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

Deanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Ive always wanted to have a creative career. Ive been drawing and crafting my whole life. I didn’t know exactly what to do but I knew I loved art and wanted to pursue that. It was through my studies in college for Illustration that I was trying different mediums and subject matter that I grew in confidence and learned more about what I liked to do. Once I graduated in 2020 covid was in full swing and life kind of derailed for a bit. I worked as a cake decorator for a few years and loved the creative expression in that work. Behind the scenes I was drawing and painting and having fun.
Creating art is like a way of getting to know myself and expressing who I am to other people. When I started selling my art at markets in 2023 and throughout these past 3 years I have really honed in on what I love to make & what mediums I prefer working in. I enjoy what I do now and even if I cant be a creative as my main job anymore, I will always be creating art.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an illustrator with a BFA in Illustration. I currently create and sell handmade wood-burning, needle-felt art, stickers, prints, stationery, and more! My art leans into the spooky-cute and whimsical aesthetic.

My art is for sale at local events but I also make custom pieces such as drawn portraits, custom felt dolls, frames or wood-burned plaques.

I currently sell my art at local popups such as the Troy Farmers Market, the Twilight Market & more!

I am a one person operation and through my business name “HelloitsDeanna” I try to be personal and down to earth with everyone I meet. I’m not a brand or corporation but a woman just making art and hoping to share it with her community. I openly share resources and give art advice to people who ask. I think it’s very important to support your peers and lift each-other up.

It means a lot to me when people completely my work or get excited about the new sticker design. Making people as excited as I am about what I do is so awesome!

I am proud of how hard I have been working and how my skillset has grown. I have met a-lot of nice people by doing this work and it has really helped me be more social as well as connected to my community.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing is seeing how my work makes people happy and/or inspires them. I feel so connected to people when they share their excitement over my work. My art is a reflection of me and when that art connects to other people, I feel that too.

It’s also always so cool when a young artist is inspired by me and motivated to do what I do.

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 was once taught to use my anxiety or fear as a motivator in my work to succeed in my career. While I understand the sentiment I think it became an unhealthy way to live and an unsustainable way to continue to create work. I want to have fun doing what I am doing and I have had to unlearn that lesson because it just fueled my anxieties & insecurities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Helloitsdeanna.myshopify.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/helloitsdeanna
• Other: https://Linktr.ee/helloitsdeanna