profesh2death

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End-of-Semester Reflection

During my semester in the Professional Practice course, the most dramatic growth I experienced involved my ability to confidently communicate with peers and professionals. At the beginning of the class, the prospect of interviewing strangers about their careers (especially ones whose artwork I admired) caused me a great deal of stress. However, as I went forward with the interviews and networked at the Career Bootcamp, I became more and more relaxed. I have realized over the course of the semester that creative professionals are just people, and considering myself a creative professional was a huge step forward in becoming comfortable talking to others. 

In terms of more technical skills, I have become far more confident in interview situations. This past week I interviewed for a place in Semester in Detroit, and while that is not a formal career opportunity, I was able to use what I’d learned in the class (including the STAR method) and Career Bootcamp to succeed. Additionally, my ability to “brand” myself has improved immensely. I now understand how my web presence, resume, and portfolio all fit together to create an effective reflection of myself as a professional both online and in person. 

I primarily used this class as an opportunity to improve my web portfolio, which I was able to do, but I also vastly improved my resume and Instagram presence. I was also able to make connections with creative professionals I admire, relationships I continue to cultivate via social media. While I feel I took advantage of Career Bootcamp, I could have made better use of the “networking” time on Friday. It was a new experience for me, and it took me a while to warm up to the situation. When I attend the event next year, I will have specific goals in mind while networking and will try to talk to as many people as possible, not just the ones who might have similar interests. 

Moving forward, I plan to update my web portfolio with my work from Entanglement and keep my art Instagram focused and up-to-date. I would like to continue interviewing creative professionals I admire and have set a goal to interview five in the next year for my own education. Eventually, I would like to have my own domain name and apply to fellowships, residencies, and internships using the resume I have created in Professional Practice. This class has taught me so much and I feel adequately prepared for my professional future in the arts!

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Revised Cover Letter

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STAR Story

Prompt: Give an example of how you've worked on a team.

In my second-year typography class, we worked in teams to create a magazine on the topic of our choosing. One group member and I were both very passionate about the subject we agreed upon, but our other group member was less enthused about it. While she voiced her dissatisfaction, she was not putting in as much time and effort into the project as the other teammate and I. To meet the deadline while keeping everyone happy, I delegated some less laborious, more detail-oriented work to the apathetic group member, while the other student and I worked on the bulk of the creative work. Everyone got their work done on time and we created a great magazine. 

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Revised Letter of Agreement

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Planning for the Week Ahead

Emily Cedar gave me a lot of helpful feedback in class on Wednesday! The biggest thing I need to work on is the navigation on my website, as it is currently a bit confusing. That’s what I want to focus on during Monday’s class, along with updating the content on my Graphic Design page. After that, my next big objective is to redocument some of my artist books, which might take a while. I want to make this website as perfect as I can for my final project!

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Be a Lifelong Student: an Interview with Emily Kastner

I first met Emily Kastner as a volunteer at Read And Write Kalamazoo (RAWK), a nonprofit that provides writing workshops to kids and teens in my hometown. I was immediately attracted to her warmth, creativity, and enthusiasm. 

This past year, she has transitioned from running RAWK to writing and illustrating children’s books, one of her lifelong dreams. I’m pleased I was able to interview her to learn more about this transition, her unconventional career path, and her creative practice. 

Emily has always been interested in art and storytelling but had doubts about it as a “viable” career path. In college, she chose to study education, which she believed encompassed many of her diverse interests: writing, art, teaching, and science. After college, she moved to San Francisco and became a high school teacher. A few years later, after moving back to Kalamazoo, she teamed up with a friend and created a writing summer camp inspired by writing centers like Ann Arbor’s 826michigan. This project expanded into RAWK’s year-long writing program and took over Emily’s life for seven years. 

Recently, Emily has wanted to step away from RAWK and pursue her own creative endeavors. Two years ago, she started an Instagram and began drawing every day. The feedback she received on her art encouraged her to keep going and to cultivate the children’s book ideas she had been developing for years prior. She met a book agent at an education conference and began the process of creating her “Nerd Babies” book series, the first of which will be released in May. 

Emily’s process in creating a children’s book often begins with the internal monologue, “That would make a great book...wait, I can make that book!” She follows up with mountains of research, hoping her books will teach both kids and adults something new. Next, she focuses on mapping out the information she’s found and turning it into simple text. Lastly, she lays out the pages and creates illustrations, attempting to strike a balance between traditional and digital illustration. 

Along with finalizing things for her book release, Emily creates commissioned works like family portraits and works on personal projects she shares online. She has also been expanding her artistic abilities through SkillShare classes.

