“Follow the Water Downhill”

The sentiments that Stefan shared in his guest lecture on Friday about his career path and wide-ranging resume couldn’t have come at a better time. It was really something I needed to hear, especially since my own design trajectory has but anything but clear-cut, and I have a wide range of artistic interests.

As a kid I was always drawn to storytelling, and became especially inspired by animation, and started practicing studio art (continuing up through high school– particularly developing painting and sketching abilities). 

I ended up attending the University of CA, Santa Cruz for college, and my trajectory shifted– I double majored in Film and Theatre Arts/Production concentration. I gained experience in cinematography, screen & playwriting, directing, but was particularly interested in theatrical design, specifically scenic design & painting for stage productions.

I think something really struck me about the concept of designing the visual world of a play, plus it was a bit of a return to my fine arts/studio art background. By the end of my undergraduate career, I was serving as the lead scenic painter for productions in our department, and had gained experience designing a number of shows as well. 

I then got offered a Teaching Assistant position through my Theatre Department, and a spot in their small graduate program where I committed to an intense, one year MA in theatre, with an emphasis in set design.

Following the program, I got offered an internship position with the Seattle Children’s Theatre where I would serve as their lead painter for a summer season and work with aspiring scenic artists in high school. It was a great experience, and perfect excuse to move up to Seattle, which has always been a dream of mine. 

Following my internship, I continued to do freelance scenic painting work and design stuff on the side, but found a permanent job in theatre administration at the 5th Avenue Theatre downtown which started to take up the bulk of my time. As time went on I realized that although I really liked the position and environment, I was ultimately feeling more and more sad that I wasn’t in a position to support myself through creative work entirely. Around this point I started to commit to doing more and more art in my free time, and began to dive a little more into the realm of digital art. 

I always dabbled with digital art/media while in school, and picked it up again when COVID left me jobless and in a complete existential crisis. I decided it’d be really beneficial for me to branch out into the field of graphic design because a) I really enjoy it and b) I know I have a handle on my own design process and really like designing and c) there seems to be SO much more possibility in this industry! 

Now at SCCA, I’m finding myself developing a real passion for graphic design and feel so grateful to have gained all my previous, various experiences prior to starting this program. I feel like everyday I’m pulling from previous knowledge to help me succeed in my current projects, even though I’ve never worked in graphic design before this program. I always felt self-conscious that I didn’t have one thing I was specialized in, and worried about how to brand myself, but Stefan’s lecture reaffirmed that a “brand” will come with time, and that our experiences are what make us– I have to stay open to whatever opportunities might come my way, and refrain from putting myself in a box for the sake of self-branding!