We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Holly Von Ruden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Holly, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am beyond happy with the creative field that I have chosen. It can be challenging at times don’t get me wrong, but whenever I’ve worked “regular jobs” I’ve always been dissatisfied with the work that I did. Being an independent artist and creating photographs has allowed me to meet and collaborate with all kinds of different people.

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.

What sets me apart: My background and education in studio art allow me a different perspective on the work I create. For example, when I was interning at Edible Nashville Magazine I was making images for advertisements. I thought about staging and lighting the products as I would set up a still life.

I’m most proud of the work that I created for my senior capstone (DEL/SYS_32). I worked on and researched the topic of technology and how it’s so integrated into our society. The work revolves around the question “When do we stop consuming technology and technology starts consuming us?” After seeing the work on the gallery wall and engaging with people at the reception I knew it was the kind of work I wanted to do more of.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Before COVID shut down the world I was working as an independent contractor in the music industry in Nashville. When everything shut down I was out of a job and on unemployment. This meant I had a lot more time on my hands and I started painting again. I was encouraged to go back to school and further my education in the arts and began majoring in visual arts with a minor in photography. I enjoyed the photography classes I was taking so much that I decided to double major and found that there was a lot more crossover between the two fields than I originally anticipated.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The amount of time it takes to create a cohesive body of work. When I was studying photography we would have a week or two (at most) to complete a creative assignment. It was the norm to come up with, execute, and submit a project within a matter of days. But almost all artistic photographers spend several years crafting a particular concept through research, critiques, etc. before a project can even feel finished. I only spent one year creating the work for DEL/SYS_32 and I feel like I’m just scratching the surface.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hollyvonruden.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyvonruden/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-von-ruden-4b137612a/

Image Credits
Holly Von Ruden