Creative Mix : Contemporary Abstract Artist Tina Klaus

I’ve got some interesting creative people lined up for you over the next few weeks, including today’s guest Tina Klaus. Tina is a contemporary abstract artist by way of graphic design and then some. I learned about her work after she responded to my call for submissions in a recent Inward Facing Girl newsletter. Let’s get started!

 


 

tina klaus contemporary mixed media artist

What is your creative mix? Tell us about the awesome creative things that you do.

My creative mix has included being a graphic designer + packaging designer + dog photographer + marketing communications consultant + freelancer + a lot of other professional detours + training for a marathon + a recent hiccup of having a hip surgery + designing my own website + identity + starting a blog + being a wife + a good friend + finally…(I’m taking a breath) finding my path/life work and going out on my own as a contemporary abstract artist = my creative mix and who I am today.

One of the things that I want to talk about in this series is the dark side of “glamorous” jobs. Tell us what it’s really like to be an artist – the awesome and the awful.

Being an artist has its good days and bad days just like any other profession, or for that matter anything in life.

The good days include feeling how great it is be my own boss, creating what I want, having a flexible schedule, doing what I love, not having to answer to anybody, not having to dress up, listening to music really loudly especially the Indigo Girls and The Avett Brothers, cussing out loud, and no limitations or deadlines on my creative process unless I impose them.

“I get to express myself and be authentic every day. I no longer have to play a role.”

Getting into the creative zone and getting excited all by myself when it all comes together. Basically art makes me happy. No one has to tell me to do it. It never feels like work.

The bad days are more about thoughts of self doubt, questioning myself and wondering, “Am I good enough?” or “What the hell am I doing at the age of 48?” I think about quitting about fifty times day.

Oh and then there’s not trusting myself, having an idea and not having it work the way I imagined it in my head. Also, having too many ideas and figuring out which ones are worth pulling out. Then there’s having no ideas, creative blocks and feeling paralyzed by it all.

Staying self-directed and motivated can be challenging. Trying to get into a gallery and having the door shut before you’ve even stepped through the door. Having no steady income/paycheck. Crying alone and having moments of feeling like the loneliest person in the world. Explaining to people what I do and that I’m reinventing myself and seeing the doubt wash across their faces. And it sucks when it starts to feels like “work.”

tina klaus contemporary mixed media artist

You said something on your About page that I love.

“I’ve taken many detours along the way trying to fit into other professions because of the fear of the unknown of what being an artist would mean and look like. I now realize that being an artist and living a creative life is what I was born to do. And every time I say that to myself it takes my breath away because I’m grateful to finally be able to honor my creativity and do what I love.”

It seems like many artists and creatives have to really fight to get to “their place.” Will you share some of your journey with us? How did it feel when you tried to fit in where you knew you didn’t belong and what was it like when you finally felt at home?

I have taken many detours, and yes I have had to really fight to get to “my place,” not only as an artist but as a person and as a woman. I grew up as an only child in a very crazy making environment. In short I was taught and learned very well to constantly second guess my instincts, my feelings, and who I was.

Ironically, my environment was also a plethora of wonderful creativity. My father was a graphic designer, and a great one at that, and he wanted to be a painter. (And this will be the only nice thing I have to say about him).

I met Saul Bass, one of the greatest designers of all time, when I was four.

I played underneath my dad’s desk while he designed; that was my daycare.

The painter Buffalo Kaplinski was a friend of the family, and artists were always over at my house. We didn’t have much furniture but we had great art surrounding us.

And that’s how my journey began. I started out going to art school for graphic and packaging design. I had great jobs and I was a good designer it just wasn’t where my heart was. So, I started down this path of trying to make other professions fit.

I tried going back to school for my Masters in Art Therapy; it didn’t take, I tried to go back to school to be a veterinarian; it didn’t take; I worked at a health club teaching tennis; that didn’t take. I worked for a plastic surgeon as a patient-care coordinator and god I’m glad that didn’t take. I worked in retail doing window visuals; it didn’t take. I tried to work in offices and in management thinking that if I shut the door on my creativity it would just silently go away. See the pattern? Well, it took me over half my life to see it.

And finally I did in 2010. I decided get off my madness train and start over. My husband (who I love dearly) and I left our home in the suburbs, moved to downtown Denver, walked away from friendships and, in my case, walked away from family. I also realized I never wanted to work for anyone else ever again and I haven’t. It was time to be responsible for my own happiness and making a life that fit.

“And for me, finding ‘my place’ as an artist has definitely come at a high price. The price being a tremendous amount of loss, making it a bittersweet journey.”

Yet, this is the very thing that has helped me find myself, celebrate my creative voice, brought me happiness and a direction that sits well with my heart.

tina klaus contemporary mixed media artist

What’s the most challenging part of being a professional artist?

The most challenging part of being a professional artist is doing “the work” every day, staying focused and self directed. It is both a blessing and a curse. It’s true that the only way to be seasoned and to develop a solid body of work is to do a tremendous amount of it. And most of it will never be seen by anyone else but it’s essential in finding a/my artistic voice.

And it seems so simple and yet it really is a difficult process.

I have to have faith in the creative process; that all the work will bring everything to a place of fruition. For me my ideas and creative thoughts have a strong enough pull to keep moving me forward. I have to frequently remind myself to trust and believe that they are of value and worth expressing; they are my true voice.

How has the world of blogs and social media impacted your career?

“The world of blogs and social media has impacted my career/life because you either are in or you’re out of the loop. And I’ve been resistant to accepting that it is a necessary evil. It’s the way business is now done, how people connect and find out about each other.”

I like that blogs and social media give people a platform to express themselves in a very specific way. I also love having access to anything and everything. It’s like a visual candy library that I get exposed to; picking and choosing what it is I want to see and know. And social media let us connect which probably would not have happened otherwise.

What I don’t like about social media is that I have access to anything and everything all the time. Information is constantly coming in from every direction and it can get overwhelming. As a creative/visual person I already have enough ideas swirling around in my head and having more ideas coming in, feels like a major brain flood.

The personable aspect of having a meeting, talking face to face and making eye contact with another human being is becoming a thing of the past. It’s being replaced by Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and whatever the hell else is out there. This fact troubles me and I think we are losing “our humanness.” Social media is slowly redefining and teaching a whole generation a false sense of being connected. An entire cloud world exists and in it you don’t have to have an ounce of human interaction.

It’s also time consuming and I have to put a limit on it. For it can take me away from what I want to be doing. Yes it’s a necessary evil, but its one I don’t think I will every fully embrace.


Tina, thank you so much for sharing your journey and your beautiful work with us.

Like Tina mentioned, the whole social media world can be challenging for artists and other creative types. Today Sandra from Raincoast Cottage is interviewing me about this very thing, and how I help creatives navigate through it all so they can spend more time focusing on the things that they love doing. xo