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

Normandie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve always been a creative person and grew up with parents who were also creative and did a lot of home diy projects and interior decorating. They encouraged me to draw and put up with my making of odd creations in my room. I was the kind of kid who wanted to put on productions and do the costume design and choreography, etc. When I was choosing a major I was drawn to illustration because it was flexible as a concentration in art and could incorporate lettering, comics, storytelling, etc. It wasn’t until the end of my undergraduate experience that I started learning about surface design, but I was naturally interested in that field before fully understanding what it was. I was always interested in product packaging, textiles and patterns and would walk around a store and notice how illustration was applied commercially. My path to surface design wasn’t linear and in many ways I’m still developing that path for myself, but I would say that I have dabbled in making products here and there and have grown that aspect of my work over time. A few years ago, I started selling a few Christmas cards for the holidays online and I expanded on that each year. After building a small collection of greeting card designs I connected with the Lauren Alyssa Group which has helped me to grow my work further. I’m excited to develop other products for stationary, invitations, textiles, etc.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think it’s difficult as a creative person to not be overwhelmed by all of the possibilities and to not compare yourself to other artist’s and their careers, especially with the influence of social media. Sometimes I see friends or artists that I admire working on a project and I think, oh, should I try that? I get excited about so many different ideas, like, maybe I should write a graphic novel and get into comics, or maybe I should design a tea set. I just want to make all of the things! I’m currently trying to narrow my own choices and to take some pots off of the stove so I can make one recipe at a time instead of having 5 going simultaneously and inevitably getting pasta sauce all over the place. But with that being said, I do love that a creative career can be flexible and evolve.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think there’s sometimes a perception that a creative career is not practical, and perhaps there’s some truth that it’s not necessarily the same as something like training for a nursing certificate and then finding a nursing job, although there are plenty of stable, full time jobs in the creative field. I’ve had this debate with myself and other well meaning people about making wise career choices. There can be an aspect of the hustle life style and often creatives have multiple income streams which means there are multiple plates spinning, but I also think that’s an aspect of millennial life anyways. Our current job market just doesn’t look the same as it did 30-40 years ago. And I think at the end of the day, a maker’s gotta make. I’ve had the full time desk job and I was still racing home every night to work on my own projects, it’s just something I’m driven to do. If I’m not working on a project I’ll feel directionless.
I also do have confidence that if you want to build a sustainable creative career, it’s absolutely possible. It might not look traditional and to some people it may not feel practical, but there’s pros and cons to each path, but if you have a focus and create a game plan, there’s definitely a way to make things work and to have a meaningful and rewarding career.   

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.normandieluscher.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/normandieillustration/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NormandieIllustration
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LWU9zsTQei7sxCLNTk4FQ

Image Credits
Spooks And Spells photo by Christa Cutler