We recently connected with Hudson Ingram and have shared our conversation below.

Hudson, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?

As an artist and creative, I’ve engaged with the stereotypical aspects of how this job sphere is non-lucrative for practically all participants beyond the big players and institutions collecting it. I’ve sought out alternative paths but ended up back where I started in more ways than one. Art/Creating is something I’ve engaged with and returned to due to both circumstance and preference. I don’t know if I will be the most successful, but I would rather continue to try than abandon it. Engaging those interested through instruction and doing my best to further others alongside myself has created more self-interest in my creations. I told others that their art matters to what they want to make and realized that I needed to take my advice.

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

I currently work as an adjunct instructor for various art courses. Here, I engage students in their ideas and concerns about art. I am most proud of the moments that I get a student to light up about an idea within their work and help them enjoy their time there. Within the structure given, I am actively working with them to further their time in the course and their future time as artists. My time there helps me gain insight into my artistic projects.

As an artist, I primarily engage in photography and digital painting. Here, I typically focus on ideas of disconnections in digital media and how to speak to issues I encounter with references to animals and pop culture. Transitioning from a purely photographic approach to utilizing digital painting, I do my best to consider how I engage with digital specifications.

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

As an artist, the scariest and most rewarding aspect has been making things. Making can be constructing a piece or assembling multiple to create a collection/arrangement.

Connecting ideas to concepts to a finalized piece takes more steps than I like to think about. The time it takes to start to make the final piece can be the most rewarding or the most horrifying. In academia, the work you create is on a schedule, and making work that takes time can be painful. Getting to start on work and actively making it becomes the time I can put my all into focusing on it.

In bookmaking, I can shift from directly making a work to assembling what works together. It becomes satisfying to be able to create a connection and communication between the pieces/spreads. This connection applies to the aspect of curating exhibitions as well.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

In my experience, I was overwhelmed by the various options available and felt forced to choose one thing that I was good at to continue to make. This choice became a crutch and limited my output. I shifted into digital painting and video through new media. From this initial limit, I wished I had expanded my horizons from my instincts. Double majoring in film/new media or building more connections outside my field might have helped me find what I enjoy making now sooner. Considering this, I could be in a completely different position in my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: hudsoningram.com
• Instagram: @suiting_hudson
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hudson-ingram-49974973/

Image Credits
Abby Pfaff Photography