We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Susan Richards. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Susan below.

Alright, Susan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

As much as I aspired to a creative life, I long held a few big misconceptions about being an artist. I believed you needed a higher education and I feared that the career choices were limited to teaching art or being a starving artist who struggled nobly with side gigs. Fortunately, I proved myself wrong.

I did a brief stint in art school in Denver after high school before realizing I didn’t have the money or time to give it the attention it deserved. I took a lot of what I called “detour jobs” over the next few years, but I also found freelance design work in Leadville, Colorado and briefly ran a little shop featuring my art and custom greeting cards.

Then in 1994, I was hired at a major Southern California newspaper as an ad assistant because of my artistic skill. Believe it or not, they were still laying out ads with clip art and tissue paper overlays – but not for long. As the paper embraced 100% digital layout and formatting, I competed with younger applicants straight out of computer graphics programs for production design jobs. Eventually, I launched my graphic design career there with critical on-the-job training. I spent many years honing my skills, supervising, and training other production artists before moving back to Colorado, where the next phase of my creative life began.

Over the next ten years, I opened and ran an art gallery, shifted gears to writing an arts column for a local paper, and went on to win awards for writing and graphic design at that same newspaper. A move to Arizona in 2013 led to a job at a fast-growing boutique marketing firm where I eventually became Creative Director.

By 2018, I never did get that degree but I had since acquired the skills and confidence to open my own business, Suzu Creative, where I help clients with branding, content creation, graphic design, and writing articles in a variety of fields. Sure, there are things I would’ve done differently that might have saved me a lot of grief, but there are no more “detours” from making a living doing what I love.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I didn’t always follow a straight line in my careers – intentionally plural. When digital design became the new normal, I became a graphic artist. When the recession closed my gallery, I learned I could write about what I love – community theater, talented artists, movies, local politics, and more. After helping the Scottsdale marketing firm become a million dollar business, I realized that I brought a lot to the table with a combination of visual design ability, strong writing skills, and most importantly – imagination.

That confidence helped when I opened my business and when I sought freelance work during the pandemic. I can make magic with words and design as long as I have an internet connection and my trusty Mac.

There are several things I’m most proud of on my path to the present phase of my creative life:
• Convincing the newspaper production manager to take a chance on teaching me graphic design.
• Through my gallery, Sage Moon Originals, providing a place for artists to share their work, and creating a welcoming environment for the community at large.
• Earning multiple Colorado Press Awards, but especially for writing humor – making people laugh is the BEST.
• Recently being invited to teach art workshops in Tucson, where I moved in 2022.

All of this experience culminates in my being able to serve clients of all types. I currently write content and campaigns in the healthcare field, but I’ve also worked with real estate, financial, education, and creative sectors. I like having my fingers in all the pies – it’s not messy, it’s delicious!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

In simple terms, spreading the love. I’ve been artsy my whole life and am always frustrated when someone says “Oh, I can’t even draw a straight line.” So?! Being creative isn’t about drawing without a ruler. We’re all creative beings and I will shout that from the mountain tops.

When I owned a gallery, I advocated for artists to see their potential and I celebrated people who wanted to buy original art for their spaces. I loved reviewing high school plays because you could see the young talent bursting at the seams before they entered the “real world” full of doubts. Even when I’m writing about a dull subject, I know it’s going to speak to someone so I infuse it with projected enthusiasm.

I’m excited about teaching a few art workshops now because, honestly, if I could get paid to simply show people what creative and exciting beings they are, that would light me up forever.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

As you’ve noticed, I love working with creative people. However, artists are historically terrible at marketing and self-promotion. They – okay, we – are not always organized or confident enough to put themselves out there for success. So while I’ve worked with numerous types of industries, I’m hoping to build a bigger clientele of creatives. I began to attend art shows and festivals where I could meet some of these talented people when the pandemic hit and everything paused. After moving to a new town, Meetup has become an invaluable tool for meeting new like-minded artists and writers and I’m resuming my plan to work with creative professionals to promote their work with marketing, biographies, press releases, and more. If you see someone at the next Tucson art festival chatting and collecting cards, it’s probably me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://suzucreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzucreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuzuCreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-richards-0262b8163/