Meet Andrew Sjodin

We recently connected with Andrew Sjodin and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

I don’t really think of myself as a very creative person in the way that most people think of the word “creative”. I’m not extremely unique. I don’t have a notable persona or presentation of myself. I don’t create art work that is wild and out there. I’m creative in that I am compelled to create work. I’m more of a workhorse with some atypical and specific interests that I feel a powerful compulsion to pursue. I work hard, burn out, and then step away long enough for the hunger to return. When the hunger returns I dive back in and continue creating.

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 am a classically trained painter and draftsman. I am also an educator: I am a core program instructor at The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts in Minneapolis, MN. I work as a professional painter. I create original art work and do commissioned work. I work in a more traditional style, creating still lifes, portraits, and figure work. I feel less excited about my work than I do compelled to create it. It interests me in that it is highly technically challenging and it allows me to express ideas in a particular way that I could not express otherwise.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I am highly introspective. I am very determined and highly focused. I also have a strong work ethic. In some ways these qualities were either a part of my intrinsic make-up or were developed in me early on in life. That said, I believe a person can work at them. Work ethic comes from working and reaping the benefits of that work. Determination seems to be fairly intrinsic; focus, on the other hand, is something that can be fostered. Today focus, real focus, is be coming a bit of a rare commodity. The internet, social media, and screens are stripping us of our focus. I feel this happening in myself. Cutting these thing out of life to the extent that one can is highly beneficial. Meditation helps too. Reading, deep reading, can be worked at as well, which helps to improve focus. It is difficult. I’m not sure about introspection. I think I was naturally inclined toward introspection. The college education I received encouraged this as well – I studied philosophy and was pushed by my instructors to ask difficult question and break ideas down in order to examine them. Reading broadly among the great thinkers will encourage introspection.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The main obstacle I have constantly come up against in creating my work is a rather mundane one: money. Dedicating your life fully to creating art is a highly impractical pursuit. There is typically very little money in it. The work requires so much time, focus, heart, and soul. In order to do it honestly, you must commit fully. This leaves little room for much else. The commitment and the money rarely line up. It leaves an artist in a perpetually frustrating and stupid position.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sjodinfineart.com
• Instagram: sjodinfineart

Image Credits

Mitch Rossow