We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sean Dill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sean below.
Sean, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
The first time I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path as a profession was in 2017. I had taken time off work as a manufacturing technician for a event design company and was attending a music festival that summer. One morning as I was walking around the festival grounds I saw a booth full of wood cut art that totally captivated me. The booth was full of piece after piece of intricate layered geometric wood patterns stained all manner of colors. I must have hung out at that booth for 30 minutes just staring at the art. Right before I was about to leave the booth’s owner showed up and we ended up talking about his art for over an hour. He told me he had quit his regular job and had bought a CNC machine (exactly the kind I used at work) to start making his art. He had been doing it for a couple years and it was now his full-time job. He gave me so many little bits of advice and encouraged me to pursue an artistic career of my own. I left that festival with the idea in my head that I was going to one day make pieces of art like his and create something unique that I could feel proud of.
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?
My name is Sean Dill, I am an entrepreneur from Tacoma Washington where I was born ad raised. I am the owner an operator of Altared Design. At some point I fell in love with the idea of every person’s life being a story that the universe was telling itself, and that every part of that life was an altar to the majesty of that story. It’s from that idea that I created my business with the notion that I might be able to create something beautiful for each of my clients living altars.
I create intricate layered wood altar pieces, lamps, and decor from my small shop in Tacoma. My clients usually come to me by word of mouth and are looking for something unique to add ambiance to their homes or businesses. I pride myself in creating for them something that is truly special and represents a part of their personal story or aesthetic. I love to experiment with LED lights and geometric designs so almost everything I create either lights up or has a mandala like quality to it.
I enjoy the challenges of tackling a new an untested design and see every opportunity I am given as a chance to create something the enriches the life of someone else but also teaches me how to become better at what I do.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I think the hardest “lesson” I had to unlearn as a person starting out on a self-driven creative mission was one that many of us are taught implicitly by society. I had to unlearn that my time and energy were not valuable. I had to painstakingly deconstruct the idea that I had gotten somewhere that I was not worthy or able to create something special. I think that this lesson gets hammered into any of us who have worked years at a low paying job that drains us of our enthusiasm and puts us in positions of lack. We start to believe that we are only worthy of what we have and begin living that way.
It took me a long time and a lot of encouragement to try something new, and when I began trying it it took me even longer to recognize that I could value my own work and be valued for it.
Long story short; You are more talented than you give yourself credit for, and worth more than you know.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I don’t really think there is such a thing as a “non-creative,” actually. Your entire life is literally an act of creation. Your story is a piece of art, everything you do is consecrated and can be a thing of beauty. Even if you don’t paint, write, sculpt, or whatever, you are still creating something everyday. Your contribution to your community is art, your home is art, your children are something you created and shape everyday, they are beautiful pieces of art. Even if you never pick up a paint brush and all you can draw is a stick figure, you my friend are already and always have been someone who is constantly creating a masterpiece.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Altared_designs