We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tina Ngo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Tina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Being a professional artist really wasn’t an option growing up. Born and raised in Dallas by an Asian immigrant family, there had always been cultural, societal, and education expectations that needed to be met. I’ve have been taught values of structure, loyalty, hard work and dedication; to where art and any creative expression were more of a hobby than any a passion to pursue. So, I became what I thought I was supposed to be… a corporate technologist.

I felt that I “successfully” grew up in the corporate chain of command from an a job as an analyst to a programmer to a manager to a leader of people across large Fortune 500 companies to progressive startups. With a vast level of experience in technology, industries, and leadership I thought I had I already achieved what a definition of “success” looks like. To others it was, but there was an emptiness, anxiety, depression, stress and the feeling of lost with the constant daily grind of others’ expectations, I was in desperately in need of a creative outlet.

I started emotionally painting, taking creative art classes, using all types of mediums to figure out who I am or trying to be to balance the logical side of tech I’ve learnt to the visual desire of art. Four years later in struggling with my left brain and right brain identity, I’m on the journey of my dreams of becoming a Tape Artist, Designer, Technologist, Entrepreneur and Advisor.

Tina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi! I’m Tina Ngo, a Tape Artist, leveraging small pieces of pinstriping tape to create dominating lines in my art. I typically get asked two questions: “What kind of tape?”, it’s actually tape that’s used on custom cars for detailing and “Why tape?”, taping to create my own lines helps define boundaries and balances structure with chaotic expression. Why ‘color within the lines’ when you can create them? For me, each line represents the constant decisions, some permanent, some adjustable, that ultimately forms the building blocks to a bigger picture. Looking closely, you can see the details; but the further you take a step back, the clarity the picture to take a more objective perspective.

I’m not only a visual artist, I’m also an interior designer for both commercial and residential, and a digital designer in both web and social media where I find that there’s art and creativity in space planning and technology. For the first time ever, I finally have found the balance of bridging art with technology. Turning more than an appreciation of the craft of visual arts into enabling growth of others by allowing artists to build a digital presence and creating visibility of local artists into commercial and residential spaces.

Through experience of my own, I believe that empowerment of the artists is key to illuminate and to educate the importance of creative expression. I am proud to be helping to drive a culture of continuous creative learning, collaboration, leadership, network, and artist engagement with the local community.

I now say to those interested in the arts, “Let’s create our own lines.”

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Society and parental pressures typically tells you not to choose art as a career and that starving artists are a real thing. Be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer of sorts in order to be ‘successful’. For those who have the desire, a visual eye, a harmonic ear or an expressive movement we can sometimes get lost in societal expectations. Balancing “what I’m supposed to do” to “what I want to do”. We as society and an ecosystem of support can change the perception of the definition of ‘success’. Being an artist can be lonely and isolating and I feel that if there’s a continuous push for creating positive outlets of expression, artists can see that there’s a whole community of inspiration, support, and comradery, to build relationships of creative influence.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Artists, including myself, love to create; however, creating alone doesn’t complete the need to understand how to be a professional artist. I wish I knew earlier what the business of art entails to help with the struggles along the way. Budgeting, finances, selling, digital presence, market analysis, branding, curating doesn’t seem too creative, but is all needed to understand who I am to become a professional artist and designer to ultimately creating a career. You don’t have to be a ‘starving artist’, we help emerging artists with the art of business and network. This industry is super competitive and navigating the trade can be daunting. I think if I was continuing to pursue the business and art side alone, where will I find the time to create? Attending art shows, fairs, events in different forms to meet other creatives can help build the artist network. I hope that we, as artists, can help lift and educate each other to continue to create and support.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tinangodesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinangodesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinangodesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinabngo
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tina_ngo