We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kiersten Rucker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kiersten below.
Alright, Kiersten thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve heard the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy” plenty of times in my life but it wasn’t until I dove into a creative life that the phrase rang so true. One of the hardest and most unexpected problems has been not comparing my artwork or artistic style to someone else’s. When you’re a creative person trying to make this a full time job you need to find ways to push out your work so social media presence is inevitable. Once you jump into that world you start to see more artists and it can be overwhelming when starting out. You keep asking yourself if the Art you make is palatable to an audience, if your Instagram stories are getting as high of a reach as another artist that is also working in the same media. It’s something I didn’t prepare myself for and it made me constantly doubt the work I was doing, the photos I was posting, was my “brand” distinct enough on my pages, was I using the right trending audio, etc. It became such a stressor after a while. I found myself strategizing more than I was creating.
Through some searching, I found other artists in the same boat – struggling to create without the echo of chasing the algorithm in the back of their heads. The main point that came across was that yes, it’s important to promote your work, but you can find ways to make content about your work and not allow it to make you lose your vision for your Art or yourself in the process. It might be something as simple as switching platforms from Instagram or TikTok or to YouTube. I’ve made the decision to shift towards YouTube and focus on other side projects I’m interested in that I wouldn’t have done before for the simple fact I was worried they didn’t match my “brand”. The solution ends up being to do what you want with your Art! For too long I worried how my work looked compared to everyone else’s. It doesn’t need to be that way.
When first starting out with Art, I was in middle school and used it as a means to destress and not think about anything that was bothering me at the time. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was in 8th grade and Art helped me work through the feelings that came with that. I could let it all out with my Art. I loved using bright colors, lines and shapes. I got an art supply set for Christmas and I used the paints all the time. I signed up for Art my sophomore year of high school after my mom passed away. It was a chance to really express complex feelings I had after my mom’s death. It didn’t end up being the experience I had hoped for. I started to see that other people’s Art wasn’t like mine and we weren’t taught about any Art that looked like mine. Everyone else was able to make these amazing pieces that were so realistic. My work was always abstract. I felt like I was doing Art wrong and that I needed to be more like the people creating realistic work. All of the “oohs” and “ahhs” were for the realistic pieces. I didn’t take another Art class after that because I thought it just wasn’t something I was meant to do. I shifted to photography as a means to capture things that were real since I didn’t feel I was successful at portraying that with painting or drawing. After a while I didn’t make much art on my own because realism just didn’t feel fun and expressive for me. In the end, comparison stole my joy.
I think of those experiences in the past and how I still compared my work to others as an adult when I started posting on social media. I have to remind myself that I don’t need my pieces to look like anyone else’s. I can experiment and create things that I love. I don’t need to pigeon hole myself into one medium – I can paint, draw, use spray paint on canvas, make watercolor paintings, make Twilight themed bracelets, design funky sunglasses, use old vinyl as a canvas – the goal is to learn about these different materials and have fun while doing it. The vast world of social media can be beneficial but it can also hit that corner of your mind that tries to make you compare yourself to others or try to convince you to give up. I know better than that now and moving forward I remind myself that social media is a great tool but not the end all be all of success in Art.
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 back background and context?
After high school I stayed interested in the Visual Arts and hoped to get into cinematography and script writing. If my Art wasn’t comparable to what was expected then maybe film and scriptwriting is where I needed to be. I absolutely loved writing and photography. I hoped to go to college in San Francisco but was discouraged from doing so. I remember my dad saying “that city will eat you alive”. Instead I stayed in Texas and attended Sam Houston State University (they didn’t have their film program at the time, but I hoped for the best and I had to stay close to home). Unfortunately some restructuring in the Communications department meant I didn’t have as great of a Senior year as others did. I didn’t get to experience much of the filming and editing as friends a year ahead of me did. My Photography classes were the one thing holding me close to creating Art.
Once I graduated in 2006, through many ups and downs of the post-college job hunt, I ended up working at a dry cleaners and then an after school program where I ended up falling back into Art. I loved creating lessons for the kids (K-4) and even created a full Art show for the parents to see the artwork. I got to meet the Art teacher at the elementary school where the program was held and I volunteered in her class. I eventually made the choice to go through alternative certification for teaching. I took night classes, got my references in order but still couldn’t get a teaching job. Many of my coworkers were shocked because I worked so well with the kids and parents and had great lessons for the after school program. I decided I would go back to college and get a Bachelor’s in Art. At this point, Art was my hobby and I felt like official training in Art would increase my chances. That combined with my after school program experience plus my classroom volunteering meant they couldn’t say no. I moved to Houston by myself in 2011, worked two jobs and went to the University of Houston full time for two years. In the summer of 2013 after I graduated, I was able to get a teaching job. I remember getting the call, dropping to my knees and sobbing that I had finally made this happen.
