Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Victoria Michelle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Victoria Michelle, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

For me, I think that a part of me always knew. There was always a part of me that felt the need to create. Like a pull that I knew I was always going to feel. I also feel that art was a way for me to communicate what I felt, saw, or imagined, as I found communicating expressively with words rather difficult. I drew a lot as a child and I got my first camera at a pretty young age. I played around on disposable cameras even before that. Most of my family is pretty creative in some way or another. Much of that I am sure is genetic, but we also grew up having just enough and not many frivolous purchases. So, my siblings and I learned to be creative very early on. If we wanted something but couldn’t afford it, we often tried to make it ourselves. We often had handmade gifts as well. Honestly, some of those hand made gifts were my favorites. I guess I think that for me it is sort of a part of me biologically, but also honed in by my environment and resourceful family.

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

I am both an artist and a Photographer. When I was going through college, I wanted to pursue fine art in the hopes of either being an illustrator (I was specifically interested in children’s books) or designing patterns and art for textiles. I stopped at my AA degree because I didn’t feel that it was worth the money. I was also still working on my photography skills and my new husband encouraged me to pursue it if I wanted to. So, taking very cheap sessions for friends to practice and learn, I slowly upped my rates as my skill and equipment got better. I love taking photos and I’ll honestly never completely stop, but about three years ago I realized that I was still feeling that pull towards creating art in a more illustrative style. It took me a while, but about a year ago I launched My website and started selling my art and some other handmade goods. I wholeheartedly believe that this aligns better with the life I feel called to. For now I need the income from photography to support my business as I have not really stayed on top of marketing and managing my art/website, but I do think over time I will greatly scale back my photography and focus more on art. Currently on my website, I have a few prints and stickers that I have designed. They are very inspired by nature as well as my journey as a Christian and a person that has walked through very intense mental health struggles. I would explain my style as very whimsical and peaceful with a very fairytale and folk art inspired look. I hope to offer commissions for pet and family portraits in the near future. I feel that my style of art would be a fun alternative to realistic portraits for those looking for something like that. I also hope to eventually have totes, t-shirts, cups, notebooks, and other fun merchandise like that, but I need to grow a little first.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think society could best support artists by trying to purchase from small artists/businesses more. For example, Many of us buy gifts for our friends from big box stores without a second thought. Birthday and Christmas gifts are a great way to support artists and give your friends/family something unique at the same time. I think it is really just little things like that would add up if more people adopted that mindset.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think my entire life has been very much about resilience. I would say that my art and business itself is built on resilience. I am by no means the most successful or even very profitable yet, but I have had hurtles to jump through that I keep jumping through because I really believe that I can do this if I keep pushing. I mentioned earlier that my art is very inspired by my journey in with my mental health. From young childhood it was pretty clear that I was a different/intense child. My parents couldn’t decorate my walls by my crib because I would get overwhelmed and not sleep well, I didn’t want to be held or soothed, I was super fussy as a baby, I couldn’t tolerate much and I needed a super tight schedule/routine. As I got a bit older, I was super literal and super high anxiety. In my teens I started struggling with depression really badly and I struggled with wanting to hurt myself. Later I ended up having seizures, getting diagnosed with epilepsy and put on a medication that exacerbated my depression. I got so low that I wanted to take my life and almost did. When I tried to do something to end my life, I felt as though someone was holding my hands and wouldn’t let me. I prayed and asked God for hope and He gave me hope that week. I developed some better skills and had a hope that wasn’t there before but I also still needed better coping skills and help with understanding and processing emotions. I am actually diagnosed as on the autism spectrum now which makes so much sense. I have been going to therapy for a while and have learned to manage myself so much better. I have learned to work with my differences more and not fight so hard against them. I am also learning to be ok with the fact that I can not be perfect at everything and it will only kill me to live that way. Pushing through all of these obstacles and not stopping, especially when it comes to my business is my biggest act of resillience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shopvictoriamichelle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria__michelle__/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VICTORIAMICHELLECO
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/__Victoria__M__
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYPrbhGDHRPIS8dnRhx9cDg