We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Valerie Hartman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Valerie below.
Valerie , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Ever since I was a child, I was good at art, but would never draw like the other kids. I was never able to recreate the house, the flowers or the trees the others would. I was different. My tree was always without leaves! It’s when I was around 10 that I realized I was more into creating shapes and mixing colors. Of course, I did not know what abstract art was. It’s when I was in my late teens that I really started to take more seriously. I started to draw while listening to music on the radio and would typically name my artwork after the song that was played while finishing my art piece. I would draw by hand with pencils or basic Bic pens. I still have one of my first drawings! But I did not know back then where and to whom I could display my art. I left school and throughout my life, I lived in five countries. It’s only in 2019 that I had a wake up call. My teenage dream was to work for my favorite rock band, U2, but again, I didn’t know how to get to them and what I would possibly do. In 2019, looking back over my life experiences, I started to write. Now, in my mid-40s, my teenage dream came back thinking that maybe nothing is impossible and that maybe I have potential. I was working from home doing diverse office work and I was not very happy with my then professional direction. I knew I needed a change. In 2020, because of the Covid19 pandemic, I lost my office work. I had to reconsider my career. I had already started making a bit of digital art. My husband looked at it and suggested I take a course. So I took a course in graphic arts with CalArts and although this was not really where I wanted to take my art, this course really opened my eyes to artistic potential. In 2022, I taught myself on how to use Adobe After Effects with the help of YouTube videos. The learning process is slow but some of my animations are on YouTube. I now sell my art and hope to become a visual artist for the music industry.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am originally from France and I have been established in the United States since 2011. I am a former office employee and I had to reconsider my whole career path as I was not able to find proper work in the USA due to past professional experience in foreign countries. I have lived in Ireland, Holland, and Spain as well as my native France. I have always been into art as I am also a fiber artist with a successful Etsy store. But my goal was always to work in the music industry by designing album covers, merchandising, but mostly to see my animated art on giant screens of concerts. I provide abstract and graphic art in a digital form, but some of my art is done by hand, and then digitally reworked or enhanced. What sets me apart from others is finding myself and my life purpose as a woman and an artist. It took me many years of darkness to finally wake up and realize I had potential. I am a homeless survivor and I think that overcoming such an ordeal gives me the strength to succeed in order to never experience such a lifestyle again. Therefore, what makes me most proud of myself is my resilience, my strength, my courage and my passion. I know I have in me the elements to be successful at what I do, because I am passionate and I give it all when I create my art.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was 24, my dream was to work for U2, my favorite band. Actually, it was already a dream of many years. But I knew I had to speak English fluently and move out of my small town in the South West of France in order to accomplish my goal. I moved to Dublin, Ireland to try to do just that. I had no idea about what I would be doing, except for one thing: I wanted to experience the backstage life, not as a groupie, but just to see how a tour crew works. I was intrigued at the idea of knowing these fantastic people with thousands of stories. In Ireland, I was first living on my savings, with no family and no friends. One night, I got my pocket book stolen with everything you can find in one: apartment keys, credit card, wallet, ID… My roommates did not want me to stay with them because they were concerned the thieves who had stolen my bag would find my address and rob our apartment. They wanted me out. I had to leave with nowhere to go. Moving back to France was an option, but was not at the same time. I was newly involved with my then boyfriend, who would later abuse me, with no career prospects, and after a while, no money at all. He didn’t have much either. Of course, I did not know that when I met him. Luckily for me, I only slept outside a couple of nights. The first night was when I was robbed, the second was in a tent, in a church yard. My homeless life lasted two and a half months. But when I was homeless, there was no dream of working for a rock band. I was not chasing famous people and their tour crew, I was chasing food! This was the hardest part, not being able to eat three times a day. I would go to an eating house, once a day, and a different one every day, but I got to know them all! But apart from the two nights, I did have a bed and a shower every day. My last day of homelessness was on 11.15.1999, when I finally got a permanent home. About four months later, I got my first job. I was so happy. The following years, up until 2011 when I moved to the United States, I had a pretty steady career as an office employee. In Holland, I worked at the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, as a transcriber. I had found my career path, or so I thought. When I moved to America, I still wanted to work in transcription. But with my husband traveling, I would accompany him and would work either from home or in hotel rooms. Work was underpaid and not regular. The Covid19 pandemic changed everything. The few jobs I had working from home ceased their activities. In 2019, I was aware that this was the 20-year anniversary of my homeless experience. In 2009, my father had died from cancer and I was afraid that this year, 2019, would be another bad year… a 10-year thing. I started to write my story. I wanted to share my experience and help others, with the idea of perhaps becoming a public speaker and participating in TED talks. One day, my husband was away on a business trip. I never felt safe being alone at home and would typically try to think of something positive to help me fall asleep. My thoughts would drift away imagining myself backstage at a concert of my favorite rock band. The next day, as I was working on my laptop, a crazy thought came to my mind: what if this is not impossible? This was impossible 20 years ago, but what about now? We have social media. I can express myself about it. Who on Earth can tell me my goal is unattainable? I had a wake up call, an awakening. U2 was touring in Australia. In November 2019, I traveled to Melbourne for five days to see one show after not seeing my favorite band perform for 22 years! The night of that show: 11.15.2019… wow. Yes, I did cry that night, but with tears of joy. The following year, because of Covid, I found myself jobless and started to go back to my art. I took a course in graphic art and spent the major part of creating in 2020 and 2021 to finally animate my work in 2022. I share this part of my life with you because I never want to go back to losing everything again. And not just keys or credit cards, but dignity, passion, pride, and love. What I have gone through makes me different in a way that I wish it to no-one, yet it makes me resilient in a way that I want others to share their stories, to speak up and to express themselves. My art is my way of expressing myself and it’s my strength.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I have lost everything, and never want to be in that situation again. I have a goal with the idea that for it not to come true scares me. I place the bar high and refuse to settle for less, because I have been there before. I envision my art on the screen of a show of any artist every single day. I love music and I draw music in an abstract form. I don’t go to music but rather let the music come to me. Musical artists fascinate me, because they too speak their own language. And it is my goal to serve them as a way of giving back and thank them. Every piece of my artwork is a stepping stone. I may be climbing slow, but I keep climbing.
Contact Info:
- Website: valerie-hartman.com
- Instagram: valhartman22
- Youtube: @valeriehartman3705
Image Credits
Valerie Hartman