We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Terri Haugen Gunaca a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Terri, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Do something you love to do and it will not be work. Serendipity will happen, doors will open for you. It is amazing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was creating art back in grade school and started selling it in high school. At that time I did watercolor painting and pottery. I sewed a jean vest for a friend and he gave me in trade a book on batik. I decided to create a batik for an art class project instead of a watercolor which won my first award for batik. I really loved the technique and started to do more and they all sold. At first I tore up my Mothers sheets and dyed the batiks in the bath tub and really got in trouble when using her iron and ironing board for removing the wax. I soon learned to use quality cotton and silk fabrics and later built a specialized studio for waxing and dying I was very active in the local arts council and entered art shows where I won many awards. I joined The Artist Market a co-op art gallery and sold out my first week there. Soon after I started doing outdoor art fairs and exhibits all over Michigan and then went on to travel the east coast on down to Florida. I went on to open several of. my own art galleries including other artists that I meant in my travels. I added a frame shop which really helped the gallery grow along with helping artists learn to frame their own work. I hired local students in the summer and taught them how to frame and often gave them an area to sell their own art work. I did a lot of community service, brought children into my studio and taught them batik and held exhibits for them. I was a big donor to many local organizations such as Ducks unlimited, whitetails, national cancer society to name a few. This was all done in northern Michigan where inspiration is everywhere. I was very lucky that my community supported me greatly and my art was so well loved. I was on many magazine covers including one in 24 languages, Readers Digest. I was asked several times to do HGTV and The Home Show with Gary Collins. I’ve been to Japan, Belgium, France, Italy and New Zealand showing my work. I’ve also wrote articles about how to do Fine Art Batik and mixed media techniques for Art magazines and books. I’ve had batik Art quilts that won awards and traveled the world in exhibits.
I’ve spent 30 years perfecting my fine art batik. I lived and owned several art galleries in northern Michigan. The last 10 years I’ve started branching out in other mediums such as oil, acrylic and mix media. I’ve always been inspired my nature and enjoy some whimsy in my figures. I love traveling and getting inspired. I recently went to the south of France to paint plein air with oils. My next trip is Ireland and I’m very much looking forward to painting landscapes and golf courses. I now live and own an art gallery in Arkansas.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started working from home and saved every penny I could from the sales of my art. I finally had enough money to build my first studio and art gallery. From there I was able to expand my art business adding a frame shop and bringing in outside artist work. This lead to other locations with more foot traffic and better sales.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I was very lucky that I was found by national magazines for cover art which lead to oppertunities on local and national television. I also had great support of local newspapers and publications. I did a lot of donating to galas, charity fundraisers, schools, wildlife organizations and fun events you name it I gave to them. I started young and worked very hard. I went to every event and participated in everything I could to get my art and name out there. This was way before social media and the internet was available. Later My son created my first website and I joined social media. I took the time to write art articles and submit them to publications. Early on I entered many art shows to get recognized and get a resume started.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.terrihaugen.com
• Instagram: terridhaugen
• Facebook: Terri Haugen Artist
• Twitter: @terrihaugen
• Other: Etsy.com/shop/terrihaugenart

Image Credits
Kindra Haugen