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

Tara, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My art career started in my mid-thirties during the pandemic. Outside of a couple art electives in high school and college, I have no formal training, but from that very first chalk drawing, I knew I wanted to do this and get better. I didn’t have the time or money to invest in formal trainings or art school, so I decided to teach myself. I picked up a few tips from books and social media, but mostly learned by doing – testing different theories, ideas, and tools through my work on my driveway. When I participated in my first chalk art festival a year later, I was intentional about meeting the other artists and observing them while we worked. You learn a lot by doing, but I also learned from those who openly shared their own techniques.

By staying consistent, taking risks in my work, and building and maintaining relationships with other artists; my skills improved rapidly and I quickly worked my way up to the professional level.

Tara, 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?

I’m a self-taught artist based in the Twin Cities. I got started later in life when things were shutdown during the pandemic in 2020. I was working full time and caring for my baby and toddler at the time (also home because of daycare closures) and started drawing some doodles on the driveway for my toddler. I ended up drawing a quick sketch of Mickey Mouse with an inspirational quote at the end of my driveway for my neighbors that afternoon and decided I wanted to do it again the next day.

I drew more and more characters that year and word quickly spread. I received multiple requests for birthdays, graduations, and the first-ever chalk art mural for the Hopkins Raspberry Festival. In 2021, I participated in my first chalk art festival and have since completed many more across the US.

Today, I do both temporary and permanent murals on nearly any surface. I work closely with residential, commercial, and non-profit clients to bring their vision to life. I’ve been lucky enough to work with clients such as the Minnesota Twins, Children’s Minnesota, the Parade of Homes/Housing First MN, the YMCA and more.

In the last year, my customs artwork has really taken off in the form of custom sneakers and cleats, even creating a pair of custom cleats for Carlos Correa as part of the Twins x Nike City Connect uniform debut that were recognized by the MLB and MLB Network.

I’ve loved seeing where this journey has taken me, both in my own style, technique, and client-base. It’s been such a fun ride!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The hardest part about starting new mid-career is you have to get used to rejection again. You have to have a strong enough portfolio of work to showcase your skill and style. It was difficult for me to showcase my work in the early days as I was still learning and didn’t have a lot of examples of large-scale art. So I’d receive more rejection emails, I didn’t have as many followers, and didn’t have clients reaching out as often as they do now. Instead of letting those rejections stop me, I used them as motivation. I took more risks, I put myself and my work out there even more.

As I continued to produce more work, the follower counts grew and so did my reputation. Before I knew it, I was receiving consistent emails and messages requesting my work or services during peak season and have had my most profitable year to date as an artist.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

It’s easy to celebrate all the wonderful opportunities that have come my way, but there have been so many struggles. In the beginning, I struggled a lot with my confidence. I learned to focus on my work, my technique, and my goals instead of comparing myself to others.

I continue to focus on what I can do to improve, how I can help others, and recognizing that the right opportunities will present themselves when the time is right.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.taraaiken.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetaraaiken/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetaraaiken/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetaraaiken
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thetaraaiken?lang=en

Image Credits

Ladybug: Bob Metoxen/Hats Off America