Emily’s big piece of advice to me was this: “Be a lifelong student in your field.” She firmly believes that you’re never done learning and that expanding your knowledge makes you a better artist, writer, scholar, and person. I love art because I see it as a medium through which I can learn and express what I’ve learned, and it’s a way for me to expand my knowledge of many different subjects. I’m glad Emily sees the magic in that and is putting it to good use. 

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You’re Worth Something: an Interview with Alexa Caruso

This is Alexa Caruso. She is a comic artist, illustrator, and recent graduate of the University of Michigan. 

As a current Stamps student, I was excited to talk to a younger Stamps alum about school, art, and transitioning into “the real world.” 

As a student, Alexa said she was immediately drawn to illustration and 2D media, but still appreciated Stamps’ interdisciplinary curriculum. She used the artistic freedom it granted her to take classes like typography, graphic narrative, scientific illustration, and ebook design. She cites typography and ebook design as especially applicable to her current job as a contracted artist for a t-shirt company. 

When asked the moves she made in school that aided in her current career path, she answered enthusiastically: “Career Bootcamp!” She learned a lot from guest speakers like Sara Radin, who I had the pleasure of meeting at this year’s event. The speakers provided her with essential information about contracts and freelance work, which she utilizes as a part-time freelance artist. Along with Career Bootcamp, she cited the Professional Practice course and PANDR Design Co.’s “Clueless to 100k” webinar as great creative career resources.

Looking to the future, Alexa hopes to get a more stable “desk job” with benefits. In her creative practice, her current goal is to get something published by First Second Books and to create more autobiographical work on the “post-grad slump.” Many of the comics she creates are autobiographical, like her final IP project (shown below), so this would be a comfortable yet interesting next step in her artistic life. 

In closing, Alexa had a lot of advice I’ll remember as I move into my senior year. She emphasized the importance of a strong social media presence: she has an Instagram and website, both of which she updates regularly. “Have a rhythm when you post on social media,” she said, advising no less than once a week. 

She was also insistent about valuing work correctly: “Make sure you’re not undervaluing what you do...you’re worth something, so you should be charging what you’re worth.” She spoke about the importance of clear pricing and contracts. 

Lastly, she spoke about the “post-grad slump”: “Try not to get discouraged, but you're gonna get discouraged anyway.” She said she sent out a lot of job applications that she never received responses for, but that it all worked out in the end. It gives me hope that an artist who was given all the same educational and creative tools as me was able to successfully break into the workforce after college. Her advice has given me a newfound appreciation for all that the University of Michigan provides and shows me just how far I can go with a degree from Stamps.

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Write Everything Down: an Interview with Kathleen Neeley

I first discovered Kathleen Neeley’s intricate and whimsical linocuts while browsing through Tumblr. I was bewitched by their complexity and allusion to mythology and the occult. 

During our conversation, I learned that many of Kathleen’s freelance clients find her the same way I did: through her online presence. This includes her Tumblr, Instagram, and her website, where she sells editions of her prints. She credits her strong social media influence for the commission inquiries she receives. 

Her primary working relationship is with American Solera, an independent brewery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She told me she appreciates the creative freedom that comes with working with them and enjoys creating their bottle labels and brand materials (although she prefers to work on her own projects). 

Along with this commissioned work, she has also created poster designs, album covers, and more for Phish, Lady Maisery, The Rheingans Sisters, and Trials of Cato. 

The work Kathleen does centers around relief printmaking, which she began experimenting with in high school. However, she has recently branched out into other creative avenues in which she can display her unique style, like mixed media illustration, painting, and even fiber arts. Her recent solo art show at AHHA Tulsa included both her four-color linocut, Dusk, and a hand-embroidered dress inspired by the print. 

Her creative goals include improving her multi-plate print techniques and bringing painting into her creative practice. 

As she transitions into full-time freelance work, Kathleen stresses the importance of intention and organization. “At the end of the day, it’s just how you manage your time,” she told me, relaying how she chooses to only focus on one project at a time during work hours. 

Her most important piece of advice? “Write everything down!” She uses lists and other forms of written documentation to keep her schedule on track and to focus her time in a productive way. As an avid list-maker and note-taker, this advice assures me that, as long as I stay focused, organized, and available, I’m on the right track in my creative career. 

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Career Bootcamp Top Ten Takeaways

Here are some important things I learned at this year’s Stamps Career Bootcamp!

1: Your career won’t always match up with your degree. After Sara Radin graduated from Stamps, she worked as a trend forecaster and concept developer for years before becoming a freelance artist and writer. None of these things were focuses in her degree, but she was able to take passions she discovered in college (writing, history, sociology, art) and make a living with them. 

2: Always be producing a lot of high-quality work. Rose Jaffe highlighted this as the most effective way to continue getting work as a freelance artist, and the best way to develop your voice as a creative thinker. She creates multiple works of art and illustrations every day and posts the process to Instagram, making sure people know she’s hard at work and wants to work for them. 

