We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Loni Lilley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Loni below.
Loni, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a very artistic household. My mom was a self taught artist who would teach art lessons out of our home during the summer time and my dad had once been a carpenter who always had a woodshop where he built anything my mom could dream up. My older sister is one of the most talented watercolor artists I have ever met, and growing up in her shadow was a difficult task. I could never quite find where my art talent shined the best at, and even though I loved drawing cartoons and was amazed at the world of animation, I did not think my art was good enough. Feeling less than good enough, I went through a long phase of not drawing and turned my focus to other things. As a freshman in high school, I signed up for the journalism class thinking I would go into this career field and work at a newspaper or magazine as a writer. Halfway through the year, my journalism teacher promoted me to her yearbook class. During this class, I was introduced to the world of adobe illustrator, photoshop and indesign and the pathway of Graphic Design.
Seeing how technology and art could combine together to create something still so beautiful led me back to the idea that maybe I could be an animator. I applied to the Art Institute of Houston, and touring their facility was such a breathtaking experience. I loved getting to see so many creative people in one place. However, the more I learned about their programs the more I realized that I wanted more than a certificate of study and so I started looking up where I could get a Bachelors. There was no way I could afford to attend school out of state, and living in a college town, I always knew that I would attend Lamar University. I was very reluctant at first because I felt that I would never reach my dream job by attending the local university, but my parents had me go meet with the Dean of Art and it was love at first sight. Lamar University offered a Bachelors of Science in Graphic Design which also required me to take classes in all of the art mediums. To this day, I still tell my students how important it is to understand all types of art and find ways to be creative that are not just graphic design. Having other outlets is healthy and helps you get past design blocks.
I am now currently a Graphic Design teacher for the CTE program at Chapel Hill High School, as well as a freelance designer that focuses on digital art and branding for local businesses. I love that I still get to do what I am passionate about, as well as spreading that joy to my students. Seeing students fall in love with Graphic Design has been the highlight of my teaching career so far. It is so rewarding to know that I am aiding in bringing the world a new generation of designers.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I graduated college in 2014 with a degree in Graphic Design. I was bouncing from job to job doing freelance work, and it was exciting at first, but I felt like something was missing. So I started my online teaching certification and now I am going into my 8th year as a teacher. When COVID hit and teachers began working from home, I bought myself an iPad and Apple Pencil as a birthday gift. I wasn’t feeling the spark with my personal art anymore and was searching for ways to feel creative again. I wanted to find a way to bridge my love for graphic design with my personal art and that is how I fell into digital art. One of my friends suggested that I do a challenge and gave me the idea to do the months of the year as donuts. What started as a quirky project ended up helping me activate my art Facebook page again after years of not being used. In October 2020 we were living in Beaumont,TX, and I was searching the VisitBeaumont page to see if there were any events I could bring my family too. This is when I came across their art contest for a design for their next city sticker. I knew I had to enter! Once the voting was over, I ended up winning with almost 400 likes and my sticker was made and distributed at local events. With all the hype and shares from the contest, I decided to start an Instagram account just for my art to help showcase my new art. At first I was commissioned to do a lot of family portraits, pets and homes but then one day someone reached out to see if I could do their logo for their new business. Before I knew it, I was back doing branding for small businesses. Every month I would be shocked at all the new clients reaching out saying they heard of me and my work. I am coming up on 2 years of having my art Instagram and I am still in shock that my hobby turned into a side business that is continuing to grow.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I personally love getting to see my clients get excited when they see the branding that I have designed for their business. For them, their business is their new baby and it takes a lot of trust for them to put their visions in a designer’s hands. I do not take that role lightly, and strive to create something that they feel captures what they had hoped for. When you get the design right, it is seriously the best feeling in the world.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
It really is just as simple as liking a post, sharing and recommending them when you hear of jobs. You do not have to spend money to support somebody. Word of mouth helps more than you can imagine.
Contact Info:
- Website: LoniLilleyArt.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/LoniLilleyArt
- Facebook: Facebook.com/lonililleyart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lonililley/