We recently connected with Tessa Kissick and have shared our conversation below.

Tessa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

For the longest time I always thought I’d end up being in a science or engineering job. It was the track I followed the closest in highschool although the further I delved into those things the less I liked them. I wasn’t the best at math so I slowly let go of engineering and I wasn’t super enamored with having to memorize stuff for the sciences. Eventually I returned to the thing that’d always comforted be despite my initial rocky start into it, Art! From there I majorly dug into my art studies my final year in highschool backed by my two unforgettable art teachers Mr Proctor and Ms Woodruff. The more I delved into it the more I realized it was the path that would fulfill me the most as a person.

Tessa, 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 am an illustrator focused in the realm of concept art. Concept artists are the people who work behind the scenes to make designs work. We figure out all those small details you may or may not notice and deliver them in the best, succinct visual representation we can to achieve the goal of that item or thing. When I’m not concepting things though I dabble a lot in other areas of art. I’ve recently picked up learning 3D modeling and I’ve also worked on both matte and texture painting. I hope to expand further into 3D artistic ventures while continuing to work on my concepts.

My favorite part about making art is the ability to share it and connect with others over it. I always strive to make pieces others can enjoy and share a moment with even if it is fleeting. Sometimes its not so bad to slow down a little and share a moment with something you love in our busy days.

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

I feel like something people always forget is the fact that art is a marathon and not a sprint. Artists can spend their lives learning and picking up countless practices and tips especially with how specialized illustrators can get. Finding one’s path in art is a long, winding road of self discovery and acceptance which can take anywhere from a few months to years depending on the artist. I personally didn’t start my artistic journey till I was in my senior year of high school and my family doesn’t have a background in art. It was up to me to figure out my path, and it took me 5 years to become more secure in who I was as an artist.

Most people who aren’t artists seem to believe it’s easy to make a piece and sell it off when it really isn’t. One of my pet peeves is walking around art shows and hearing comments of, “Oh you could make that” as they often demean the other artist’s struggles and personal skills. No two artists are the same. Each of us craft and form our own individual identities informed by our struggles and personalities which all feed our own artistic ventures. To say another artist can achieve such things may be true in skill but also undermines the other’s creative talents.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist and a creative isn’t necessarily the process of making art but the reactions it evokes from other people. The art process is a whole other can of worms and making art itself is a fun process, but it pales in comparison to seeing other people light up with joy upon interacting with your pieces. Nothing quite evokes a bond like similar interests and I hope to someday bring others together with my own works.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tessakissick.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vesper_wendelle/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-kissick-5555501aa/