We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maria Bakke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maria below.

Alright, Maria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Art has always been a big part of my life! Through my childhood, I was always buried in a sketchbook every chance I could get. I always loved the idea of making art for a living, but I honestly didn’t think that was something I could even do. I figured I needed to choose something that would be more financially promising, even though it might not be my favorite thing to do. That all changed for me when, in my senior year of high school, a family friend asked me to illustrate a children’s book for her. That was my lightbulb moment, and I knew that was the road I needed to follow.

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?

My name is Maria Bakke, and I’m the owner and illustrator of Little Songbird Illustrations! I make all kinds of things, and illustrate them all digitally. My small business journey started after I illustrated my first children’s book at the end of high school, and I decided I wanted to pursue art as my career. Around this time, I started seeing all kinds of artists my age starting their own small businesses on social media, and I wanted to see if I could do that too. After a little researching and a whole lot of prayer, I launched my Etsy store in July of 2023! Since then, I’ve started making stickers, greeting cards, keychains, tote bags, mugs, and much more! My cat Annabelle supervises all of my work, from the illustrating to the actual making process. She ensures everything is up to standard, and she is very good at her job! I’ve been documenting my journey on Instagram since the beginning, and every week I share behind the scenes footage and more. It hasn’t been the easiest journey and I know I’ve got a long way to go, but I feel like I’m where I need to be!

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

The most rewarding part for me is seeing how people react to my art! I really love seeing people’s faces, both young and old, light up at my stickers and my other items at local events. It makes my day every time!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to be able to run my business full-time and be able to have my own little studio someday, but there’s a big one I really want to achieve – I want my work to bring light to someone’s day, and I want to inspire artists of all ages. I did an event recently, and something happened that changed my perspective completely. A young girl came to my booth, and as she looked around at my things I could see this wonderful curiosity blooming on her face. She started asking me all kinds of questions, like how long some of my illustrations took me, and how I got to where I am today. It felt so fulfilling and it made me want to chase that feeling. There are times where I get so caught up in all the stress that comes with building a small business, and I forget how fortunate I am to be in this position right now. Building a business, especially as an artist, can be scary and more than a little discouraging sometimes – but if my younger self could see everything that I’ve done up to this point, I think she would be just as excited as that kid at my booth. A couple years ago, I thought being an artist was impossible for me to do, and now here I am building a business by drawing fluffy cows and woodland landscapes! If I can bring that kind of wonder to everyone that sees me and my work, young or old, that would be more valuable to me than all the money in the world. Maybe there’s someone out there that really wants to be an artist, but feels like that isn’t attainable for them. Maybe after seeing me and hearing my story, I can inspire them to follow their calling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://littlesongbirdco.etsy.com/
• Instagram: @littlesongbird.illustrations
• Facebook: Little Songbird Illustrations