We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ariana Detrez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ariana below.

Ariana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Being happy as an artist or creative has been something I’ve internally struggled with the past year or so. Towards the end of last year, I quit graphic design and agency life—drained our savings and traveled to Hawaii and Costa Rica. Both trips cleansed me and started to restore me. I spent a lot of time reflecting on where I wanted to go and what I truly wanted to do. After these trips I took some time to figure out my next steps and then got pregnant. This took a lot of my mental and physical energy since I went through an ectopic pregnancy. Through all of this—I realized the most important thing for me wasn’t necessarily about what I was doing but how I was doing it. From there I created a manifestation which went something along the lines of: To do something that had an impact, something I could have work/life balance, something I could still do art and truly enjoy it without the pressure of making money off of it, and work with people that I felt aligned with. This was oddly specific and I had three opportunities presented to me. One fell through, one I denied because they undervalued me, and one I accepted because I saw the potential and fell in love with the mission and team.

All of this to say, sometimes having a “regular” job works better for others rather than freelancing. The pressure I had put on myself and my art was draining me creatively and I wanted to be able to work towards being more creative with the full freedom to do so. I’m still learning what that looks like and still creating a balance. Either way, I’m so grateful I trusted my gut and went against the grain to find a balance that works for me. That’s the most important reminder—do what feels right to you and success will follow.

Ariana, 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 a former high school art teacher turned designer, illustrator, artist, and now a part-time creative guide. My journey has always included creativity in some shape or form which is why I find it so essential that others find ways to incorporate it into their lives. I’ve had the honor of teaching for over five years from coast to coast with my Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education with a minor in Psychology. I’ve formally taught in the public school system, Orlando Museum of Art, group workshops, and one-on-one.

Art has been an integral part of my life since I was young. In elementary school, I had a teacher that once told me that I would never succeed in the arts. This pushed me to continue to try in the arts. I finds comfort, an escape, and overall joy in various art forms from painting, photography, and so much more. What truly lights me up is being able to share this passion with others and teach others how they can incorporate art into their life to help them through tough times and even happy times.

My passions lay in building communities, sharing my love for art, and curating workshops. Outside of all of this, I’m a happy dog mom, wife to an Air Force veteran, Disney lover, and TikTok enthusiast although a novice at it. 

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that success looks like 10k months and being your own boss. There was such a fad last year to hustle and freelance that really got to me. From that, I experienced a 10k month of freelancing and realized it wasn’t my dream. It was no longer serving me, bringing me happiness, or making me feel fulfilled. From this experience, I’ve reminded myself that my success will look different than others. My success isn’t necessarily based on how much money I make or metrics I reach. Instead, my success is based on how much I truly get to live my life, see the world, spend time with my family and pups, and feel pure happiness.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Business and life is all about pivoting. I think the biggest pivot that I didn’t think would happen was going back to work in a non-creative field. I definitely thought I was going to fully freelance, create art, and teach workshops full-time. It was such a tough decision to make when the majority of my jobs in the past had been creative—my very first job in high school was as a Sears Portrait Studio Photographer! Creative jobs had always fueled me or so I thought. I came to a point in my life that what fueled me was work-life balance and being able to make an impact. With that in mind, I made the pivot to work full-time in a non-creative field and allow myself to be creative in other ways while I still practice art in my own way—that’s the most liberating feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arianadetrez.com
• Instagram: https://www.arianadetrez.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aryvfi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg3YOp9_6LtkF84L-Z6ruiA
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@arianadetrez
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/arianadetrez/_created/