We were lucky to catch up with Michelle De la cruz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I’ve taken was quitting my job at Chick Fil A to become a full time artist. I wanted to pursue tattooing and my artistic hobbies full time. It’s been incredibly life changing because I went from a stressful environment to a place where I can be myself everyday. Though I have to work extra hard to make about the same amount of earnings as I used to make. I still don’t regret it and am blessed to have immense support from my family and friends. I’m sure other artists and creatives can relate to this feeling of wanting to pursue art. It’s a privilege to be able to do this in a world where many don’t see art as a “real” job. But believe me, I was concerned as well to do this because I knew I wouldn’t be working off a reliable income anymore but I’m still determined as ever to make it work. That has been the hardest part about this risk in my life and am still learning on how I can grow in this business to sustain my new life.

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

I was always an artist growing up. I went from mastering colored pencils to watercolor, digital art, and recently ventured into jewelry making. Though I’ve always been fascinated by tattoos so I started learning how to tattoo. I began by creating designs from my art style and tattooing myself and others in an apprenticeship program. I found that I enjoyed it far more than my original career choice in graphic design. So I went to pursue tattooing full time as Monstabat. I’ve even continued jewelry making to sell my creations because it brought me joy to create jewelry. I started to sell my jewelry on Depop as Chellcoello and soon plan to sell handmade tops as well! As a goth myself it’s hard to find pieces that fit my vision so I took matters into my own hands to make my own jackets, shirts and jewelry that I’ve slowly been putting on my Depop. I’m proud that I can still create other pieces of art all while I work full time as an artist. All I can hope is that others who struggle to find unique pieces to share my love for these things.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best way to support artists is to share their work to give artists the opportunity to be seen and heard in a society taken over by the same big companies. Choosing to buy from your favorite artist will support them immensely rather than buying from a big name company. You can get unique one of a kind pieces by purchasing from a small artist that will have people fascinated and even asking where you got it from. It’s a great way to spread an artist’s name because people are always curious and want to see what more an artist has to offer. Getting that extra bit of recognition can sometimes act as our guiding hope in times where it feels as though we aren’t being seen.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My story of resilience is currently being written as I’m still a brand new full time artist. I’m fully determined to make this my way of life even if at times I’m struggling to make ends meet. I was faring better financially back when I had a full time in fast food but my state of mind has never been better than it is now. I’ve had the freedom to be myself and do more than what I ever did before. Despite being barely known, I still make double the effort to grow my business as a tattoo artist, jewelry maker, and illustrator.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Monstabat
• Other: Depop: Depop.com/chellcoello

  Linktree: linktr.ee/cupcake_alpaca