We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ilana Zweschi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ilana below.

Alright, Ilana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

Having an art business is non-linear. This is one of the best and worst things about it. There is a lot of freedom but also a lot of uncertainty that can lead to the whole thing dying out. The biggest test of an artist is continuing to make art because everything in your life demands that studio time– paying jobs, social and family engagements, errands, etc.

I am currently the sole income earner for my family of 4 so I have spent a lot of time fighting tooth and nail to justify time making art when I could (or even should) spend it on immediately paying jobs– knowing I had to invest in it first before it started giving back financially. The first step I took to continue to make art when I got out of school was to dedicate 8 hours of every Saturday to paint. I had to work 40 hours during the week so that was my only choice. Any time a friend asked to spend time with me on the weekend I told them it had to be at night or on Sundays. I spent 7 years like this, dedicating my Saturdays to painting. Slowly through the years I worked to find jobs that paid more or were more flexible so I could have Fridays free at the studio, and then eventually every other morning, and so on. All of the decisions I made in the last 10 years were balancing the need to pay rent with the need to gain more and more time at the studio. The result of this effort is a slow but definite increase in my art business contributing to my income, which in turn gives me more time in the studio. Sometimes I sell a painting 5 years after it is made– so I am thanking my past self for sticking with it even though the financial return was uncertain.

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 don’t remember choosing to be an artist, as I have considered myself one for as long as I can remember. But I was surprised to find that when I got to college, I missed taking regular math classes. I ended up as an Art Major and Math Minor, though I didn’t see those choices connected at the time. I now combine art and math, relying heavily on logic to make my large, colorful oil paintings by writing algorithms to translate text into painterly actions.

My first algorithm paintings were made by cannibalizing figurative paintings from my MFA thesis show. I used different rules in the algorithm to ignore, trace or reveal parts of the underlying figure painting. So I ended up with very strange and interesting shapes that were found inside the rendering of the figure. I still need the organic shapes of the figure for my systems to react to, so even though my work is abstract, it all starts out figurative.

But the text is the most important element to my process. I input the raw data of the text into the algorithm, run it through a series of “if/then” rules I assign based on the structure and grammar of the written words, and receive an output of painterly actions. Each letter of the text corresponds to one discrete brush stroke, creating a larger idea from the individual elements.

The early texts were found deliberately through random chance. But I quickly discovered incredible power in targeting words that I found harmful. The texts I choose now are always some form of cultural evidence of hidden hierarchies. Any time I feel powerless against the evils of these hierarchies I find strength in turning them into paintings. I get to transform them into something colorful and beautiful, like a peacock eating poison and growing those luminous feathers.

I now live in Seattle with my partner, twin daughters, and two cats. I teach drawing and painting at local colleges and am represented by Foster/White Gallery.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I first started, I thought that the work was what would lead to success. It took me quite some time to realize that was a surprisingly small part of it.

Resources for artists:

Community. This is first and foremost the most important part of being an artist other than actually making artwork. Go to openings, start critique groups, ask for studio visits, share your art supplies and be kind.

Finances. Itemize and track all business expenses, even small things like paper towels. I have a separate credit card I just for art related purchases. And track every bit of income, no matter how small. Use that information to know the true cost of this venture and to celebrate the victories. Breaking even is a huge victory. And then claim it on your taxes.

Know when to learn something yourself and when to pay a professional. I am not handy but learned to make my own painting stretchers. I now find a lot of joy in this process. But paying a professional to photograph my paintings is crucial. They are textured and shiny and very hard to capture and most people will only ever see the digital version of them.

Read books about the business side of being an artist. I read “Art/Work” (Heather Darcy Bhandari) late in my journey and at that point it served to confirm things I had to learn the hard way when I could have just learned them the easy way in this book early on.

If you don’t have representation, try selling your work yourself. Start with small work around $100. You will build up a sales history and start to earn back the cost of the art supplies. Many website platforms allow you to set up a store easily and social media gives you an audience of friends and family who want to support you.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Rejection. When I was in high school, I could not enter an art competition without winning first place. I even won an award that recognized all of the awards I had won. That ended up being a very bad place to start my life as an artist because once I entered the larger, professional world of a creative I encountered the reality of near constant rejection. The fact that I didn’t experience it that way in high school was because I was a big fish in a little pond. It was a very painful process to not feel discouraged once that validation stopped. I had to learn to separate my identity as an artist from praise and recognition. Rejection does not mean you are no good or don’t belong. It is unavoidable and is not a measure or predictor of success.

I have an artist friend who said she experienced a ratio of 1/25 in acceptances to rejections. I was shocked to hear this because she is so successful. Since then, I have held on to this ratio as a new measure of success. In other words, I have to get 24 rejections before I allow myself to feel bad. I even have started to see the rejections as progress—the more I get, the closer I am to that acceptance ratio! One particularly challenging year, I printed all of my rejection letters out so I could make all of that effort I spent applying to things feel tangible. There were only 14 of them. 10 more to go.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ilanazweschi.com
• Instagram: @ilanazweschi

Image Credits
Personal Photo/headshot: Tori Dickson Painting photos: Bret Corrington Gallery talk photo at Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle, WA The rest, credit to the artist.