We recently connected with Ana Morales and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I wanted to be an artist ever since I was a child—as young as five years old, in fact. I grew up with a dad who was musically and visually skilled as well as other siblings and relatives who were interested in the arts, so I was, in a way, surrounded by an appreciation for it for as long as I can remember. I loved to read, draw, and write as a child and I found out pretty quickly that I was “good” at art. My classmates and teachers and parents told me so. It became a huge part of my identity. I won a few prizes in art contests and shows and by the time I got to high school, I was sure that I wanted to pursue being an artist professionally. I had explored a number of interests throughout my childhood, including soccer, choir, and dance, but I had the most fun making art and it was also the thing I felt I excelled at. I was quite shy and introverted and I found art to be a great outlet, something I could do in solitude or with others. I couldn’t see myself doing anything long-term except for art.

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.

I am a visual artist and graphic designer living in Roanoke, Virginia. I work as the art director for my local city magazine, The Roanoker, as well as other publications including the Virginia Travel Guide and bridebook. Outside of that, I’m always working on my own projects, whether it’s a painting, collage, or my children’s book-turned-graphic-novel, Sweet Pee. My book and the majority of my work from the last decade is informed by my life as a type 1 diabetic for nearly 30 years. I first started to make work about it as an undergrad, creating representational paintings that illustrated the complications of the disease. When I started my MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2014, the work started to become more abstract and, in some ways, less specific. Instead of focusing explicitly on diabetes, I turned to the broader idea of illness versus wellness and the daily fluctuations of my mental and physical health.

Today, I continue to make this kind of work as a method of coping with my multiple chronic illnesses (I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2022), and also as a form of advocacy. Insulin is unaccessible for so many people in the US, which is insane, because it’s the only thing that keeps a diabetic alive. Insulin should be free, but instead a single vial can cost hundreds of dollars. I try to use my art not to speak for all diabetics, but to share my own experience and inform my circle of people of the challenges of living with this disease and how it’s political.

I love to approach art as an opportunity to play and experiment–seeing how materials interact with each other, making connections, pushing a material beyond its intended use. I love relying on the basics–color, shape, line–to explore themes such as routine, control, and time. Some of my favorite pieces I’ve made involved the use of my whole body–lying on the floor, reaching across a broad surface, crouching precariously on top of a painting in progress. It really is such a gift to feel free to make whatever you want without worrying about whether the end product is good or not. I try to keep this perspective as much as I can–it’s not easy!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I started college feeling pretty optimistic about my future as a full-time visual artist. My concentration was drawing and painting. About halfway through, it was a bit clearer to me just how challenging it can be to make a living off of it. Not to mention as a type 1 diabetic, I was concerned about being able to afford health insurance. I decided to take advantage of my time in school and pursue a teaching license as well.

By the time I graduated, I was applying for teaching jobs. But I didn’t get one. A year later, I landed a part-time position as a children’s education associate at my local art museum. I assisted with the children’s classes and programming, and helped manage the interactive area. The job involved some simple graphic design work–flyers and signage–which I enjoyed getting to do. As more graphic design needs came up, I either volunteered to do it or I was asked to do it. With only one graphic design class under my belt, I learned as I went. I even did some design work for my younger brother, an up and coming musician. I loved to figure out how to make my designs better and soon, I was given graphic design assignments for other departments in the museum. This turned into my first full time job as the Education and Design Coordinator at the museum.

I spent over 3 years in this position, improving with each project. The success I experienced as a self-taught designer made me both confident and insecure. I had proven to myself over and over again that with time and effort, I could learn anything. But I was also aware of the knowledge I was lacking from not going through a more traditional education, where one skill builds on the next. Instead, my approach was to learn the skills and techniques dictated by each project.

Over the years, I have filled in many of the gaps in my design knowledge and I think the reason I still work in a graphic design job is because I love design, I love to learn, and I currently find myself in a very supportive work environment. I know graphic design jobs like mine can be hard to come by so I’m grateful for the opportunity I have. It definitely wasn’t part of my plan, but it has brought me a lot of joy and it has influenced the way I think about the rest of my work.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I find being an artist extremely challenging. It can make me feel elation, excitement, guilt, shame, sadness, doubt, anger. There are moments where all I want to do is make something, and I do. And sometimes it’s great and sometimes it’s terrible, but it was wonderful just to make something. Other moments I feel paralyzed by the thought of people’s opinions of my work. Guilt because I’m not a full-time artist like teenage Ana thought I’d be. Shame during periods when I don’t make much art because I’m tired, busy, or uninspired. It can be incredibly isolating. It’s both exciting and terrifying to share new work and I often flip flop between feeling proud and discouraged, depending on the reception.

It’s a constant battle to have the strength and courage to make work, put it out into the world, and then make more work. But that’s how I eventually get to experience the most rewarding aspect of being an artist, which for me is when I make something and I have fun making it, or I feel like I was able to put my thoughts on a surface in a way that makes sense to me or that helps me see something more clearly. When I achieve that, I don’t worry too much about what happens after.

Contact Info:

• Website: amoralesart.com
• Instagram: @anamoralesart
• Facebook: Artwork by Ana Maria Morales
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/ana-morales-38150627

Image Credits
Headshot by Kyra Schmidt