We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Lubin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.
Michelle, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
As an artist, it’s easiest and most comfortable to just create but I knew early on that I couldn’t rely on just creating art, that in order to really build my career I’d have to navigate an uncharted path, learn the business side of things, and really hustle to opportunities . I believe I definitely get my work ethic from the non-artists I grew up around, namely my mom and older sisters. The youngest of four girls with a father who had a debilitating eye disease forcing my mom to be the sole breadwinner of a family of 6, I watched her break all the taboos when it wasn’t popular. But it wasn’t just her, I watched my older sisters take on the caregiver role to help my dad around the house and with us. My oldest sister finished college in 3 years, moved her family across the country while battling breast cancer, beating it while continuing her own profession. Watching all my sisters, mom, the females in my family hustle in their respective careers has been extremely motivating and something I remind myself of when faced with rejections, roadblocks, challenging projects and team members.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’ve only just started referring to myself as a multidisciplinary artist, really because the more I grow and challenge myself with projects, my title is starting to become a long sentence! I’m mainly a figurative fine artist that draws (mostly using graphite) representational self-portraits that start as journal entries and sketches, sometimes make their way on custom built wood panels. Drawing has been an effective tool towards my mental health journey since I was young. The cathartic release of letting emotions out on paper (and ultimately wood) continues to provide a safe space to adjust to challenges and even celebrate wins! This freedom also allows me to experiment with different tools and mediums which shows up in commissioned projects and custom portraits. Being able to capture portraits of others combining my favorite mediums like watercolor and drawing or painting a large scale mural give me a sense of balance. In the new year I plan on working on my next book and looking for a publisher rather than self-publishing like I have in the past. But what really fulfills my soul is actively volunteering with organizations committed to providing creative and available resources, opportunities, and outlets. Most dear to my heart at the moment, is working with my local Arts Bureau (https://ibartsbureau.com) and my daughters elementary school. We are currently going through board changes but excited to share local events, like the new Art in the Park event in collaboration with our library, our fourth Art Exhibition, workshops and more in the new year! While I’ve been a guest artist having assisted with a student-centric mural and speaking about a career in the arts to students in a few of the local elementary schools, I’m eager to be leading a third grade class for the first time in the new year!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think learning early about the art of rejection is necessary, that it’s a numbers game, to not give up. Get a “No”, take the critiques with a grain of salt, try again or a different submission/application, whatever it is. Sometimes, it’s seeing what sticks!
Embracing the unknown. It can be extremely overwhelming, navigating the art world, I speak from experience, HA! With so many professions there’s a clear path/classes to prepare you. There’s not much of that in the art world. It’s so individual but not, if that makes sense? Follow artists work that is somewhat similar to yours, see what galleries they’re with. Organizations like @createmagazine @artstoheartproject @artworkarchive have great resources and helpful stories of other artists journeys…which leads to my favorite but not done enough, though I’m working on it…
Asking for help. Every artist has their own unique path but we can’t do it completely on our own. We need to reach out for help, sometimes motivation, guidance and I do believe there is more out there now than there was. I think artists are understanding that it doesn’t need to be a competition, that there is really room for all of it, art for everyone. If you succeed, I can succeed, kind of mentality.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I’m overwhelmed, I usually lean into art for me. And that usually depends on my mood or project. If I’m overwhelmed by a custom job or volunteer work, I’ll manically crave studio time, which means I want to work on a super tedious drawing. That tends to focus my energy on what I’m drawing rather than my racing thoughts. If it’s drawing thats driving me crazy, I usually hop to using watercolor, enjoying the way the organic nature of it unravels tension. Overwhelmed with life, then I scratch through pages and pages of my journal, sometimes dear diary style, yes, even at my age. When art is not the answer which is sometimes the case, taking a step away is always a good idea. I’m so grateful to live so close to beaches, bike trails, and nature, but my favorite and closest is simply our balcony. I call it our family sanctuary. Whether side by side arting with my daughter, joining our kitty in her favorite sun spot or at night while everyone is asleep staring at the stars, nature always knows the way to bring calmness. My advice, find a happy place to “just breathe”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.MDFerrera.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdferrera/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdferrera/
Image Credits
All photos taken by myself or husband, Michael Lubin.
