We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cailla Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cailla, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
So I started drawing at the age of 6. I was heavily influenced by my cousin. I know for a fact this was not his intention, but my cousin showed me how to be different. It started with the stick figures. I’m pretty sure everyone drew stick figures the same, but my cousin drew his completely different. When I first saw his drawings, I thought it was best work of art ever. I loved how advanced his stick drawings were, so I started drawing his stick figures everyday. I drew them so much to the point where one day I changed the anatomy of the figures. By the time I was 8, I was really interested in drawing and creating my own characters. I enjoyed drawing and i enjoyed impressing my teachers. I did stop drawing for a while but only because I couldn’t find my favorite sketchbook. It wasn’t until i got to the 5th grade, i started drawing again. I found my missing sketchbook! I was thrilled and ecstatic. That’s when i realised, I really enjoy drawing. I made it my mission to improve my art as I got a older. Unfortunately, when I got to high school I did have insecurities about my art. I heard that artists typically don’t make much or that art is not a real career. Plus, I was comparing myself to some of my art friends. Their art was freaking amazing! I didn’t think my art could measure up to them. But that wasn’t enough to make me want to quit. It made me competitive as hell. By senior year, that’s when I decided that no matter what, I was going to have a career as an artist regardless of what anyone says.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I got into drawing thanks to my late cousin. He opened my mind to a different world; art, anime, video games, and japanese culture. Although, he didn’t pursue a career in art, I still wanted to be creative just like him. I was happy when I told him I was majoring in art. Unfortunately, my cousin passed away during my first semester in college. I did at one point want to change majors because of his passing. However, I knew that’s not what he would want me to do. My cousin was my biggest inspiration, and the reason I’ll never quit.
The bodies of work i provide art illustrations and graphic design. When talking to clients, i love being able to teach them things about designs or consult them on what to do next. I focus on building trust and understanding. Even if a client does not decide to get work from me, I still ensure to give them something of value. Be it art or words.
What I’m most proud of are my characters. They are my literal children and I treat them as such. Each character has their own personalities which makes creating different art styles/subjects fun and interesting.
The main thing I want everyone to know that if you are a creative, you are a deviant. When we hear the word “deviant”, it’s followed by a negative perception. However, that’s not the only side. Deviancy means not conforming to social norms. For example, if everyone walks in a line in the same direction, no questions asked, it’s normal. However, there’s one person who decides to walk left/right. They’re not walking straight. That person is a deviant. That’s what I was shown by my cousin with the stick figures. I want to show everyone the positive perception of being a deviant with my art and my voice.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The power of the subconscious mind and think and grow rich helped a lot with building my mental health. I read these in college and sometimes part of 30 day reset to help keep my mind fresh. As artist, we already get into our heads especially when we create. Reading these books, always kept my mind calm, but also changed my way of thinking. It’s not always easy, but they helped me learn how to hold my head high in the worst situations and how important and powerful manifesting is. I think everyone should read at least one of these books.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I stopped doing art shows consistently for the past 4 years. I was burnt out. I use to be happy as hell doing them. If I made money awesome, but the most important thing to me was connecting with customers and other artists. However, the last partner I dated, honestly ruined the experience for me. I had a regular 9-5 job as a barista, so i worked weekends. To be honest, I didn’t think I had a limit on my social battery because I’m always energetic even after a long shift.
I did strategically plan when I did art shows, so I wouldn’t get burnt out. However, when I dated another artist for the first time, that unfortunately changed. I learned real fast my battery can run empty lol They wanted to do art shows every single weekend or stand outside near little five points to sell art. Mind you it was always hot as hell when we did this. So heat plus working a 10 hour shift serving rude ass customers in a fast paced environment, wasn’t the best combination. And to top it all off, i was selling/marketing both of our artwork (yes I was literally selling my partner’s artwork for them lol) While I was dating them, art shows weren’t fun for me anymore and it became a job more than a passion. So when we finally broke up, I took a break from doing art shows.
Now I’m slowly trying to get back into doing art shows. Burnt out, in any situation, is so real. Art shows are great and amazing way for exposure, but I didn’t like the idea of having to rely on them for consistent income. The entire experience changed my way of thinking. Whether people want to admit it or not, the people involved in our lives can have a small or major impact to us and our art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://caithedeviant.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: Caithedeviant