3: It’s okay (and sometimes even exciting) not to know what’s going to come next. Ellen Rutt just applied for an artist residency in New York. She told me in our conversation that she didn’t know if she’d get it, but she wants to leave Detroit soon because she’s becoming too comfortable. She didn’t seem to know what her future had in store, but her attitude of “any movement is progress” was inspiring. 

4: Growing apart from the people you were close to in college is normal. Ellen Rutt admitted that moving away from her friends and family was going to be a little scary, but she said that growing apart from the kinds of people you knew in college is part of the natural progression of life and that the friends that stay in your life over time and distance are the ones that really matter. 

5: Being a working artist in a major city has its advantages (and disadvantages). During a panel discussion, the alumni debated the pros and cons of having a creative career in a major city. While it provides artists with lots of opportunities and resources, the cost of living is expensive. It seemed to come down to how you create community: it’s easier to find your “tribe” in a big city, but through the influence of social media, many artists have found success while working in more remote locations. 

6: You gain people skills by working with people. During a lunchtime conversation with Nate Mullen, he stressed the importance of having good people skills when dabbling in community involvement. To gain experience, he suggested simply harnessing opportunities to work with people when they arise. He said he gained a lot of the people skills he uses now by counseling at summer camps during college. 

7: As a freelancer, it’s important to make time for fun and rest. Mental health was something Rose Jaffe and Sara Radin emphasized in their seminar about freelancing. They stressed the importance of making time for fun and rest, and to keep doing creative things as a way to de-stress instead of a way to generate profit. 

8: Depending on your career path, your social media presence can be make-or-break. Freelancers like Rose Jaffe and Sara Radin stressed the importance of social media when it comes to finding jobs, clients, and projects. Conversely, Sam Oliver, who works a 9-to-5 job, admitted that he hasn’t even updated his website in a really long time. 

9: In interviews, monitor your body language and nervous ticks. This was something Rich Liverance touched on in the interviewing seminar. Being aware of posture, eye contact, and any unconscious body movements will make you seem more confident, engaged, and present in the conversation. 

10: Stamps’ curriculum is giving us the problem-solving skills we will need in our future careers. During a panel discussion, many of the alumni agreed that Stamps taught them the invaluable skill of critical thinking, giving them the confidence to find their own answers to unknowns in their jobs, and allowing them to think on their feet. 

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Do What You Love First: an Interview with Miriam Rudolph

I first encountered Miriam Rudolph’s work during her time as a visiting artist in the printmaking studio last semester. She displayed and discussed some of her recent work and taught a brief printing process workshop. Needless to say, I was excited to speak with her again and learn even more about her creative practice in a face-to-face Skype interview.

The technical and conceptual aspects of her pieces blew me away, but so did her background: raised in a German-speaking Mennonite community in Paraguay, she traveled to Canada to earn her BFA and pursue a career in printmaking. 

Place and the concept of “home” have been important themes throughout her work. In our conversation, she described the “memory map” she created her senior year of undergrad, eventually entitled Mapping Home. The intaglio series explores her immediate surroundings in Winnipeg, her new home, and what it meant to “belong” there. 

Her more recent work also relates to “home” in the form of her relationship with Paraguay. The Master’s thesis she created during her time at the University of Alberta, entitled disPOSSESSIONS, explores the displacement of communities and the eradication of wildlife in Paraguay caused by soy and beef production. While she has been a Canadian resident for close to fifteen years, Miriam still cares deeply about the current social and political issues of her home country. 

These visual themes are surprisingly relevant to my work as well: my recent Sophomore Studio project involved creating an abstract “memory map” of my childhood neighborhood. The way Miriam has transformed this area of interest from personal to political, individual to global, is truly inspiring. 

Much of our conversation centered around her life as a working artist. Having an independent studio practice and showing in galleries seems so out of reach to me, and Miriam agreed. She said that before selling prints post-graduation, she “never thought it was possible to make a living as an artist.” 

Her biggest tips for independent printmakers? First, milk your community for resources. Miriam has become a member of the local print studio in every city she’s lived in, granting her the ability to print her work cheaply and easily. The workshops provided by these studios have been another invaluable tool for her growth, both as a student and a teacher. 

Second, put your work (and yourself) out there. “Don’t be afraid to schedule appointments with galleries, even if you’re just out of school or portfolio is really diverse,” she told me. Her first gallery shows were the result of cold calls and lots of meetings, and have led her to much bigger things. 

Third, acknowledge what sells, but always make what you want first. Miriam has a “two-tiered” practice: she creates and prints both her maps of Winnipeg (which are more popular and marketable), and personal projects primarily financed by grant money. 

“Do what you love first,” her father always said to her. “If that doesn’t work out, figure something else out.” Her career path gives me hope that making what I want and what represents me can be my Plan A. 

