We recently connected with Preston Craig and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Preston, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.
In both my B.A. and M.F.A. program, emphasis was placed on learning or refining ones skills. While this is great and necessary, there was no emphasis placed on how to prepare for the marketplace once one graduated. There were no internships provided or guidance for job search, preparing for a job interview, or setting up one’s business as a contract freelancer. For some odd reason, the schools didn’t seem to think this was important. After my B.A., it took me many years of struggling to finely land a decent job as an illustrator. Unfortunately, the company dynamics left a lot to be desired and I eventually left. After a goodly while, I decided to go for my M.F.A. The school (Academy of Art) made a lot of promises to encourage me to enroll in their program (the success rate of their graduates, their job placement program, putting one in contact with potential employers, teaching experience, setting up portfolio reviews with major companies, etc.). I did some due diligence to make sure these weren’t empty promises and they mostly seemed to check out. It was only a few months before I graduated that I discovered that this had all been a lie. The Academy provided none of this.. Their recruiter lied in order to get me to enroll. The Academy has been sued several times for fraud and misrepresentation. I was on my own. They didn’t even provide me an opportunity for an MFA exhibit. It took over a year before I could land an Adjunct teaching position with a college that was a 3 hour drive away from where I lived. I was only able to make this long trek for one semester before my vehicle gave out and it took me another year before I was able to land another Adjunct teaching position. I did what freelancing I could to survive but my student loans have left me $250K in debt and I have no hope of ever paying them off. So yes, the educational system needs a major overhaul to better prepare students for the job market and to actually help them in securing a position.
Preston, 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?
After my B.A. in Applied Arts, I bounced around for a number of years at various jobs before I made a major move to CA, where the job prospects were better. I also struggled there but I had many more opportunities. Because of my experience as an illustrator/graphic designer, I was hired and trained by a private company on one of the first computer graphic systems, As a result, I’ve worked for the aerospace industry, the military industrial complex, the health industry, the entertainment industry and state governments. At the same time, I also dabbled in acting and voice over work. The computer graphic job led me to working overseas in Norway, Denmark and England. My time there gave me the opportunity to travel to 15 different countries and explore some of the areas I had read about in Art History. After returning to the states, I worked as a freelance contractor for a few companies but the industry was changing and I struggled to find employment. To supplement my income, I became an assistant manager at a gallery. It didn’t pay very well but it kept the lights on. Situated above the gallery was a 99 seat theater that put on live productions. One day their manager asked if I’d be interested in painting some backdrops for a production. I agreed to do so and the extra experience and money proved fruitful. I won a Theater Guild Award for my work and when I saw that a company was looking for large format painters, I applied. I was hired and ended up working on the Paris Casino in Las Vegas and was then asked to be part of the team that was hired to go to Tokyo to work on a huge project there. I lived in Japan for about 7 months. The work was hard but I got to see a part of the world I had always wanted to visit.
Upon returning to the states, I started my own Faux Finish/Mural business. I worked mostly in Los Angeles for both private and business clients. At one point, I was hired by a fellow artist that was putting together a team to paint a series of murals on Hollywood Blvd. It was called the “Hollywood Night Gallery” since the murals were painted on the roll down doors covering the storefronts and one could only see the murals once the stores closed their business for the day. It provided some great visibility and a company hired me to paint a mural on a school auditorium facade. Unfortunately, the company, HBT, was not a very responsive or reputable company and fell down on some of their promises. As a result, I hurt my back on scaffolding while creating the mural and was unable to finish the mural. The company got someone else to finish my work and the school was very disappointed and wanted me back but the company denied their request.
Because of my injury, I decided to return to school and get my M.F.A. so at least I could become a college teacher. I learned college administrations are very political. I began my program at a state college but the head of the program. a feminist, Ms. Pistolezzi, didn’t like my work and would not approve me for advancement, even though, at the time, I had a 4.0 grade average. She wouldn’t even look at my portfolio. I applied to a couple of private colleges and even though I thought I had been diligent in my research, I chose the wrong college (Academy of Art University). Their courses were generally good but the administration misrepresented their services and the success rate of their graduates. They have been sued multiple times for fraud but somehow they are still in business. In any case, I did earn my MFA, graduating Cum Laude, and did eventually teach at a few different colleges, the last one being UCLA. I turned my MFA thesis into a part-time business called “Twisted Teddys” (www.twistedteddys.com). I sell my designs as prints, on t-shirts and a host of other products on “https://www.redbubble.com/people/1Artdude”. Also, I ended up teaching part-time at a private art school for Chinese students. However, once the COVID pandemic hit, all the teaching jobs shut down so I moved out of Los Angeles because it was just too expensive to remain there.
At present, most of my creative services are centered around my contract freelance work as an illustrator/graphic designer, teaching art instruction part-time for a private company and occasionally doing voice over work. I take commissions for my fine art and continue to exhibit my work locally and nationally. I feel what sets me apart from others is my vast amount of experience in multiple fields and my attention to detail. I can do just about anything. I continue to work with my teddys and presently have a manufacturer working on creating a prototype for a plush teddy version of my character “Red Neck Teddy”. Once the prototype is approved, it will be marketed and sold through a new toy company called “Kids, Pets & More, Inc.” (www.kidspetsnmore.com). I am the CEO of the company.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had worked in Japan as a muralist/faux artist, on a 60,000 sq.ft. shopping center and when I returned to the states after 8 months, I started a business doing murals and faux finishes for private homes and business sites. Making connections and advertising at first, was a challenge but as work got out and friends referred me, I began to get busier. An artist friend, hired me to work with her on a mural for Bob Barker (The Price is Right) at CBS Studios in Los Angeles. It was a great experience and I got to meet some celebs and leave a lasting memory to his history. The same artist got contracted by a company (HBT) in Hollywood to create a series of murals on metal, roll down security doors on Hollywood Blvd., which would be titled the Hollywood Night Gallery. All the work was at night when the stores were closed but it was a great project painting pictures of Hollywood movie stars next to their stars on the Walk of Fame. After that, the same company, hired me to create a very large mural on a high school performing arts center. I hired another artist to help me and the job was going great. Unfortunately HBT fell down on their ability to provide me with services I needed to complete the mural. As a result, I got hurt on the job and was unable to finish the mural. After about a year of Physical Therapy, I decided to go back to school and earn my MFA in Illustration/Painting. I graduated Cum laude and this led to a sporadic career in college teaching.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Initially, I financed everything. However, what really helped to give my business boost is that I started a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign. I didn’t raise all the capital I needed but I did raise enough to give my business a boost and produce more sales for my art, t-shirts, prints, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.twistedteddys.com or www.kidspetsnmore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonarts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrestonArts
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/PrestonArts
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PrestonArts
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=wXYJCOnetRgRvhyai4r8bg
- Other: https://www.redbubble.com/people/1Artdude/shop?asc=u
