We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tara Aversa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tara, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
Any job/career has its ups and downs but, I am much happier as a mural artist than I was as a hairstylist. I did love doing hair but this was always a dream that I didn’t know could come true. At times when everything gets stressful in my career, I’ll then think about how much easier life was to just leave work at the door and be able to disconnect when I got home. You have to really want it to make a living at what I do and even on my worst day, I would still choose this path instead of a normal job. Being a mural artist really fulfills me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m definitely the quirky type of creative person. Since I was about 4 or 5, I had always wanted to be an artist. I started painting o the walls around the same age as everyone else did but quickly went to painting on anything I was allowed to paint on, but this industry chose me. I never in a billion years thought it would come true. I was told that artists don’t make money, so I went into doing what I knew I would be good at and could make money to support myself. I was a hairstylist for 13 years before I started painting murals and it was all thanks to one of my clients who was a bar owner in East Nashville and she needed a mural. Then it just picked up speed little by little until I needed to hang up the sheers. As a mural artist I aim to provide beautiful large scale works of art that are custom collaborations to the business, person, or non profit and make a bold statement. I also paint commissions and have been working on a collection of paintings that I would like to one day have a solo show with or sell in a gallery. Art is subjective but I will say that every artist has a style and my style of artwork is easy to spot so I would say that my murals and paintings are uniquely me. I would like people to know that my goal is to expand my knowledge in what I do because it isn’t in me to ever stop learning and that the direction my business and art is going in, will now be more selective and true to the artwork and murals that I will be proud of.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
As a mural artist, I think society could do a lot better at crediting the artist when a photo is taken in front of the mural. Social media isn’t everything, however it could be that one person that changes someone’s life forever just by giving the artist recognition. There are so many influencers/celebrities out there using my work and other muralist’s work, as a backdrop to sell the clothes they wear or show cool places in the area etc… but will never tag the artist. I also believe buying prints and artwork they really enjoy for locals is a way to support creatives in general.
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.
For non-creatives and understanding art/murals – Not everything has to make sense. Sometimes a wall or work of art is meant to make you feel something. What I’ve learned is that people don’t know what they want until they see it and for these people, they need more visuals, communication, and being on the same page about what to expect. It’s been a learning curve for me but sometimes you have to get to the point where the client/non creative person trusts the artist and the vision. The artist’s work will always come out 100 times better when they do what they think will look best wether that’s a solo decision or collaboration.
Contact Info:
- Website: tmamurals.com
- Instagram: @tmamurals
Image Credits
Octopus mural is by Kristin Luna