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My Website: A Work In Progress

This weekend I was able to update my website’s format and add an About page. There’s still a lot more I’d like to do, things I didn’t have time to accomplish this weekend:

- Update my About page with a more recent headshot (photos pending) - Add a page that includes the work I generated over the summer - Provide more substantial descriptions of my work on each page  - Create a custom header that includes my name in hand lettering 

Here’s a link to my current website: https://bkeisen.myportfolio.com/work

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This time around, I fiddled with the white space to help the resume’s flow and hierarchy. I also increased the point size of my contact information. 

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Lean into the Joy: an Interview with Cheyenne Barton

This is Cheyenne Barton. 

She is a freelance illustrator based in Seattle, Washington. I first found her by pure happenstance, browsing bullet journalling videos on YouTube. I was immediately charmed by her warm, inviting voice and the tiny rose illustrations and bubble lettering in her “journal with me” videos. I quickly discovered that she was more than just a creatively inclined individual with a YouTube account: she has a successful freelance illustration business that sells prints, stickers, and commissioned artworks. 

She has also recently experimented with painting landscapes, which she shares on Instagram and sells on Etsy.

While her creative career began as a pastime, she has transitioned into full-time work as a freelance illustrator, which she balances with her acting career (she studied theater in undergraduate school). Absolutely inspired and dumbfounded by her work ethic, I was excited to have the opportunity to ask her how she does it all. 

"Structuring the day is a weak point for me,” she admitted, but she tries to be at her desk and working by 9:30am six times a week. Her daily work consists of managing her online store, cutting stickers, sending out orders, and working on personal projects and commissions. Because much of her illustration work is done digitally, she tries to “get out of the house” as much as possible. Her work day ends around 6pm, and, when she’s involved in a theatrical production, her rehearsals begin soon afterward, stretching until 11pm. She says she likes the flexibility freelance work affords her in this respect: "If I get a late start to my day or if I'm burnt out, I can take a day off and get an early start the next day." 

Still, she warns about creative burn-out: “As a freelance artist, you never stop working.” She tries to take at least one day off a week to recharge and enjoy herself before getting back to work.

Aside from the day-to-day grind, Cheyenne has big plans for the future. She hopes to study abroad in Sweden sometime in the next few years, and in the long term, she aspires to illustrate articles for newspapers and magazines, or to design book covers for a publishing company. Right now, she is mainly focused on expanding the products her business offers to enamel pins, postcards, and notebooks. Ultimately, she says, “I just want to keep creating cool stuff to sell directly to my audience because I like having that immediate relationship to people who enjoy my content.”

So what did I learn from Cheyenne Barton? (No matter how much I admire her work, I promise I didn’t spend the whole interview just geeking out.) For starters, she gave me the advice everyone in art school has heard a million times by now: "Make the type of art that brings you joy and fulfills you," not what’s “marketable or employable.” “You want to ideally spend your days doing the type of work you want to do,” she pointed out, although she admitted that I might have to have a “day job” for a while. 

Cheyenne emphasized the importance of sharing creativity with others however and whenever possible. “Keep putting it out into the world, don't hoard it.” With a popular Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube channel, she is a master at sharing her work, and has created a large social media following from the ground up. She thinks that “what makes you different and your work different is the best selling point.” 

She often finds inspiration in the words and work of other creators, and recommended I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and listen to the Creative Pep Talk podcast (both of which I am currently doing, and would recommend as well!).  

Cheyenne’s career gives me so much hope for my own future. While she has been doodling her whole life, she only began getting “serious” about illustration her junior year of college (less than a decade ago). And yet, she has already fashioned a flexible creative career that not only allows her to fuel her passion, but pays the bills, too. 

Ultimately, she said, it’s all about the feeling you get while creating. “That joy is magnetic,” she explained, “and it attracts the people who want to see your work.” 

“Lean into the joy and lean into the love.”

(Big thanks to Cheyenne Barton for the interview, and Stephanie Rowen for the push to reach out! You can find Cheyenne’s work on her Instagram, Twitter, and website.)

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I reformatted my resume so that it’s two-columned. I also added my analog skills and did some small content edits. I’d like to know if the resume is readable and easy to follow, and whether the white spaces are effective.

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Internships and Fellowships

Publishing

Chronicle Books Design Fellowship

HarperCollins Publishers Internship

Printmaking

Highpoint Center for Printmaking Studio Assistant Internship

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center Studio Internship

Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Internship 

Atlanta Printmakers Studio Internship

Lower East Side Printshop Internship

The Ink Shop Internship

General Artmaking

Women’s Studio Workshop Studio Internship

WildCraft Studio School Internship

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I like really simple, legible resumes. The one at the top is my current resume layout, which I custom designed on InDesign.