We recently connected with Brenda, aka Art in Jest Dunn and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brenda, aka Art in Jest, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
I have the absolute delight of being a full time artist and twitch streamer. It’s a wonderful job and I’m super lucky to have it. Working for myself also means that there are some VERY blurry boundaries around work/life balance that I have to build, maintain, and enforce myself. It also means that on the surface, it can look like I’m only “working” for the hours that I’m actually streaming online. In actual fact, that’s the tiniest of surfaces with a whole lot of maintenance behind the scenes! In order to keep my energy where I want it, I truly do treat myself like a little plant. Food and water and also exercise are those annoying simple habits that also make it possible for me to go full-tilt.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m the fabulously absurd brain behind Art in Jest. I’m an artist and content creator based in Ottawa and I’m what most people would call a community-engaged artist so I do a lot of projects that involve participation and public interaction. During the pandemic, I – like so many creatives- found a home on Twitch and started streaming to the most absurdly supportive group of grown-up-kindergarteners in the world. Through that community, we’ve been donating a portion of the profits I make from streaming to something called The Crayon Fund. We donate to a different charitable partner every two months and it’s been one of the most fulfilling ways to have a positive impact. Between that, and an amazingly supportive group who support me on Patreon, I’ve been able to do the work I love. Our community has run a virtual summer camp, published a kids book, and put out annual calendars filled with the work of Jesters from all over the world. It’s definitely the kind of job that leaves me asking if this is real life.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I worked in the mental health industry and in an extremely corporate setting right after grad school. I think the skill to be able to treat myself like a business and recognize the importance of my own well being have both served me well. If you’re looking to work as an artist, getting the gig can sometimes be about being the easiest one to work with. Learn to write invoices, send emails, and treat yourself like someone who deserves a living wage. Don’t be the worst boss you’ve ever had.
If you’re early in your journey, find people whose work you admire and join them. Volunteer your time in places that you think align with your values.
Also CARFAC – the minimum reccomended fee schedule for creatives in Canada – learn how to use it. It will save you time and angst when it comes to charging what you’re worth. https://carfac-raav.ca/2024-en/
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
For me, overwhelm usually comes from my brain trying to conceive of an entire solution beginning to end. You know when you take the same route on a walk or something? You can picture the entire route beginning to end and you know what every step looks like. Our brains love that and we get squirrelly when we can’t picture our entire path.
The thing is, most of my best ideas or accomplishments have come from times I REALLY didn’t know my full “route” and a lot was unclear. So I try to do things to teach myself that discomfort isn’t danger. Your brain is meant to keep you away from novelty because that CAN keep you safe. But it can also keep you stagnant. So I look for chances to feel that discomfort of an unclear path, and I focus on the tiniest “what now, what next”.
Oh and yoga. Like a fair bit of yoga.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artinjest.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artinjest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artinjest
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendajoandunn
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/artinjest
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/artinjest
- Other: https://www.twitch.tv/artinjest
The Artinjest discord: https://discord.gg/ZfNxbAG6Xq
Image Credits
1) Image during a livestream in the artinjest studio 2) The cover of the kids book we wrote and illustrated with the community that had contributors all over the world. 3) This is what streamers look like after they’ve done nail art live for the first time. 4) This is the School of Chaos crest. School of chaos IS in session and our motto is a bad latin translation for “I don’t even go here” 5) Once school of chaos is out, Camp Chaos is in and we run camp sessions across all corners of twitch and host “campfires” on discord for the month of July. 6) I make artworks for our Patreon members every month and February’s theme was satellites. 7) Cartoon ArtinJest 8) I get to wear animal onesies on stream. Kids, if someone tells you that you can’t be an axolotl when you grow up they are wrong. 9) Our community calendar where 24 artists worked together on pieces for each month, collaborating across countries and continents to make an amazing set of artworks. All photo credits are my own, but all the credit for these things happening are the Jesters.
