We were lucky to catch up with Erica Rowan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Erica , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

10 years. I had been working at the same company for 10 years, and they treated my time like it was theirs. I hadn’t had a day off, hadn’t had a holiday off in 10. Years. But I knew the job, i loved my coworkers. I knew this pain. But, I was rushing towards a cliff I was getting more and more comfortable with the idea of finally jumping.

When I realized this, I changed departments. In the new department, HR reminded me I had nearly 200 hours of PTO as a result of how my previous department treated my time.

My new manager encouraged me to take my PTO, insisted I do it because he could see my burnout on my face. And I did. I took every Friday off from then on. It started off weird, and I felt like I was breaking the rules, like I was going fo be fired for using the PTO I hadnt touched for a decade.

What started off as reading and thrifting and sleeping soon became something more. In that one extra day, I started painting again. I started writing again. It felt like an avalanche, like I was being overtaken by that desire to paint and write. The dreams I’d shut away for a career that left me depleted and angry, came back fierce and burning brightly in my chest.

Because I can’t do anything in halfs, I started applying to local art shows. To say I was shocked when my self-taught work was worth something to someone who didnt already love me. Complete strangers wanted to see my work, so I hauled my art downtown and handed it over to curators, not knowing how the crowds they brought in would take it. But it was out of my hands at that point. When I showed up for my first show, convinced I’d be laughed at, and I saw my painting hanging in a well-lit hallway, and I heard more strangers say they liked the colors, the oranges, the flowers, I thought, maybe I could do this. Maybe I could do something with the fire in my chest.

Maybe it took 10 grueling years, but every risk led me to what I’ve built now and what I’m building for my future.

Erica , 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 am, unfortunately, not formally trained as am author or artist. What I lack in fundamentals i make up for with whimsy and weirdness. I am self-taught, in other words. There has always been this fire in me, this drive, that feels nearly involuntary most of the time. If I didn’t create, what would I be doing? Nothing good, so I keep paints and notebooks in my backpack.

My philosophy is that if I have the audacity to sell my work, it BETTER be worth your hard earned money. I dabble in so many different crafts and products that its hard to keep things straight. My bread and butter are my homemade bookmarks and my digitized paintings as stickers. I also sell my original paintings, collages, and my BOOKS! YES! I have 4 books in my paranormal middle grade series. The series starts when the kids are in 5th grade and will follow them through high school. Each book follows one of the 3 main characters dealing with a paranormal situation that ties into their real life issues. 5th grade includes themes of food insecurity, parental loss, and middle child syndrome. I believe children are dealing with real, heavy issues and they deserve literature that meets them where they are at.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Universal Healthcare. One of the reasons I need to keep a 9-5 job is because I am chronically ill. I have daily medications. I have weekly physical therapy. I cannot afford to be uninsured or under insured. I know I am not the only artist to face this. Its time that the “best country in the world” started acting like it.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew how kind and supportive people are. For so long the fear of judgement and ridicule kept me from sharing my work with people. When grown ups read my books and say “I wish I’d had this as a kid” or that my art spoke to them in a voice they had rejected within themselves, that is what makes me feel like I wasted too much time thinking I knew what people thought of me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ericarowanarts