We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rinn Wight a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rinn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Although my name is Corinne, I tend to go by Rinn. I am a visual artist originally from a quaint waterfront town on Long Island, currently residing in Bushwick, New York. I received my AOS and BFA in Communication Design from Pratt Institute. Shortly after graduating, I found myself working at a startup marketing agency; I was responsible for overseeing the artistic aspects of all, including publications, web development, digital marketing, and product design. Things were going well until 2020.

I was one of the unfortunate souls who found themselves jobless due to the pandemic, but rather than let all the bad news get me down; I saw this as an opportunity to redefine myself as an artist and set new goals. I realized although my role in marketing was enriching, I longed to create my voice and style rather than mimic others. I decided to dig deep and start drawing in my sketchbook again, writing stories and illustrating what I was going through. I felt more confident in my work than I had in years. I knew I needed to expand on this and make a career change from marketing to illustration.

As of right now, I am expanding my education in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology and am on track to complete my Master’s in 2024. My goal as an illustrator is to share my stories so that they might resonate with others and help them feel heard.

Rinn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

A little about me: I’m a visual designer that uses mixed media, from traditional to digital. My work focuses on narrative storytelling. When conceptualizing a project, I go back and forth between digital and physical pieces of work, depending on what the job calls for. I tend to work on Mac and WACOM tablet. I find by using traditional and digital mediums, my designs are more fluid and dynamic. Currently, I am self-employed, working as a Freelance Illustrator/Graphic Designer and adjunct Professor at Pratt Institute, teaching various design classes in the AOS program.

I came from a single-parent household, but I grew up surrounded by strong-willed women. My grandmother was a power house of a graphic designer and painter, who, at a young age, fueled my passion for the arts. My supportive mother saw this passion and worked hard (two or more jobs at a time) to ensure I had all the tools and opportunities I needed to hone my craft, and my nana, her mother, gave me the space to create in her home.

Growing up, I only had an interest in artistic-expression, and when I learned I could make a profession out of it, it was all I wanted to do. The school district I attended had a heavy art program that taught me everything from photoshop, 3D rendering to drawing painting skills starting at middle school. I worked towards my artist’s future at a young age, competing in art competitions and AP art classes, so when I graduated High School, I had a strong portfolio and a goal to create for the masses.

After High School, I attended Pratt Institute and got my AOS in graphic design in 2014 and my BFA in Illustration in 2017. At first, finding a steady job in Illustration/Graphic design was not easy. I took on multiple positions, like bartending, valeting, and hostessing, and taking odd jobs here and there to make ends meet.

I was taught growing up that nothing happens “just because”; you need to work towards your goals. Nothing happens if you do nothing. When in undergrad, I knew I wanted to work with musicians, so I spent every penny I had going to shows with bands large and small. I went to these shows with one goal in mind: to befriend the band. I marketed myself to them, creating portfolio care packages with business cards and personal pieces for whomever I saw. I have made countless connections with musicians this way that I am still in touch with to this day and plan to work with them in the future.

That wasn’t the only way I put myself out there as an artist. I worked in galleries and tended bars, building connections with patrons I conversed with, who would hire me on a project-to-project basis and connect me with other parties that could use my skills.

When I graduated college, I wanted to work for a record company; I wanted to work with musicians to tell a story that went along with the music they made; to create logos, merch, posters, and album art that will last decades that people relate to and identify with, even decades after the musical group breaks up. I wanted to work for a publishing house, giving an inside into the books people held and world build before the story began. Although this did happen, and now I work with local musicians/friends and freelance for Dorrance Publishing House in Pennsylvania, it took a while to get there.

The first designer job I landed was at the venue I bartended at, the John W Engeman Theater at Northport in my hometown, doing inside marketing and designing bar menus that would change every other month. I did this part-time while bartending there full-time, and after a year of hustling in marketing, I was hired at a local marketing agency called Revamp. I was the only designer on the team, so I was responsible for overseeing the artistic aspects of all designs, varying from publication, web development, and digital marketing product design. I really enjoyed the team I worked with jobs we were doing, but I began to feel unfulfilled. I talked to my boss, and we started incorporating illustrations/editorials into our workflow. Then the pandemic hit and threw a wrench into everything, just as we blended my illustration skills with our marketing plans. I lost my job, the company went under, and I found myself at square one.

Some of the people I worked with at the marketing agency reached out during the pandemic to do one-off projects here and there, but we were all hurting, and work/freelance wasn’t what it used to be. I took this as an opportunity to restructure my life and career path and began thinking about returning to school to get my MFA. Though, before making a decision, I kept pushing to get more clients freelancing. I started working for a publishing house in Pennsylvania called Dorrance Publishing, worked with Besties Make Movies for various indie movie posters, with musicians like Robbert Neary (who does a killer Neil Diamond show), worked with a Live Streaming service called NorthStream Entertainment, and other various private commissioners. Each client was better to work with than the last, and although things were looking up, I still ended up applying to schools for my MFA, for I felt I could always take on and learn more, to expand my arsenal as a designer.

I applied to Pratt Institute, the School of Visual Arts, and the Fashion Institute of Technology and was accepted to them. At the end of the day, I decided with FIT and haven’t looked back, it was an amazing decision to make. Since starting school, I have kept up with my freelance work and taken on the new role of being an Adjunct Professor at Pratt Institute. I am teaching various design classes in the AOS program, working with students to determine their needs, design vision, and deliverable time frames, helping them succeed their design goals.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Growing up, I was a VERY stubborn kid. I was miss know it all, and if I didn’t know it right away, I’d learn the hard way by failing a million different ways. I wish I wasn’t so stubborn and listened to others. Now, later in my years, I’m listening to others and taking in new forms of media and tools, and experimenting with all that’s before me. No one knows everything, you need to go into everything with an open, and sometimes empty, mind.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’m sure you hear this a lot, but my life is my creative journey; if I stop, it ends; if I keep going, there’s more to share. I’m currently working on telling a poetic story of my upbringing, my father’s absence, and the toll it’s taken on myself and those around me. Its a way of coping with the trauma, a way to get my feelings off my chest and tell him (and the world) how I feel/felt. I know I’m not the only one with daddy issues, and I’m hoping with the poetic way I’m telling the story, others can find themselves connecting with it and recognize they’re not alone and that talking about our problems can help us heal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rinnelaine.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rinnelaine.art/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinne-wight-8581b2a0/

Image Credits
All bodies of work I submitted are self-created.