Story & Lesson Highlights with Cammry Lapka of Port Angeles

We recently had the chance to connect with Cammry Lapka and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Cammry, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I wake up, make coffee, let my dogs outside. I check on all of my plants and perhaps write in my dream journal if I had a particularly interesting dream.
Then, I sit at my desk and begin working for as long as I can throughout the day. I’ll take 15 minute breaks occasionally to stretch and break up the monotony. At one point I’ll have lunch and continue through until around 6:30. Then, I exercise. I typically ride my bike to the Y for racquetball or go swimming at the local pool. After that, I’ll relax with a seltzer water and either work on personal projects or play a few video games with friends until bedtime.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a comic book artist and illustrator. I draw a lot of cartoony/anime comics for people around the world and I also publish a few comics of my own. One of the big ones of mine is George Smith: Paranormal Investigator of the Pacific Northwest – it just got funded on kickstarter for a whole print run and a publisher will be picking it up here soon. Another silly comic I enjoy making is Nosferati – very different from the source material but very fun. That is free on webtoons. Otherwise I’m just a comic artist enjoying life on the coast and trying to get myself out there.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I’m not sure if this is my *earliest* memory. However, the first time I felt like I took control of my life is when I moved across the country from Wyoming. I felt trapped in that state – opportunities for what I wanted to do was drying up left and right. The person I was with was insecure and held me inside – was scared of what I’d do if he let me go. Well, ironically, I finally decided I had enough at one point and made the big decision to move all the way out to the coast. It was liberating and for the first time I felt free. I took my life by the reins and I’m so much better for it.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. Even after my grand escape from the midwest; I faced a lot of hardship when I moved. I had entered some bad relationships – since I had no friends. I lost a pregnancy. Housing was a constant carousel, I struggled to make ends meet for a very long time, and I fought substance abuse. I was still drawing this whole time – but I didn’t think I’d ever be good enough for what I was aiming for and I struggled to take commissions or even keep myself together long enough to make anything of substance. However, once I settled into my surroundings. I made new friends, wounds healed, I networked and gained confidence through indie publishing. Suddenly, the goal became clearer and more obtainable.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I always thought I was going to be a big, famous artist one day. I thought it would happen overnight. Something incredible would fall into my lap and all my dreams would come true. However, that’s not how it works. Over the last few years I’ve come to realize that I can always have that lofty goal in the back of my mind – but realistically I can work on being what comes to me. Whether that’s relative obscurity or a small-time creator or whatever. The pressure that comes with expecting big things isn’t healthy. So, I take things one small piece at a time and accept that whatever comes to me will come or perhaps it never will and I have to be fine with that.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’m sitting in my office with my dogs and cat – sipping tea, listening to audio dramas and working on comics.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All images by me – Cammry Lapka

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