Meet Jeannie Hua

We recently connected with Jeannie Hua and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeannie, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

I’ve never had the luxury of letting racism and misogyny hold me back. After my family immigrated from Taiwan to Cincinnati, Ohio, we were unprepared for the racism that greeted us in the 1970’s. I was told to go to the back of the line so White people would be served first. (After waiting in line already. Yes, I’ve been asked that.) There wasn’t a day that went by when I wasn’t called a chink, gook, slant eyed. I was called ugly on a daily basis. A good day was to only hear a racial epithet once.

I know my parents experienced racism as well. As a result of not doing as well as my parents had planned from the move, not a day went by without my mother standing by my bedroom door, telling me how my father and her have failed in life. She told me that I was their only hope. She told me I had to put myself through college and graduate school, have a lucrative career, and financially support them. I heard this from the age of 8 until 17 when I went off to college. The first day I arrived at University of Chicago start my undergraduate experience was the first day I didn’t hear racial epithets.

I did exactly what my mother asked, I put myself through schools and became a lawyer. When I endured racism and misogyny, I pushed through the pain, I didn’t let it stop me because the alternative was to not be able to support myself and my parents financially. I bought a house for my parents and eventually had a family myself. But living only for others had a detrimental effect on me. Ten years ago, I developed such severe suicidal ideation, I had to close my law firm within a week or two. I was in bed for six months, getting out only to finish up the last of my cases that I couldn’t withdraw from.

My husband suggested that I return to my love of art that I had ever since I was a kid. With the support of my family, I started taking classes at the community college. After a year or two, I ran out of classes to take. I decided to apply to graduate art school. I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and got an Masters in Fine Arts. My art has been shown in galleries and museums in Las Vegas, but also in other states, including New York, California, and so on.

It’s been a privilege to help my parents. And it took me years to realize that I can’t make people happy, they have to do the work for themselves. I’ve also raise my kids differently from my parents… the same amount of love, just different directions. I returned to law part time to supplement my art expenses and travels.

I’m going to Venice in a couple of weeks to check out the Venice Biennale with a couple of friends from SAIC. I could never have imaged having the life I currently live.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a mixed media interdisciplinary artist. I use ephemera such as newspaper and joss funeral paper along with gold leaf, oil and acrylic paint to show the experience of Asian Americans and the lack of historical records of our contribution to United States. I also run workshops teaching collage to the community. I find the Asian American experience to overlap with the American experience, which is love of family, love of community. In the end, the whole point of my art is to illustrate what binds all of us together, the humanity within us all.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would take classes from community college. They have varied course for you to find your passion. Many community colleges have sliding scale or tuition waivers if you qualify. Most of the courses are taught by adjunct who actually hold jobs related to the subject matter of the class. So you’d get the technical knowledge as well as practical application.

I would also talk to the professionals working within the career you’re interested in. People love to talk about what they do. And it’s a great way to start your network. I know network sounds daunting because it sounds so formal. But all network means is the group of people you know.

Now that I’m recovering from becoming an empty husk of a human being, my third advice is to take care of yourself with exercise and meditation. Make yourself a smoothie and hide some kale in it. I know that always make me feel morally superior to my husband, who’s addicted to mac and cheese and nutty bars. (Who can blame him?)

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

I’ve been battling anxiety and depression. I’ve been fighting the battle for at least a decade. I can see clearly that anxiety and depression have no reflection with reality. However I’ve been raised, I need to overcome feeling undeserving, no matter how much I may have achieved. Exercise and meditation have helped me. I’ve taken antidepressants in the past with limited success and now I no longer take any. But I encourage people to talk to their doctors to see if it’s an appropriate resource. I also avail myself therapy for a period of time when I feel that talking to someone will help. What really helps me is talking to my husband, the sanest person on earth. Sometimes voicing my thoughts help separate myself with what I feel from what I know to be real. I think I learned recently to not be down about having anxiety and depression get in the way of appreciating my life. I just deal with it day by day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jeanniehua.art
• Instagram: @ruthlesslyoptimistic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/burnedoutlawyer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniehua