Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dani Mccoy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dani, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

Straight out of college and trying to build a creative career is already hard. Straight out of college and diagnosed with a chronic illness is even harder.

The starving artist concept was what I was expecting for a few years out of college. I planned on working multiple jobs, networking, spending late nights on projects, and hustling until I “made it.” I did this for a little bit before I started getting sick. I was eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and the bills started rolling in. I knew I would be off my parent’s insurance plan by the time I was 26 so the panic of affording insurance and getting the care I needed with the stability of a career felt needed. I remember sobbing to my partner feeling like I was abandoning my dream.

I got the full-time 9-5 gig and was making art on the side. At first, I felt like, yes I can do this! Lots of people with full-time jobs eventually make a full-time living from art. I just have to work hard enough. The stress of work, making art and my unmanaged chronic illness took a toll. I felt like everything I was making was for the purpose of making a living, but was not giving me life. I hated my art. I hated making art. I was burnt out and ready to be done. So I stopped making art.

Thank god my story did not end there. I worked for a few years, learned how to cope with a chronic illness, spent time in therapy, was diagnosed with depression/anxiety as well as ADHD, went on medication and can I just say mental health matters. For really the first time in my life, I felt like I could enjoy living. I call it my fuck it era. I started fully embracing who I was, what I liked, what I wanted to make, and what I wanted to wear. I finally felt like ME. I started making art again. Just for me. Eventually, I realized that, while I love making art, I also wanted my art to have a purpose. For me, that meant sharing my art and hopefully selling my art. That leads to where we are today! Me working a full-time non-creative job still, but finally pursuing my dream of creating art for others. I’m having my first shop launch this coming fall and I’m excited for this new journey!

Dani, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, my name is Dani! I’m an artist/illustrator living in PA with my amazing spouse and precious puppy dog. I am bi, neurospicy, and chronically ill! What a fun trio 😜

Currently, I am a full-time Program Analyst working this side biz. I went to school for art but lost my joy of making post-grad. I’ve finally started to enjoy art making again and love being able to share this passion for creating with others!

I work with various media, but I love to create illustrative paintings, digital works, and even polymer clay pieces. The majority of my work is digital that I share though! I love quirky, fun, and cute work to combat the everyday struggle of living on this place we call Earth.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I already shared about my comeback, but I can dive into it a bit more. From the outside, it may have looked like I gave up on art, but looking back I do not consider it giving up. It was a monumental part of my journey to step back from art-making. Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease is life-altering. My whole approach to everything had to change. Having a chronic illness is a lot like having a second job. Researching, finding doctors, finding new doctors because that one sucked, battling with health insurance, filing appeals when insurance refuses to pay for the care your doctor requested and the list goes on and on all while also being sick. While if I could pick having a chronic illness or not, I would pick not, I will say it did make me re-evaluate my life. Priorities changed. Without the diagnosis of my chronic illness, and without “giving up on art”, I would also not have sought professional help and started on medication to help with the depression/anxiety that I have struggled with my whole life. So no, I do not consider what I did giving up art, it was my side quest that brought me to finding myself and making even better art.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think the biggest thing my journey has taught me is that being successful is different for everyone and you have to define what success means to you. There is no right way to succeed and there is no one look. I thought I had to be a freelance illustrator with clients and make a full-time living off of art in any way possible – even at the expense of my health. The hustle culture is over. I am all for slow productivity. You do not have to give up because you need time off. You do not have to leave your full-time stable job to make a career as an artist. You do not even have to work as a creative full-time to be deemed an artist. I think we have to ask ourselves what success means for us more often. Our goals should be aligned with our own needs. Not the wants, needs, or expectations society has for us.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danimccoyart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danimccoyillustration/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DaniMcCoyArt