We recently connected with Emily Balsley and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Hailing from a small farm town in northern Wisconsin, there wasn’t always a lot to do. So I spent the bulk of my childhood reading, playing outside and drawing. I LOVED to draw, and my parents kept a never-ending stack of coloring books and art supplies on-hand. They also enrolled me in whatever creative workshop they could find – from making puppets to comic books – I wanted to do it all. For several years I participated in 4-H, and dedicated my summers to making art to display at the county fair in August – always striving for that elusive purple Merit Ribbon!

In addition to providing ample art opportunities, my mom is an artist! In fact, she was pursuing her art degree as a non-traditional student while I was growing up. Since she brought a lot of her school work home, so I got to see her create countless projects. I enjoyed poring through her art textbooks and wanted nothing more than to use her fancy art supplies.

At the same time, my dad has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged me to pave my own path. I watched him build a business from the ground up. He volunteered for several local organizations and spent hours every week helping out in the community.

Between my mom’s artistry and my dad’s philanthropic efforts, it is no surprise that I ended up becoming a freelance illustrator and muralist!

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, muralist and maker. I have been making art as long as I can remember, filling piles of coloring books and participating in every coloring contest I could get my hands on. In 2001 graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BFA, my emphasis in graphic design. Shortly thereafter, I landed a job as a graphic designer in the bicycle industry for 6 years, designing bike graphics, catalogs, POP and packaging. After my daughter was born in 2007, I turned to freelance, so I could spend more time at home.

Over the next few years, I stepped away from the computer a bit to make stuff with my hands! I learned how to sew, knit and screen print – which led to opening an Etsy shop, and participating in a few makers markets. During this time I also rediscovered my love of drawing. I took a couple Illustration workshops, and decided that I wanted to focus on illustration as a career. I rebranded myself, created a handful of professional-level projects for my website, built a social media presence, and hoped for the best. It took some time, but slowly but surely, the work started coming in.

Since 2014 I have been doing illustration work full time. From books to magazines, illustrated family portraits and wedding invitations to gig posters, puzzles and card games – my client list is diverse and has provided a wide variety of job opportunities. Most-recently, my focus has shifted from small…to wall! At this point, about 75% of my work is murals. Though I never intended to pursue mural art, now that I am here, I love it.

I love working big. I love how physical it is. I love being in the community and sharing my art with the public. I love transforming a space. I love the problem-solving aspect of creating murals. At this point, I have painted about 30 murals on a variety of substrates – they feature bright colors, quirky characters, bouncy florals and funky patterns.

Freelance life can be tough, but rewarding, and I can’t imagine doing it any other way. Though my career path has had some twists and turns, I believe every phase had it’s purpose. Professionally, I am not very motivated by strict career goals, and prefer to let the jobs come to me naturally. This means there is some ebb and flow, but I trust that it will all even out in the end. And remarkably, it always does! Some days I feel like my overflowing inbox is going to suck the life out of me, but I still pride myself on the personalized correspondence and relationships I have built with my clients over the years. I feel that every project is a collaboration – even though I might be the one creating the final art, it is ultimately the product of the vision and conversation between me and my client. And for their trust, I am grateful

Have you ever had to pivot?

All my life, I wanted to be an artist. But I never gave serious thought to what that ACTUALLY meant, until I was a Junior in college. Graduation was just 3 semesters away and the reality hit me – how was I going to make a living creating art? Growing up, I thought I wanted to illustrate picture books. But in college, unfortunately Illustration was not offered as a class, so that wasn’t an option. What else was left? Become a “famous artist” and sell paintings? Not likely. So I decided to take some graphic design classes, which I thought would be a more “practical” career path. At least I’d probably get a job and I’d still be able to be creative.

I did end up landing a job as a graphic designer in the bike industry. It was a fun job, and I learned a lot – from learning the ins and outs of the Adobe software, to working with product designers reading CAD files, to presenting my vision to the marketing team. I was part of a small team with a lot of responsibilities – which meant I had to figure out time management and efficiency. After 6 years at the bike company, I had a baby – so I quit my job to spend more time at home. After we settled into our new family routine, though I LOVED being a mom, I really missed being creative. I decided to try my hand at freelance design, taking on enough projects to fill 2 days per week. I figured freelance life meant I’d have the freedom to be a mom AND make some money making art. To a point that is true, but my goodness – outside of the actual design work, I had no clue what I was getting myself into! I had never taken a business class and didn’t know what it would take to run a business. It took some time, but eventually I got there – and now, 17 years later, I pride myself on my balanced books and happy clients. And I can’t imagine ever going back to a 9-to-5 job.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Creating art is my way of giving back to the world around me. It has given me a sense of purpose, and has provided opportunities that have helped me grow, not only as a business, but as a human. Art helps me express my emotions, tell stories, and connect with my community. It is both my hobby and my livelihood, and I cannot imagine my life without it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emilybalsley.com
• Instagram: @emilybluestar
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyBalsleyIllustration