We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hayveyah McGowan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hayveyah , thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I have been very fortunate with being able to work full-time as a creative. Having multiple skills sets has really been the key to calling myself a full-time artist. With being a graphic designer I am able to have a full time job where I make a living through using my imagination and creativity. Graphic design is a field of work, in my experience, that is and will always be needed. Every product we come in contact with had a designer involved. So the need for design work is always plentiful.

Aside from working full-time I also run a creative freelance business Hevcasso Creations LLC. Here is where I take on a plethora of different projects ranging from book design and illustration to custom paintings and murals. Both my full-time job and my freelance work are resources that feed into my personal practice.

My personal practice consists of me creating works that are completely my own. I get to focus all of my efforts into the ideas and visions that I have for myself and the world at large. In my practice I create visual that center Black pleasure, divinity, and wholeness. To bring these ideas to life I work with a variety of mediums such as acrylic paint, photography, textiles and more.

I have been able to piece these different lanes of creativity into a full and complete creative life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a multidisciplinary artist and designer so my range of creative skills and services are vast. As a creative, I like to focus on creating work that is experimental and dynamic. That means I like to approach projects – wether it’s data visualization, illustrations, cover art, branding – with the mindset of creating something that causes a visceral reaction from the viewer. I believe good design and intriguing artwork piques the interest of a viewer and opens them up to want to learn more. The visual is what invites them in and the deeper meanings behind the work allow them to stay.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe that having art programs, that pay kids and teens to learn is highly beneficial to our creative ecosystem. That’s what helped me gain confidence in myself as a creative. I had the opportunity to participate in a program called St.Louis Artworks. It is a space that welcomes teens to come an apprentice with a professional in a variety of mediums while getting paid. That experience let me know that if I took art seriously then I could make a living from it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the positive feedback you get from people when they experience your work. Having someone express gratitude for something you’ve creating or hearing that what you did inspired them make everything worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hevcassocreations.com
• Other: www.aneedtosimplify.com

Image Credits
Personal photo – Adrian Walker