Katie Benn X Grow Wild
MEET… Katie Benn
Artist - San Francisco, CA
Website: www.katiebenn.com
Instagram: @Katie_benn_
Katie is a bold, colorful, and fun (and thought-provoking!) artist- a freelance painter, muralist, illustrator and stuff-maker. I first discovered her through Instagram and fell in love with her work. A lifelong artist, she officially quit her day job to embark on her path as freelance artist in 2018. (I love how she describes the beginning of her journey- “it’s hard to ignore something like that when you’re getting so much out of it…”- I couldn’t agree more!)
She gets candid about daily life as a professional artist, the less-glamorous side of being a working creative, and learning to trust her instincts and follow what felt the most fulfilling. I love Katie’s thoughtful candidness!! She may be my most favorite interview yet.
If you are a creative who wants to work for themself, THIS is for you.
xx Natasha
The Growth -
Some years ago I realized that I wasn't making the time to pursue all these creative ideas I had, so I started dedicating nights and weekends to painting, illustrating, and making zines. I was so excited to be working on all these new creative projects and I started to feel like maybe one day I could make this a full time thing. It seemed like a pipe dream, but it just felt like the thing I was supposed to be doing. It's hard to ignore something like that when you're getting so much out of it. I was using tumblr and instagram for a while and was gaining some momentum as clients started DMing and emailing me for commissions. I was still working my day job and at a certain point I just thought, "I have to stop putting energy into things that don't excite me." I'm so interested in the world around me, so excited by creative possibilities that sitting behind a desk working towards someone else's goals felt like a death sentence. Growing up poor, and finding financial success and independence as an adult with that desk job was important to me for several years. I had learned so many skills that did not at all come naturally. Math? Spreadsheets? Public Speaking? Management? I'm so grateful for that time, but realized that if I can be successful doing all these things that are not my nature, perhaps I can do what comes naturally to me and pour my time and energy into that and have similar results. There was so much going on in my life as well during that period of time that I felt primed for a really big change. I had gotten to a point where my bank account had me feeling secure enough, and I trusted myself enough to go all in.
The Weeds -
The Fear. The Fear is the most challenging part of my job. Sometimes it's right there sitting next to you everyday with your morning coffee. Sometimes it disappears for a while when you're really engrossed in a new project, but it keeps coming back. Sometimes The Fear is the critical part of myself telling me my work isn't good enough. Sometimes it's imposter syndrome. Sometimes it's the anxiety telling me to worry about not having the suggested amount in a 401K for a person my age, and what omg WHAT would I do if disaster struck and my archive of previous work disappeared?? I spend a lot of time working on maintaining my own mental health and I think that's something that's not talked about enough in the creative world without being falsely advertised as glamorous. On another note - there is a ton of administrative work that goes into freelancing and that can be a challenge to juggle your inbox. In my experience, work comes in waves, and when it comes, you're emailing back and forth and working on sketches and production schedules and contracts and invoices and W9s and insurance requirements with several different entities and it can be exhausting and frustrating when all you want to do is have fun and make things. It is of course all worth it, but it can be challenging, especially in the beginning.
The Seed (aka the WHY) -
For me one of the greatest joys in life is experiencing as much new as possible. I love not knowing what I'm going to work on next. A mural in a different part of town? A gallery show in another country? A collaboration with a major brand? The world is wide open, there are possibilities everywhere and I'm excited about what's coming around the corner (even though I might not be able to see it quite yet).
A Day in the Life -
Every week right now is different. There's been so much going on, things are a bit unpredictable. The last couple weeks I spent every day sketching and illustrating for multiple clients and doing some heavy lifting on the administrative side to make a future project viable. I didn't get a lot of sleep, so I took a break for two days to see friends, went to the movies twice, felt renewed. This week I'm working as much as I can during the day to meet a few deadlines before spending several hours each night painting an indoor mural downtown by myself. It's quite an experience keycarding your way into a giant building, walking into an empty office, quietly making yourself a snack and a pot of coffee and then getting to paint alone on a big wall until your eyes stop working sometime around midnight. Spending time alone to paint in a weird and new location is a huge thrill for me.
The Bloom -
I had just quit my day job in 2018 to pursue my life as a full time freelance artist and I was on an Amtrak train heading from Oakland to Chicago to visit my aunt. I booked one of those small rooms with a bed on the train and I was on the last leg of the 2 1/2 day trip to the midwest. I had all this time on the train starring out the window thinking about what was coming next for me and feeling an overwhelming sense of relief that I chose to leave my old job and I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted to work on a really big project, like a mural somewhere. And right as we were barreling down through the corn fields of Illinois right outside of Chicago, I got an email from a curator at Facebook asking if I would be interested in painting a mural in their office. I'm not often someone who sees things as a sign, but to me in that moment it felt like an important indicator that what I was doing was valid and that I was on the right path.
What it Takes -
Self empathy is incredibly important. Without it you don't have have resilience or a sense of a humor. Not everything you make is going to be super cool, important, cathartic or interesting. You're not always going to work on the dream project, or even handle a situation well. And that's normal. Treating yourself kindly goes a long way and I don't think it's possible to survive working for yourself without it. It also takes sacrifice. If you want to move fast and get to where you want to be quicker, that means saying no to a lot of plans and hoping your friends and family understand and I know that is not for everybody. The creative life often means hustling constantly. Emails, managing your social media, conference calls, attending art events. There is a lot to do and I think it's important to keep checking in with yourself throughout the process to see if this is really what you want because it really is a lot.
What I Wish I Knew -
I wish someone aggressively shook me by the collar and yelled at me to maintain an organized archive of all my work from the beginning of time in high res. If you are just starting out- consider this your aggressive shout to get on top of this before you end up with 15K files in varying degrees of quality that are in no particular order. An important editor, client or curator WILL end up asking you for high res images of that one project you thought no one would ever ask about. Get the photos as you're producing the work, and maintain an archive as thoughtfully as possible.
Wild Flower Advice -
I don't know anyone's creative career that had an obvious trajectory. Ideals change, motivations shift- make sure what you're doing is right for you and where you're at. Listen to your mind and your body and check in with yourself regularly about how you're feeling and if you're not feeling good, ask yourself why and adapt. Do what feels good, look inward often, create whatever you want but remember to be kind, say thank you and create space for new experiences.