I taught elementary Art for three years and middle school Art (my favorite) for three years. After a while, I still had the itch to do more with Art. Teaching threw me head first into the high number of stressed out adults (including myself). I knew wine and paint classes were big but I wanted to do something different. What if adults had a place where they could go alone or with friends and have some fun with Art supplies? I could create a low pressure environment for creating a piece that wasn’t required to go on the wall – just experiment with various Art supplies and maybe have a drink and nibble on some food? I started researching the idea and came up with a business plan.
I left the classroom in 2019 and began Dazed Art Studio. I created a series of pop up Art classes and was invited to use space at Thistle Draftshop in Spring, Texas. The most popular classes were “Doodle for Stress Relief” and “Naughty Calligraphy”. It was a wonderful experience! People had so much fun and I loved that my classes were bringing people joy. Then March 2020 came and it all came crumbling down. I didn’t know what I was going to do anymore. I still wanted to do something that had an impact. I ended up taking another teaching job in the fall of 2020 in a different district and it wasn’t a good experience whatsoever. I knew this wasn’t what I was meant to do anymore. I missed planning the adult classes, meeting people, having fun conversations and making Art.
I ultimately left teaching for good in 2021 and started building my Art back up again. I took the time to think things through, research and understand what it was I really wanted to do. I entered Art shows and was accepted in one at Hardy and Nance studios as well as The Big Show at Lawndale Art Center. I sold artwork at Art markets and still had the itch for adult Art classes. Now I am rebuilding my website to offer online Art classes for adults and working on a YouTube channel that explores how to use various Art supplies. I’m hoping to resume in person Art classes again in the near future under my artist brand, Bella Graffito.
During the time I was operating as Dazed Art Studio, I held events that were low pressure and experimental when it came to supplies and the final product. My favorite class was Doodle for Stress relief. I always tell people that teaching adults is just like teaching younger students; their eyes still widen and they get giddy when they discover something new they didn’t realize they could do. That happened so many times during that class! Many didn’t realize that creating these drawings would really help them destress or that they could make something beautiful with no experience. I still have a couple people who took those classes who message me today and tell me they got new pens to try or they made a drawing because they still remember the class.
That is the impact I want to have. I want adults to have that feeling of exploration and joy just like my students did when I was teaching in schools. Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun and draw or paint. You can 100% do these things! It can be a 5 minute doodle, a 20 minute drawing or hour long painting. I am honored to be the person that can help you through it! I am excited to start these classes again. The world can be such a mess and so stressful sometimes. It’s great to have Art as a coping mechanism to help get us through it.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Working as a creative has given me the opportunity to be expressive in ways I didn’t think were possible. My paintings especially help me work through emotions I may have trouble finding the words to describe. It doesn’t always have to be sadness; it can be excitement, happiness, contentment. All of these things I can put into a painting. When I search for titles for my paintings, I try not to be too direct. I want viewers of the work to feel their own emotions and have the lines, shapes and colors guide their own meaning from it.
Working with Art has helped me look deeper into my emotions and what I’m feeling. There are many things in my life that have very complex feelings attached and working through them with my Art helps me define those feelings and understand myself a bit more. It’s very therapeutic.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
February 2020 was the last event I was able to hold as Dazed Art Studio. It was a Galentine’s Day Extravaganza and honestly the most fun I ever had with my adult Art classes! I went all out with decor, a photo wall and centerpieces (I love Texas Keeper Cider and used the empty bottles as vases for flowers). I had a raffle and of course we all did an Art project together while everyone ate and had drinks. I was planning more events like that one but the pandemic shut all of that down. Months passed and I had no idea what I was going to do.
With the time I had at home I launched my personal Art website BellaGraffito.com in May of 2020 so I could still connect with people through my artwork. I was excited to sell a few pieces and see how people hung my work in their homes. As summer came along I realized there was no going back to the in person classes so I worked one last year teaching Art. I tried to keep my spirits up but knew teaching in that capacity wasn’t the path I was meant to be on anymore. In the summer of 2021 I dedicated all of my time to researching what was going to be the best option for my artwork and my classes. I’m happy with how things are moving along now! I’m working solely under my artist business, Bella Graffito, and will shift to Dazed Art Studio once I decide to move to a brick and mortar studio space. I’m working on creating online courses and building up a YouTube channel. This is the shift that had to happen out of necessity and I feel fortunate that I’m able to carry on with my business. It looks a little different than I imagined, but I’m excited to see how it blossoms.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bellagraffito.com
- Instagram: @BellaGraffito