We recently connected with Lea Ann Slotkin and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lea Ann, thanks for joining us today. Are you 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?

I love this topic. I’m often asked about how I got started selling my work. To me, that question is like putting the cart before the horse.

If you decide you want to pursue a full time career as an artist, I find it helpful to think about it like you’re building a house. You would start with a strong foundation, which in this case would be your artistic voice or style. You need to get that really dialed in since everything flows from it.

Next would be your framing/drywall, plumbing and electricity ( I think, I really don’t know much about construction ;)) This would be your marketing, building an email list, applying to shows/events, building a simple website. Basically, creating a strong back end for your business to flow from.

Next would be the final details like fixtures, paint colors, lighting, etc…this is your sales cycle. You put your work out into the world and see what feedback you get back. Is it selling? Great! You’ve figured some things out, keep tweaking and making improvements. No sales? Also great, because it’s information you need to make adjustments until you start selling your work.

I think we like to overcomplicate it which I totally understand because the work we are selling comes from us, is made by our hands and feels very personal. I like to think of it as a big experiment I am conducting, everything is giving me useful information to be used to get me closer to my goals.

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

With my artwork I try to capture the intensity and extravagance of the natural world. By combining collage, acrylics, and other mixed media, I want to be able to translate the miracles I see in the world around me. Not an easy task, I know. In my collage work, I often incorporate bits of collected and found objects, which I hope gives my work a depth of character and a dash of nostalgia.

I’ve been very fortunate, my artwork has been collected by private collectors throughout the Southeast. She is represented in Atlanta through The Atlanta Artist Collective as well as working with many other designers and professionals. My work has been featured by the design company Serena and Lily as part of their art offerings. Additionally, I’ve worked with the national custom framing company, Framebridge, on a collaboration to showcase my artwork.

When I made the decision to transition from a corporate career to a full time artist I hired a coach who helped me make the transition. I fell in love with coaching and became a certified coach. My business now combines the two things she loves most, creating and selling my art, and coaching fellow creatives to do the same. I help fellow artists to be as enthusiastic about building their creative business as they are about creating their art. I’m here to debunk the myth of the “starving artist.”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When trying anything new, especially as a second or maybe third career it can be difficult to embrace being a beginner. I had to work hard to be ok not knowing how to do so many things, I had to ask for help, admit I didn’t have answers and be ok with it.

Thankfully, I have found the creative community to be quite generous. I’ve never had an artist or coach be unwilling to share their thoughts or give advice when asked. Now that I have a small bit of knowledge under my belt through a lot of trial and error, I am happy to do the same when asked.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had known about the power of belonging to a mastermind group or any like minded group of creative entrepreneurs. A creative career can be lonely, since most of the work we do can only be completed by our own hands.

Coming from a corporate career I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed the camaraderie and exchange of ideas that naturally occur when working within an organization, that went away when I decided to pursue my art career full time.

It took some time for me to figure out how to create a new structure and I had to try several things including joining various groups or organizations until I found what worked best for me. Personally, I am a big fan of being involved in a mastermind group where there is a safe space to pursue similar goals, share ideas and have accountability. I recommend finding a group of like minded individuals who are willing push you out of your comfort zone when needed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leaannslotkin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leaannslotkin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leaannslotkin/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lea-ann-slotkin-a90b21127/

Image Credits
headshot image fromthehipatlanta