We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Isabel “Dani” Macher. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Isabel “Dani” below.

Isabel “Dani”, 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 think overall I am most fulfilled when I’m creating, whether it’s in the form of a new artwork or playing a piece of music. However, there are also many times when I question whether this is the right path for me. It’s extremely difficult to earn a livable wage as a creative in this society, and although right now I have the monetary support to pursue art and music, I can understand why many people have “regular” jobs instead. With art specifically, there are so many amazing skilled artists out there and the competition is so high, so it’s very hard for everyone to have equal opportunities. Of course we should, but I worry that it’s only going to get worse with the sudden influx of AI “art;” people aren’t willing to pay real artists for quality work and will instead steal our styles and ideas to produce unimaginative, haphazard “art.” Navigating social media as an artist is very frustrating as well, as the algorithm seems to be working against smaller artists in favor of already-popular accounts who follow trends and seem to produce content constantly, which just isn’t realistic for the average artist. I feel similarly about classical music. The competition is so high and often times my goals feel unattainable. Just a few weeks ago I had a very strange interaction with another musician who, in my opinion, hasn’t been able to get meaningful work, and who I felt was projecting very strongly. They listed off so many arbitrary things that I needed to do or avoid doing, or else “I’d never become a successful musician.” I thought this exchange was really odd and it felt rooted in bad faith, and it really made me question my pursuit of a career in classical music. The field itself is still very conservative in the sense that critical thinking and originality are discouraged — or at the very least sidelined — in favor of following what older or more experienced musicians say and do. My personality is very much the opposite of that. People might perceive me as mild-manned at first, but I’ve always been known to question authority and it’s often gotten me in trouble in school, for example. So there are many days where I wonder if I’ll truly feel happy in a career that’s mostly run by people who seem to enjoy crushing dreams while still demanding the utmost respect. And this isn’t to say that I don’t respect more experienced musicians, I’ve just been in many situations where I get the sense that classical music as a whole isn’t for someone like me. The field is founded on and still upholding elitism/classism, racism, sexism, etc. and I worry that it’ll only bring me disappointment and resentment. Playing music is something very important to me, obviously, so I never want to feel anything negative towards it or myself, so when I do have those thoughts or those interactions, I can kind of use them as motivation. I want to succeed and I want to continue feeling as passionately about music as I did when I was younger, before I was aware of all the barriers. Even if it’s only my field of study/my career rather than just a hobby, I still want it to be something I enjoy being part of.
Additionally, even though I talk about the many problems within the art and classical music communities, I don’t think I’d be able to avoid those same issues by having a “regular” job. So many of my friends have shared their experiences in non-creative jobs and they honestly sound just as horrible if not worse. At least in an artistic career I can feel confident about my abilities and proud that I’m — hopefully — creating something new and meaningful.

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

Summarizing myself in just a few paragraphs is quite difficult. I’d definitely like to encourage people to read through some of my other interviews and hopefully they’ll get a good sense of who I am. In short, I am a 22 year old digital artist and classical musician. My identity is very important to me; my mother is a Transylvanian Saxon and my father is Mexican-Peruvian. I’m omnisexual and non-binary. I was born and raised in Germany. I have an AA in Anthropology. I’m vegan. I’m a communist. I really feel that it’s essential for people to know all these things about me to better understand how my identities have shaped my life and experiences, especially my experiences and relationships with art and classical music. My father was a bit of an artist when he was younger, he drew mainly in a comicbook art style, and even created a mural that was featured in a gallery in California. I’ll jokingly call myself a nepo artist but my work and skills are completely my own. I started drawing at 4 years old, and I’ve been influenced by so many different creators throughout my life, so I don’t have an entirely unique art style yet, but each day I think my abilities are improving. I want to, more than anything, create a wide variety of pieces. Different themes, different mediums, different styles, until I eventually find something that authentically reflects who I am and what I feel and what I can offer to myself and the rest of the world. Right now I’ve been creating very colorful artworks. I’m trying to move away from a very strict and photorealistic style, but I think it’s good to explore and develop skills in various areas. I want to be known as a well-rounded artist and overall person too.
My musical journey is almost as long as my artistic one. I played alto saxophone in elementary school band and I was in choir in middle school. When I was 12 I wanted to start learning the piano but then I found a YouTube video by violist xclassicalcatx and decided that that’s what I was gonna do too. When I was 14 I went to rent my first viola and it felt very surreal and almost emotional for me. My whole life I believed that classical music and string instruments were some otherworldly thing yet here I was holding an actual string instrument. It was very exciting. Unfortunately it was a challenge to find a good and also affordable teacher, and I was going through some very hard times both mentally and physically, my eating disorder being one of them. I lacked confidence in every area of my life and I wish I had a more inspirational music-saved-me conclusion to this part of my life, but I ended up giving up on music for several years. When I was 19 years old I decided I wanted to pursue classical music again, and in 2021 I reached out to my current teacher, Assistant Principal violist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and Juilliard alumnus Aekyung Kim. For the first time in a long time I felt inspired and encouraged and truly supported, and I’ve made such strides with her as my teacher in just a couple of years. I know I still need to do so much more work but now I feel confident overall that I can achieve my goals. I want to be the best musician I can be, whatever that looks like and wherever this career takes me, despite the naysayers and self-doubt. I want to challenge myself and create and perform beautiful music that I like and that other people will like.
I think what sets me apart from others the most is my authenticity and ambition. I set big goals for myself but I will also never say, or do, or commit to something if I’m not 100% passionate about it.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Abolish capitalism!! That’s really all I can think of actually. Capitalism is the main thing that’s preventing more people from pursuing full-time creative careers. People are worrying about affording food and rent and many are living in poverty or homelessness. I feel very privileged to get to do what I do and I want everyone to have those opportunities. Again, art is a very competitive profession; many skilled artists aren’t recognized or paid for their work, myself included, and I’m not yet sure of what can be done to improve the current situation. Aside from abolishing capitalism, of course. I wish I could just be able to paint and draw without having to worry about making money too. For classical music, I think the same things apply. It needs to be more accessible for starters. I didn’t go to a school that had a classical music/strings program, and I feel like now I have to work 10x as hard to catch up with musicians who were educated much younger. I also had zero support from teachers and school counselors who instead invalidated creative careers.
It’s important for the arts and artists to receive funding both in and outside of a school setting. And speaking of schools, music conservatories should not have such absurdly high tuition costs. In Europe, it is possible for the schools to be free, yet so many US conservatories charge $80,000 or more per year. It’s ridiculous and one of the contributing factors as to why people avoid pursuing professional classical music careers.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I tend to associate rewards with monetary gains but each day I realize more and more that art and music are important to me regardless of whether I make money. Society is so focused on capitalizing creativity and it’s very limiting and kind of stressful for me. I don’t feel as successful as other people but why should I even need to be? I want to have fun and genuinely express myself through art and music. As an artist and musician I get the most fulfillment from simply learning and experiencing new things. I’m excited to improve my artistic skills so that I can create original works from my imagination. I’m excited to improve my musical skills as well, so I can play the many beautiful pieces I love listening to. I want to create with and for my friends, and I want to support other creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://folio.procreate.com/idm_artist
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/idm_artist?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Other: https://instagram.com/idm_violist?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=