We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kirstan Bilderback a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kirstan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

I absolutely love sharing this story, and frankly, I don’t do it enough! My first creative dollar was earned so unexpectedly. It was my senior year of high school and my art teacher (shout-out to Mr. Wallace) challenged us to create a painting of an everyday object. At the time, my chosen medium was pencil or charcoal, and I was completely terrified of using paint. It was permanent; I couldn’t make a single mistake, at least that’s what I used to think.

Being an assignment, I had no choice but to dive right in. So, I chose my object – a pear – and hoped for the best. My plan was to do a practice painting and then move on to the one I’d officially turn in for a grade. I painted for weeks and, when finished, showed it to my art teacher to get the approval to move on to the next painting. He had bigger plans.

The next art class, Mr. Wallace pulls me aside to let me know that I didn’t need to turn in a new painting. He was amazed at how the “practice” piece had turned out; so amazed that he submitted it to one of the upcoming tri-state art shows. I was surprised but excited! The art show was held a couple of months later, and featured so many artists from surrounding counties. I was floored and honored to be amongst so many talented creators. I couldn’t believe it.

They began announcing winners in the different categories and mediums. I was soaking in all the excitement when the host got to the painting category. I listened and clapped as they read through third place in acrylic paintings, and then second. I lost focus and all sense of self when they announced that I had won FIRST place in acrylic paintings. My aunt hugged me, bringing me back to reality and solidifying that what I’d just heard was true!

I’d just won first place, and $100, on my very first painting, a practice painting of a simple pear.

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

When I originally started selling my art, I tried to keep up with the seasons and failed miserably. It’s not that I don’t enjoy Christmas or a good V-Day celebration, but I had no passion for art that fit those times of year. I drudged through them, with very little interest. Eventually, it dawned on me.

I’m one of those people that waits all year for Halloween and is extremely sad the moment it turns to November 1st. “Spooky Season” is my comfort place. Scary movies, crunchy leaves on the ground and the most fun, creative decorations of any season – I will stand by this forever. Why bury myself in this hole of “rotating holidays” when I can make Halloween art ALL YEAR LONG?

Even better, why just make Halloween art when I can combine it with cutesy, pastel colors?! Instead of painting an homage to the slasher genre in the traditional silver, black, and reds, how about flipping that to pink, purple and GLITTER? Now we’re talking!

I think my favorite part of this realization is that ideas flow to me so easily now! I’m an Intuitive Artist, getting my ideas from the mental images that are prompted by song lyrics or movie quotes. Since I’m naturally drawn to music with deeper themes and, typically, horror movies, the ideas are triggered regularly!

I’m currently working on some business changes to help me better tap into my creativity and use my admin time more efficiently. I have some seriously cool horror-vibe art coming and I couldn’t be more excited!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Ah, this is great timing. I’m actually in the process of doing this now. I’ve been selling my artwork for a few years now and it’s getting increasingly more difficult, especially in the online space. Social Media is a big part of marketing, but it also completely drains my creativity. In recent months I’ve realized that in order to grow and thrive as an artist, I have to pull back on how active I am in that space, at least for now.

For content creators, the content IS the art. For artists, we create the art and also create the content to market the art. It’s incredibly exhausting and hard to sustain long-term. I’ve noticed that a lot of the full-time artists, I’ve observed, don’t spend a lot of time on socials. Their growth comes from in-person events, emails and the occasional social post.

It’s about finding the right balance and I’m still working on that. I’m shifting myself more away from the online environment to connect more with my local art community.

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

I love when people see my art and comment that it’s “different” or “unique”. I’m a big fan of juxtaposition – opposites that shouldn’t work together but somehow do. Of course, you can really see that in my pastel Halloween art. I’ve been at several events where people have stopped by my table or booth and mentioned that they love my Ghost Tarot series because they’ve “never seen anything like that before”.

I want to bring interesting and new things into the world, whether that’s my own sparkly horror creations or a vision someone has entrusted me to bring to life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://uncharteddexart.myshopify.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncharteddexart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnchartedDexArt