We were lucky to catch up with Rik Herrmann recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rik, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

The hard part is being able to hear the following statement: You can achieve your dream, provided you are willing to accept that it might not look exactly how you thought. That’s a Rick Rubin quote that is liberating when taken to heart. Find a way – any way you can – to continue to create your art relatively consistently. I have a day job, and several evening jobs, in order to continue to create art. Focusing solely on “earning a full-time living from your creative work” is a trap that stifles creativity. Instead, just find a way to pay your bills while still exploring your creativity, regardless of if anything sells. That’s how you win as an artist.

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?

Other than being a father, serving as host for a weekly Poetry and Spoken Word Reading is the most rewarding use of my time creatively. We celebrate our third birthday at the end of February, and that is mind blowing to think how well the community has embraced the written and spoken word.

I currently curate two art galleries here in Chattanooga – the Wanderlinger Art Gallery (WAG) for five years and the ClearStory Arts Gallery for one year. This has afforded me opportunity to meet and experience hundreds of local artists in various stages of their careers.

As a visual artist, I committed to the path of becoming the best possible version of my artistic self – whatever that may be. There are a handful of paintings, out of hundreds I’ve done, that I feel are successful. That’s a small percentage, but that’s ok with me.

The best thing about my current roles is being able to serve the artist community in various ways. I get far more joy from watching a first-time artist make their first sale, or a first-time poet do their first public reading, or seeing someone experience an art gallery for the first time. We have created such a wonderful community here in Chattanooga, and it feels so nice to be a part of that.

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

Building a supportive community of and for creative minds is my mission, and it has taken root, been watered and fed, and has blossomed every so brilliantly here in Chattanooga. It’s a simple practice of accepting people for who they are and listening to what they have to say, either through words, art, or whichever creative outlet they prefer.

The voices shared at Poetry nights have been absolutely crucial in teaching me how to be a better human being, and the environment is focused squarely on acceptance of our differences. It isn’t easy to hear a challenging viewpoint, but when understanding is the main goal, you learn how to embrace it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Audience. Being focused on your audience is a trap. Create the art that makes you happy, that brings you joy, and that is important to you. Otherwise, it’s a drain of your energy. If you create art that resonates within you, it will also resonate within others.

This approach helps get you into a “fearless creative” mindset, which is what I encourage all my artists to strive for. It isn’t easy, but it does get easier.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Wanderlinger Art Gallery
• Facebook: Wanderlinger Art Gallery

Image Credits
All image credits to Rik Herrmann