We were lucky to catch up with Bonnie Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bonnie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I was an elementary school teacher for over ten years. I have always done creative things with my classes. However, something was missing. I started taking art classes at night. I met great teachers who encouraged me to pursue illustration. I took a year off from teaching and went to school full-time to become an illustrator.

Going back to school was like heaven! It was incredible to meet many excellent teachers. It was a humbling experience to go to school with students much younger than me. Nevertheless, the students embrace me as their peers.

I stayed at the college for two more years to earn my bachelor’s degree in Illustration. I returned to teaching art at an inner-city school in Los Angeles. An opportunity opened up at ArtCenter College of Design. It gave me the chance to work in education in a new way. I love helping students, which is the nature of my work daily.

Bonnie, 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 have been an educator and maker all my life. In college, I was torn between being a business major and an art major. My family is practical and pushes me towards business. However, knowing myself, I love the arts. To make a compromise, I majored in Studio Art at Scripps College and worked in the family business.

Out of school, finding work as an art major wasn’t easy. I did substitute teaching and later earned my credentials to teach first grade for over ten years. I always interjected my lessons with art. I am always in awe of what the students created. When kids are six or seven years old, they do not compare themselves with anyone. Instead, they create freely, which I deeply admire!

Currently, I work at ArtCenter in Pasadena. We have some of the best students in Art and Design. More recently, I manage a Makerspace and offer services such as risograph printing. It challenges my creativity at a different level: How to manage a workspace in a creative way. The students prompt me to create and make new work. I problem-solve to learn new things so I can, in turn, share with the ArtCenter community.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Turning the Makers Lab into a workable community was a challenge. I remember sitting in the lab in the Summer of 2022. It was towards the end of the pandemic. Students were slowly returning to the campus. I had no idea how to use the newly acquired risograph duplicator.

I took online courses and met great people and an instructor who taught me everything I know. Helping students to print put my learning into practice. I made many examples to help students see the process and to advertise for the space. Managing a space also prompted me to take an accounting course.

Bookkeeping is not my strength. However, I am motivated to help students by keeping costs low. That way, they could afford the printing and continue making artwork. The financial accounting course helped me to keep track of expenses and costs. I want to make a case to the college that Riso printing is needed in the Illustration department and the college community.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I continue to teach voluntarily. I have taught them everything from stop-motion animation, lego press printing, printmaking, clay, cooking, and Indigo dye. Art disappears from the school curriculum because that is the first thing to go when budget cuts occur. However, creativity and expression cannot be measured; they are the most important things.

I want to continue to open art opportunities for kids. I am not sure where the journey would take me. It could be a community center for kids’ art classes on zoom, so kids could take part worldwide.

Contact Info:

• Website: bonbonleeeee.com
• Instagram: bonbonleeeee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonbonleeeee/
• Other: I’m taking a hiatus from social media. Whenever I am on the train or in public spaces, I notice that people are always on the phone. I want to experience the moment. It’s been only a month. I hope I will continue with it.

Image Credits
I photographed all my artwork. Thanks!