We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan Wong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jordan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
My creative career did not have a smooth and easy beginning. I was unemployed for two years after graduating college and was fired from my first (and last) full-time graphic design job – I lasted not even a full year.
Since then, I have been working for myself full-time for the last seven years. I started primarily making a living off of designing logos and identities for local businesses, non-profits, and other solo entrepreneurs in Cleveland. I also was showing my personal art and illustrations in coffee shops, which lead to more client work. Much of my success and ability to grow my creative profession came from making the effort to get out, meet, and connect with new people. Cultivating great relationships has been so crucial, I would not be where I am today without others.
Within the last year, I have shifted my time and energy towards my fine art practice and am no longer designing for clients.
However, I am still taking on projects where I can help as a design consultant or art/creative director.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I am a third-generation Chinese American who grew up fascinated by anime, manga, and video games. These inspirations are used as a vehicle in my work to contemplate how we persevere and level up throughout real life. I primarily create digitally to draw and orchestrate visuals, then work closely with trusted fabricators to bring the final artwork to life.
Conceptually, I am inspired by various cultures and philosophical schools of thought: Taoism, Stoicism, Chinese cultural customs I grew up with, lessons about mindset in entrepreneurship, and ideas about energy—its ebb and flow, its balance, and how to cultivate and harness it.
I have produced large-scale installations and public artwork for the city of Cleveland and exhibited at the Akron Art Museum (2021 – 2022) as well as the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (2020). My work has been featured by Ideastream, Destination Cleveland, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Channel 3 WKYC, News 5 Cleveland, Graphic Design USA (”People to Watch 2021” ), The Great Discontent (issue no. 5), Cleveland Magazine (”Most Interesting People 2021”), PressureLife, The Land, FreshWater Cleveland, and CAN Journal.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
I want to ignite imaginations, galvanize spirits, encourage contemplations, and inspire others to discover and achieve greatness unique to them.
I want to keep meeting and earning the trust and investment of visionaries to create visually fantastic experiences in new places and spaces.
I want to achieve higher heights and grander successes as a means to make better (and sometimes bigger) art.
And I want to share everything that I learn along the way to help others pursue their own dreams.
I want to earn a lot so that I can give more.
I want to be someone who fills this world with art that my childhood self would lose his mind over.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Let’s create more educational programs and opportunities that teach artists how to monetize their creativity and strategically grow their profession.
I actually recently launched a 3-part workshop series, NO MORE STARVING ARTISTS, to help artists on the business side of things. For more info. https://no-more-starving-artists-cle.eventbrite.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: wongface.com
- Instagram: @wongface
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordanwongface
- Other: NO MORE STARVING ARTISTS: A 3-Part Workshop Series https://no-more-starving-artists-cle.eventbrite.com/
Image Credits
Bob Perkoski Jerry Birchfield (Field Studio)