was such a stark contrast, though, to my passion for art because art has no bounds or limits. After years of working in accounting, I found myself really longing for that creative outlet again. I could really feel the stress of being in the industry and in a corporate environment taking a toll on me and tapping back into my creative side was such a nice escape. Eventually, I decided to actually take a step away from the corporate life and venture out on my own to focus more on my artwork and my family.
These days, a lot of my time in the art space is centered around making content. You can find me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube! On top of that, I also launched my shop selling stickers and magnets featuring my handlettering. I have taught some online courses, as well, through collaborative art “retreats” featuring many talented artists and teachers. I also love to work with clients on custom lettering for home decor, gifts, logo designs, or even live on-site lettering events! Every project is a fun and exciting new challenge and I love to deliver something that makes my client smile.
Since jumping into my creative journey, I have had some incredible experiences and met some amazing people. I have had the pleasure of working with a few small businesses promoting handmade watercolor paint, notebooks/journals, and even nail wrap decals. It’s been my true honor to be a part of their journeys as small business owners. I am also so proud to partner with uniball, sharing some of my favorite pens! A real highlight for me has also been the live handlettering events I have done at Bloomingdale’s, providing bespoke calligraphy services for store customers. Most importantly, though, I have made the most wonderful friendships in the creative space and continue to be so grateful for their unwavering support and encouragement! It has truly been so refreshing to connect with so many like-minded people who love to cheer each other on!
If I had to describe my work in one word, I suppose I would choose the word “colorful”. I think because I used my art as a way to spark joy in my life, I’m just inherently drawn to a really bold use of vibrant colors, ensuring every piece has a touch of fun. It is pretty rare to see a piece of mine that isn’t incorporating most, if not all, the colors of the rainbow. It makes me so happy to create colorful and fun art pieces and to remind myself daily that art isn’t about perfection. It’s about self expression, growth, and progress. I hope that my story can inspire others to take a leap into their creative side and open themselves up to the many beautiful possibilities in the art world. There’s room for everyone here!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I still work on learning this lesson every single day but it’s that there is no such thing has “perfect”! I’m an only child and while most people might take that to mean that I never had to compete with anyone, I feel like what it actually instilled in me was a need to be perfect at all times. I guess in my mind, my parents put all their eggs in one basket – me! So whenever I wasn’t performing at the top level of everything I tried, I felt awful. Like I said, I still struggle with this today. I want to be the best mom, the best wife, the best friend, and, yes, I want to be the best artist, too. They say comparison is the thief of joy and, boy, are they right. It can be so challenging to not compare your journey with your perception of others’ journeys. Read that again. It’s just your PERCEPTION of their journey. I work really hard now at reminding myself that I don’t know their whole story. I don’t know everyone else’s struggles. All I know is my own journey and all I can do is stay the path. It’s something I tell my kids all the time, as well. I never expect them to be perfect and remind them that a mistake, misstep, or “failure” is simply a great opportunity to learn something new. I have been trying to listen to my own advice and give myself the same grace as I move through life – accepting that there is no way to achieve being “perfect” and acknowledging that progress is the ultimate goal.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Being a creative can be so challenging because it often can feel so underappreciated. When a creative gets commissioned to work on a piece or collaborate with a company, the expectations are generally very high even though the payment offered in return is typically just free products. Don’t get me wrong, we love to try new products, and getting them for free is a huge bonus! Oftentimes, though, it feels like our time isn’t valued and that part is difficult to work through. So much time is spent creating those 10-second videos that you see on your social media feeds. Between the conceptualizing/planning phase, executing the actual artwork, editing the photos and video, writing the caption, and corresponding back and forth on all of the minute details, it can take an enormous amount of time for just one post. I would love to see artists’ time be valued the way it should be. I don’t believe that artists should have to be “starving” artists. We all need art. Art keeps the beauty of this world alive, especially in times where there are so many things to stress over and feel sad about.
Financial support, though, is not the only support you can give to artists and creatives. I am so appreciative of every single view, like, share, and comment that I receive on social media. It’s such a quick and easy way to show support to artists and help show those (sometimes, dreaded) algorithms that the artist’s work should be more widely spread! The small act of hitting like and watching the entire video can make such a huge impact on the success of an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/comfy.cozy.lettering
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comfy.cozy.lettering
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comfy.cozy.lettering/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfxvSLrMerW012q3d45XEMw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@comfy.cozy.lettering https://comfycozylettering.etsy.com https://www.amazon.com/shop/comfy.cozy.lettering