Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lilith Jenovax. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lilith, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I feel this is a tough question that artists seem to battle with, both internally and externally, throughout their lifetime with or without pursuing art or creativity as a full-time career. There is a constant juggle between happiness, fulfillment, finances, and collective exhaustion; these things of course are not special to the art world, but it does seem to be something we struggle with more than most. I think this stems from a few different reasons: the constant push and pull between doing something purely as a hobby or a career, imposter syndrome, the need to create artwork that often may not be where your passion truly lies in order to pay the bills, and the overwhelming burnout that comes with being one’s own marketing, finance, scheduling, and business agent all in one (not even counting the actual art part!). A “regular job” promises a lot of things (typically) that a career as a freelance artist does not. In a standard job that one would work long-term, the worker is awarded regularity and comfortability from a steady and predictable income, sometimes along with healthcare and a 401K. As a full-time, self-employed artist, this all comes down to you. There is no safety net, there is no guaranteed paycheck every week, and there is also no specified time to “clock in” and “clock out.” Of course, in today’s world, many jobs do not even provide some of these basic things; however, there is still much less business pressure on the back of a worker who has no real investment in the position they are in. As an artist, it is all or nothing. Sink or swim. Quit or pivot.
Unfortunately, as today’s world continues to decrease wages while increasing costs of living, I find myself questioning a career in the art world a lot. I turned 30 years old this year, and I’ve never made more than $30,000 in my entire life (which is one reason I laugh when folks say artists, or particularly models, are ‘in it for the money’). I have a college degree that I am thankful to have and even quite enjoyed pursing, but… art is my life. Whether or not it was my career, I would do it; it is as easy and necessary as breathing. But when I look around, I see so many struggling the same as me, if not worse, working to the bone for someone high above that does not care about them. I wish it was not that way, and this path is not necessarily easier or harder than the former, but I want to live and work for me. I want to work for myself and for others that appreciate my thoughts, my work, my abilities. I want to share my views with the world in a way that is beautiful and different. I want to create, and I want to survive. So that is what I must do.
Am I happy? Sometimes. Am I unhappy? No.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Lilith Jenovax, I am 30 years old, and I was born and raised in North Georgia. I’ve been putting my hands into the buckets of art ever since my little fingers could wiggle, and I’ve been told I sang before I ever talked. I always wanted to be a singer, and that is where my love for the arts began (and where my heart feels the most full and free). Unfortunately, that is not my current money-maker (working on it), but I did release my freshman album, Only Temporary, back in 2021. Many, many years before that, I found my love for photography around age 12 after browsing Tumblr (back in it’s heyday – you know what I mean). All of the moody aesthetics, the artistic nudes, the gorgeous lighting and emotions… it made me feel a lot of things. It made me want to capture beauty, permanently, the way I saw it. So, I begged my mother for a DSLR, and after many weekends of saving my allowance, she matched me on price, and we snagged a $400 Sony a230. From there, my photography journey began, and by the time I was 18, my self-portraits had caught the attention of local photographers. It took off from there.
Around then, I was in college at the University of North Georgia, where I obtained my Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology in 2019. I worked as an artist through school and by the time I graduated, COVID had shut the world down, and I continued my work as well as I could from home (seeing as there wasn’t much other job opportunity happening). From there, I never stopped.
These days, I’m continuing to pursue music and live performances, I work as both a photographer and a model, and I’ve even begun crafting and selling my work at local vendors. I’m always looking for different ways to communicate my work to new audiences (and maybe sell a few pieces along the way).

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There is not one goal or mission in particular that drives my creative journey other than an inherent need to create and communicate. I feel artwork, whether it be in films, photographs, paintings, poems, et cetera, is one of our versions of universal language; it can speak to so many different things, with so many different interpretations, with an endless number of dominos falling through novel ideas. I want to show what I see, what I feel, what I believe, in ways that make someone stop and look and listen. I want to make others think and reflect, as well as myself.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I truly think one of the best things that society can do to support artists is to pay attention to politics and the socioeconomic status of the environment. Whether we like it or not, politics are tied closely into what helps not only artists thrive, but everyone. However, when times are rough, the art seems to get shut down the fastest (I cannot tell you how many times my high school theater and art department got cut for the football teams). Artists have always been vocal about current struggles and challenges for all walks of life. Listen to them (and also, cancel your Spotify if you care about small musicians like me! Fight for our rights with us!).

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LilithJenovax/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LilithJenovax/
• Twitter: https://x.com/LilithJenovax
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/LilithJenovax/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lilithjenovax

Image Credits

LEM Photography
John Stalter Photography
Minds I Obscure Photography
David Lebow Photography
Lilith J. Photography (me!)