We recently connected with Julie Kradel and have shared our conversation below.
Julie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
No matter what profession/career that one chooses there may be a thought that should another choice should have been made. I think back to the question adults posed to me through out my childhood. What do you want to be when you grow up? My love was animals – especially horses. I had an Uncle who was a Veterinarian. That was the direction I was headed. Yet, it was a struggle, at that time, to cope with hurt, injured animals…then on top of that euthanasia. That did not appeal to me. My sister and I have been artistically inclined since we where young. My parents encouraged our artistic endeavors, yet never really gave word that it could be a career. As college loomed closer, with that the declaration of a major. Mine being Horse Husbandry. Off I went to SUNY@ Morrisville(New York). A two year program that would be the foundation for moving on to either Veterinary school or working in some aspect of the horse industry. Managing a barn, training horses, working at a racetrack…etc. There were one hundred students in my horse husbandry class. Ninety-seven of them women, three men. As the semester progressed I struggled with anatomy. Learning all the parts of the horse, inside and out. I would do drawings for extra credit to help my grade. I would also do drawings for others for their projects. At the end of my first semester I dropped horse husbandry, leaving college at that time to figure out what direction I should take. That direction took me to marriage, children and life as a stay-at-home Mom. I still continued my love of animals and art. Dogs, cats, rats, chickens and eventually horses where a part of that life. Art and creativity played a part. To help supplement our income I taught classes, sold at consignment shops as well as retail shops. At that time my medium was wood and paint – tole painting. I took a watercolor class, then a tile making class at the Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Association. Eventually taking an animal sculpture class with Sharon Sommers. The combination of the two things I loved – animals and art! Plus the tactile medium of clay. Paths have a way of changing as we navigate life. My path lead to divorce. Which thrust me into after over thirty years of not having a career outside the home to needing to make career choice. I honestly didn’t think that an artist career wasn’t a viable option. Yes, I had attended art fairs(Ann Arbor – Leepers Park) as a patron over the years. Loved the idea that artists had their dogs in the booth with them*. What could be better then to bring your dog to work with you! So…my new chosen path would be at the age of forty-nine to become a nurse. As fate would have it I met an artist, who had been in the ‘business’ for almost thirty years. I listened, watched and attended art fairs with him. I met other artists who had chosen this career for their life. I reaccessed my nursing choice, then decided that an artist was my real path. The bonuses being, I’d worked for myself, my studio was at home(no commute), there was travel(to art fairs), I had a foundation of knowledge from my artists friends to help me attain my goals. The downside was: no steady paycheck – uncertainty. Ninety-nine percent of the time I have never regretted my choice. There are times when I don’t get in a show, or the slow months make me second guess that choice. Though the positives so of being an artist creative so outweigh those moments of doubt. Everyday I cannot wait to get into the studio. I have a list a mile long of the sculptures I want to create. It brings such joy to my heart when I’m at a show to see the reaction that people display when they see my work. The same with delivering work to galleries. I get to be near my horses, dogs, cats, chicken and wildlife as I work at home. They all bring me inspiration on a daily basis too. That one percent of time that I speculate that another choice would have been better is mainly because I am interested in so many things. With age comes experience and knowledge. With that I have come to learn that I could have been a Veterinarian, I could have been a Nurse. With each of the careers there would have been positives and negatives. Another career that was intriguing was the career of Frank Bunker Gilbreth which was first introduced to me in the film ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’. Time and motion study. Honestly, my career as an artist combines all the passions that I hold, creating, being with animals, people who share the same passion and joy, time, motion. All and all my life is full. though wouldn’t we all like to have multiple lives to be able to experience all the passions we have? I’ve been fortunate in this last have of my life to be able to combine them all. *bringing pets(dogs, cats, birds…etc.) is now being discouraged, as well as stated that they aren’t allowed at many art fairs. I totally understand and am in agreement. The majority of pets do not enjoy attending -especially in the heat which can be dangerous(heat exhaustion and pads being burned on hot pavement)
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The rewarding aspect of being an artist is the joy that my creations bring to others. Whether they have a piece in their home or the smiles that I see when they view my work at a show or gallery. My work is derived from my own inner joy of creating it. I feel, and have been told, that my pieces emanate that feeling.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The journey through life is full of twists and turns, as well as forks in the road. My initial career was as a ‘Mom’, though I kept my hands(said tongue in cheek) in being creative. Sewing, tole painting, faux finishing, watercolor, then eventually finding clay. ‘Mom’ is a role that always continues, though many times you want to pivot away from it. Finding the happy balance in your personal life, professional life and self life is the key to success. I’ve learned so many lessons through my journey of almost sixty-five years. There are so many more experiences to have, lessons to be learned. I look forward to them all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fatponystudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fatponystudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FatPonyStudio
Image Credits
All images photographed by Julie Kradel