We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bailee (Wren) Case a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Bailee (Wren) thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I think this is a really loaded question and one I think about often. “Am I happy as an artist?” I don’t think a simple yes or no can justify the answer. Growing up, I always wanted to be an artist. I didn’t exactly know what they meant, what my life would look like, or what I’d have to do to get to that career goal, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted. Although, it’s not what my parents wanted. and I don’t fully blame them, they wanted more job security for my future career, so I tried going to college for “regular jobs” like teaching or business. I considered any other alternative to being an artist, like a dental assistant, a realtor, anything! But I always ended up feeling pretty depressed and unfulfilled, so I decided to go for it and go to college for graphic design.

I often wonder if my career would be any different depending on the college I went to. I got accepted into colleges like SCAD, but I just couldn’t afford to live in the city without support. I don’t know what my life would look like if I was financially stable. I’m happy community college was an option though, because that’s the route I took. My college life consisted of me living at home, paying my own way, and eating canned ravioli for years so I could afford school books just to get a two year degree. Luckily I got a job as soon as I graduated and I’ve been working in my field ever since.

It started off great, I worked remotely and everything came really easy to me. I worked 10 hours days if I were allowed to, and I ended up becoming a recluse worka’holic. After a few years of that pace, burnout set in and I was diagnosed with autism. This really changed my life because I no longer could pursue careers in office settings because of my disability. I also couldn’t keep up 10 hour work days anymore, which effected my income.
I’ve been freelancing for a lot of places and I’ve had a lot of incredible work opportunities with some big names like Disney, Hulu, and Netflix. But I’ve noticed a trend with myself and other artists: unemployment.
No matter how skilled it seems artists are, or how impressive their work history is, a lot of us are in the cycle of contract work and when that contract is up it’s back to the job boards.

This has really affected my mental health. The constant requirement of selling myself and wondering why I haven’t heard from employers in months. I’ve contemplated going back to school and pursuing a different career many times, but whenever I sit down and think about what I would choose to do if I could, it’s always art.
What ties me in is the joy and fulfillment of creating for others. Whether it’s children’s books, logos, apparel, the joy I see from people because of the work I created always makes me want to keep pursuing art. I feel like I was born to do this.

I think capitalism really gets in the way for a lot of artists. Anytime I think back to why I’m struggling it almost always ties back to money or poor working conditions. I want better for the working class. I want better for autistic people like myself trying to make their way in their professional life. I want better for artists and how hard they’ve worked to be where they are. So am I happy? I’m not really sure, but there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Wren, I’m a Graphic Designer/Illustrator. I started my online art “career” in 2012 by created a fanart account for Animal Crossing on tumblr. This is where I was introduced to many different creators and also to the world of commission work. From this I started my online persona: “lollibeepop”. During this time I was going to college and creating comics about my experiences and I think this is where my art career really took off. My comics started going viral and have a fairly sizable following on instagram. I was pursuing my irl professional career after college while debuting as a comic artist at night for several years. Unfortunately this led to burnout so I don’t make comics as much as I’d like to anymore, but they’ve never been fully off the table for me.

My art career has led me to work for a lot of different companies. Some of my clients included Disney Parks, Disney Cruise Line, Marvel, Star Wars, Universal Parks, Seaworld, Sesame Place, and so many more. I’ve gone from making apparel, to toys, to icons and logos, to social media posts, the list is honestly endless.
I feel pretty proud of how well rounded and adaptable I am as an artist. I work really hard and try my best to meet my clients expectations. I’ve been thrown into a lot of work situations where something has been expected of me when I’ve never done it before, but I’ve always been able to learn the ropes and become proficient in the new skill.

In my personal art time I create work for my instagram account “wrencraftt”. It’s fun to scroll through and see how I’ve grown as an artist and how I continue to improve every day. There’s always something to learn, I think that’s a really fun part about art. I take inspiration from the world around me and I’m always looking for interesting ways to incorporate shapes and colors into my work.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Firstly, I think artists are severely underpaid and overworked. It took every one of us a significant amount of time and effort to get to where we are, and I think that should be respected. I’m always having to tread carefully with jobs because a lot of people have and want to take advantage of me. And I’m not a unique case, this is a heavily discussed topic in the art field. I’m not sure why there’s a lack of respect for artists. I think some people assume that what we do is easy. No matter the work field, I think everyone’s time and efforts should be regarded.

I think a general respect for people and what they need could go a long way not just for artists but for any working person. I know a lot of artists are neurodivergent too, so their output might not look the same as someone who may be neurotypical. I think we could easily have working fields with adjustable work environments so the artist gets what they needs and the employer also benefits.
for example: remote working conditions is a good start. With the advancement of technology, a lot of people have been working from home and it’s been a great thing. Speaking for myself, my output is better, my focus is better, and overstimulation isn’t a major issue since I’m not forced to be in an office setting.

I think something important to talk about too is the amount of time people work. Human beings cannot be efficient 8 hours straight, 5 days a week and keep it up for their entire working lives. I think we’d see much more success in efficiency if this wasn’t the expectation. Artists are forced to be creative a minimum of 40 hours a week and this is just unrealistic. No matter how imaginative you are or how much you like what you’re doing, if you are constantly being forced to produce work, you will eventually break down. I think quality is a lot more valuable than quantity, and I’m hopeful that society will start to see that more.

I’d love to see artists and employers open to conversations about a diverse working environment. I think we could really amplify everyone’s lives if their needs were taken into consideration.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’d like to get to a point where I feel satisfied with my work, honestly. Because art has so much room for growth and improvement, it’s often hard for me to feel like anything I make is sufficient. I have a hard time balancing being happy with what I create and also wanting to get better. That’ll probably always be a life goal with my creative journey, but I’d like to get better at it still.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pwawa13.wixsite.com/wrencraftt
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wrencraftt/?ref=novidad.es
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bailee-case-4146ba137/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lollibeepop