We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Beatriz Hernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Beatriz below.
Alright, Beatriz thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I am happy with what i love to do. Having a regular job on the other hand, I do have one. I am a full time employee but I would also love to have more full time as an artist. It is difficult to manage both at the same time because for me, when I want to create art and make something out of it like clothing, stickers, etc. that’s money I have to spend from my own paychecks or savings. Sometimes it’s enough and there a few times where it isn’t. So it’s a constant wave of struggles and stress.
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 am a Mexican American born in Los Angeles, California. I’m a chicana with a small business that wants to share and expand her art in any shape and form. I grew up around art by having musicians, artists, bakers, cooks, graffiti artists, and car builders in the entire family. Since I was mainly around one of my older sisters, she taught me and got me into art when she was in high school. She would take AP art classes and would write poetry. So since I was always with her and was sticking to her like gum, she gave me inspiration and motivation to do so. In elementary school, I started drawing and made my own comics based of classmates and their nicknames. It was like a super hero comic book and it was unfinished. I wish I did and I also wish that I still have it which sadly I don’t. Besides that, I will always draw a cartoon I loved and still love, which is the PowerPuff Girls. It was mainly fight scenes I would attempt to draw or just the girls in their fight positions.
As I got older, I still wanted to create art. I enrolled in art classes in both middle school and high school. I was also in AP Art in high school. After high school and taking a year off, I attended culinary school to get my degree in Patisserie and Baking. Cake decorating was also a main hobby and my first jobs to do to make money out of it. If I can create and draw on cakes, I would to try make a living out of something I love to do as well.
When it comes to art overall, it just brings me peace from the chaos. I started my small art business in 2015. I was drawing prints and trading cards of famous artists (mainly hip hop artists), by hand and by the order. I created stickers as well by hand and by the order, and I was also using a hand crank machine that helps you create stickers for “fun”. I took advantage of that to help me expand my art and being able to create more ideas and designs, even though the quality wasn’t fully there. Since both were very time consuming and pushing me back on my orders, I wanted to upgrade into something better and different.
From having a full time job and being able to do more research, it literally saved and helped me create more stickers by getting them done and getting them in bulks instead of struggling by making one after the other by hand. It is less time consuming but of course money is being spent.
After stickers, I also started creating t-shirt designs, coasters, pins, tote bags, and even car fresheners. Having the access and networking while growing as an artist through the years, has helped me so much by creating things that I never expected myself to do so.
I do want to grow even more. I still want to show off what I have done based on my likes or feelings through art. It’s a wave of struggles since there are at times where I will be getting many orders, and there are at times especially months where I don’t get anything. Mainly because I haven’t done anything new. There isn’t just enough time between work and working at home.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The greatest reward is seeing my art (my stickers) on peoples cars, water bottles or instruments. If it’s not on personal items, then I would get to see my stickers slapped around through the city or neighborhoods. I also get recognized by my art because I make a certain type of style of my characters or any portraits I do. It’s a little different than what you normally see.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I am just one person. Meaning I am the only person that needs to handle invoices, shipping, getting more items in to put on my online shop, improving my photography skills and marketing to upload through socials and my website.
Having a small business also means you have to pay monthly/weekly on your website, shipping tags, getting more shipping boxes to mail out your products.
It’s just me handling orders and trying to push them out as quickly as possible. Yes there’s some downfalls on that because some assume it will be out the minute you place your order which leads them in asking for a refund and a cancellation on their orders.
It is not. Small businesses are different than your typical Amazon delivery.
Contact Info:
- Website: artbeatz.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: ohhbeatrizz