We were lucky to catch up with Abby Rocha recently and have shared our conversation below.
Abby , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Where do you get your resilience from?
Pure stubbornness and spite. I’m only sorta kidding of course. There is however a certain amount of going against the grain that’s absolutely true when you become an artist. Especially if, like me, as a child of immigrants you are expected to think practically and go into a field that will help the family financially. Art is usually not an option for those without generational wealth. However academically in school I was never inclined to excel (much to the dismay of my mom, teachers and counselors) and the main reason was I had already determined in my heart that I wanted to be an artist from the age of five. There’s always been a strong internal voice and intuition that has driven me to the arts and that often clashed with what everyone else expected out of me. I persevered by trusting myself and working hard to improve my skills. In a way it legitimized me to the nay-sayers but most importantly to myself.
In a way I have the nay-sayers to thank for fueling me just to prove them wrong. However not everyone was discouraging to me and that encouragement has had longer lasting power than spite. I’m so thankful for the few adults in my adolescent years that fostered my interests in the arts, that cheered me on when I doubted my path, that donated their time, care and even supplies at times. Now as a professional I owe so much to my peers, mentors and the tribe of artistic misfits I’m very proud to call friends. My husband has also always believed in me and that has given me strength and the freedom to chase my dreams. Lastly I am a mother of a beautiful spirited and happy toddler which has also given me even more purpose and determination to succeed.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a Chicana creator based in the Bay Area, California. I make art, comics, stories and illustrations about Latino culture as well as the world around her. As a failing goth in recovery, I’m also an advocate of the death positive community and explore the intersection between death and culture. My job has always been about communication with images but as of late I’ve been diving a bit more into words through the world of comics. It’s an interesting task, balancing the word and image and I absolutely love it. I’ve also helped organize comics readings which is a thrilling and satisfying undertaking.
Recently I’ve started to self-publish anthologies of my comics work. The two latest projects are “Heartbreak Tacos: Stories About Love, Food and Heartbreak.” and “VOICES: A Comic Anthology About Immigrant Interviews, Stories, And Reflections”. You can find them on my website shop or in person at any of my upcoming events and conventions.
https://abbyrocha.com
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Perseverance, Kindness, and Passion. Perseverance in the face of adversity is so important because so much may come your way and it’s entirely up to you to rise to those challenges. Kindness is the tide that raises all boats and through my years kindness is what’s helped me foster relationships (both professional and otherwise) that have helped me push forward when I doubted myself. Passion is hard to do when what you love is your also your everyday business. You need to find what fuels you and tap into that. For me it’s multifaceted but some of my drivers are my need to create, my love for the process and the satisfaction of a completed task.
For those starting out I advise going to conventions where you can chat with professionals and ask questions about how they went about doing things. There’s obviously so many ways to do the same thing and some ways might resonate to you more than others. Find a small tribe of like-minded individuals you can bounce ideas and critique off each other. Then create, create, create! If you find the need for more structure take a class or course. It’s never too late to learn new things. Along the way remember to act graciously, make connections, and listen to your intuition and soon you’ll start to develop your skills to succeed.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Obviously people will differ on this but I believe when it comes to being an artist, unless you have the means to hire a marketing person, a manager, a copy editor, a publisher, and various other roles that entails running a small business, you kinda have to do it all. You end up wearing many hats and there will be a learning curve to each task. You end up drawing from experience of everything you’ve ever done and everything you will do in the future will end up informing projects down the road. That’s why I’m so thankful for saying “yes” to the various opportunities I’ve had in life. I’ve done so many things, art teacher assistant, customer service, hospitality, graphic designer, conventioner, printer, organizer, curator, and now small business owner. This is on top of my strictly just art and craft skills. However. If you have the means to hire out help DO IT. If you are offered help ACCEPT IT. If you are given the opportunity to learn a new skill that might help down the road GET IT. There’s no shame in getting help because no successful person does it alone. We all need help but you must help yourself first. Get the experience. Do the work. Ask the questions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://abbyrocha.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chica_artista_illustration?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/668461133189895
