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

Becca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Ever since I glued that first piece of glitter to paper, I’ve always known I could make art but I never thought of myself as an artist. That all changed for me in 2016.

I was in the thick of a book study with other fab women, and the book was all about stepping out of fear-based mentalities. One of the exercises challenged us to think ahead to the end of our lives and envision the happiest, healthiest version of ourselves. All I could picture was an art studio dappled with sunlight and a life that had been spent creating artwork that breathed life in dark spaces. To that point, I’d never painted on canvas, just on 4×6 paper cards.

The leader of that book study asked us all, “If that’s the happiest, healthiest version of yourself, what’s stopping you from pursuing that?” It made me think about all the ways I told myself I can’t. So I picked up a canvas and made my first painting and entered it into an emerging artist award for a local art festival. AND I WON!

They gave me 4 weeks to come prepped with enough artwork to fill a booth space for two full festival days. I locked myself in my studio and I don’t think I’ve ever really come out. That was the turning point, and I’ll never allow myself to think “I’m not an artist” ever again.

Becca, 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?

My business is called Damsel of Distressed – in part because I work primarily with Tim Holtz Distress line of products (spray stains, inks, paints that react uniquely with water, texture pastes). But it’s also called that because I think my art is meant to soothe the soul. Each of my canvas pieces is bathed in energy before a mark is ever made, then I let the canvas become. I rarely ever know how a piece is going to start or what it will look like when finished. Through layers of paint, texture, vintage ephemera, found objects, and exploration, I know I’m creating a piece meant for a specific moment.

I’ve seen this play out so many times, but my favorite moment at an art festival in Red Wing, MN. I’d created this canvas with a galaxy-esque feel and constellations and had included a quote (each of my works includes words) about how it was never really the end. An older woman came into my festival booth and just stared at the painting. She told me how beautiful it was and bought some small cards before leaving. Two hours later, she came back with a friend and said, “I just have to have that. My husband passed away five months ago. He was an astronomer and we’d always go out to look at the stars together. I just know this is a message from him.”

I didn’t know when I was swirling paint that this piece belonged to her, but I know it was meant for her.

I’m probably a very strange artist, because when I take on commissions I let customers share up to four things:
1 – How you want the piece to make you feel
2 – General colors
3 – Music you’d like me to listen to while creating the work
4 – A quote you might like on the piece

What happens after those four things is up to the universe, and that’s where magic lives.

Though most of my focus these days lies in making canvas mixed media art, I also have a line of handmade cards (which are my first love), and provide mural services. I believe in creating community through art.

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

Don’t you just wish we still lived in the days where it was normal for some rich family to find value in your craft and employ you to work on your paintings? These days, many creatives have day jobs and I’m no exception. I work in economic development by day (which I also love). It’s been interesting to learn more about why artists thrive in some communities and in others it’s much harder.

Ecosystems are created in part by policy – communities that invest in artists by doing things like setting aside a portion of taxes to fund public art or arts education in their community. They’re created by patrons – people who are willing to value the hard work and creation of those who wield a paintbrush instead of a hammer. And they are also created by fellow, established artists who help to forge on-ramps for those who are just entering. Artists who see other artists not as competition, but as collaborators in building a grassroots splash of color everywhere.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Listen. As a creative, I definitely fall into the stereotype of hating an excel spreadsheet. But knowing the ins and outs of running a business is just as important as knowing which type of product to use to get the texture you want.

I’ve found a LOT of great resources about tax filing, inventory management, pricing formulas on Janet LeBlanc’s Paper + Spark. Many of her resources are free and she also has some customized spreadsheets made just for creatives who used online platforms to sell. More than that, she’s approachable AF and has made the anxiety of the business backend much more manageable for me. https://paperandspark.com/

Contact Info:

• Website: damselofdistressed.com
• Instagram: @damselofdistressed
• Facebook: facebook.com/damselofdistressed
• Twitter: @coolerbecca