Meet Chase Lehman

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chase Lehman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chase below.

Chase, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
My self-discipline as an artist and senior in college comes from habits and routines. I am a creative who needs a solid everyday routine so I can plan out when I’m creating and not lose focus on it. Before implementing routines into my daily life I wasn’t creating as much, I wasn’t fully fulfilled, and I wasn’t happy with myself, my work, and how I was going about day to day. Currently, I am still in school as a senior and I’m also a screen printer at a shop when I’m in my hometown. Every weekday I go to the gym first thing in the morning at 5 am, go to work or class, come home, get dinner, and create/draw. I still will sketch throughout the day but I need those solid times where it’s ME time to thrive as an artist and a person. As artists, I think it is very important to have blocked out you time, only because artists need that alone time with just their thoughts. I also have found going to the gym to be the most beneficial thing that I’ve stuck with which has even helped my artwork.
Having a strict routine such as going to the gym at 5am made me stick to it, even if it isn’t fun. If I am able to create time for something that I sometimes hate, why can’t I make time for myself and my art? Ever since making this routine flip, I’ve been creating more as well as having my creativity at an all-time high. I know routines don’t work for everyone but as someone who needs a schedule for their everyday life, implementing this into myself has made me grow so much as a person, as well as an artist.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an artist who does a little bit of everything. I am currently in school for my final year at SCAD graduating with my BFA in illustration with a minor in printmaking. I remembered always being enthralled with art camps, art classes, and craft classes as a kid, now today I find myself surrounded by art during my day-to-day life. The more I grow as an artist and a person, I’ve found so much joy in how everything is turning out all while the stress of graduating. I’ve been dedicating most of my summer and year to getting my name out there as an artist. I’ve attended markets in Savannah and back in my hometown, Philadelphia. I’ve been using all the resources around me to create a name for myself and something I can be proud of. Getting into the world of vending at markets has been such a rewarding and great learning experience overall. The joy I get when someone buys one of my prints or original artworks to hang in THEIR house is incredible, I don’t think I can explain the feeling. Since doing these markets I as well have been finding my niche, my voice, who I am as a creator. One of the best things about doing markets is all the people and like-minded creatives you’re surrounded by. You’re always being inspired and shown completely new things that you wouldn’t imagine thinking of.
As well recently I have been emerging into the world and field of screenprinting, which has been a complete blessing. Over the summer I got a position as a screen printer back where I’m from. I’ve learned so much this summer and hope to continue learning about it in the future. Going to work every day doing what you love the most with new challenges is such a rush! I truly believe over the last few months I’ve found who I am and what I want to do. I’ve fallen in love with the industry of screenprinting, I enjoy the hustle and bustle of going to art markets and connecting with other creatives, and I love creating art.
In the future, I want to continue what I am doing today, what I love. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me. I want to continue vending and bringing joy to others through my work, doing something challenging and new each day, and hopefully soon opening my own Etsy store with my own screen-printed shirts, prints, stickers, and more.

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?
To me the three most important things for starting a journey, whether that be art or not are persistence, work ethic, and passion for what you do. I find these three things give me the drive to do what I do and never fail me. Persistence is key, without it, there isn’t always drive or motivation. Keep posting online even if it doesn’t get a lot of views or likes, keep practicing your art even if people are saying it isn’t good, and be persistent in trying to prove them wrong. Success doesn’t happen overnight and if people say it was they’re probably lying. Sure people might get success overnight on a video of their art, but you didn’t see the buildup and work leading up the that video that blew up online. Keep pushing yourself and with that push, you will be persistent.
Work ethic probably plays the biggest role in my life for who I am. I grew up with two parents who instilled a work ethic into me at a young age and learned nothing comes for free. Because this was taught to me at a very young age it has helped me accomplish so much while also being completely unaware of these habits I’ve created. my work ethic is also something that drives me and should drive you as well. Putting in the work won’t always give you want you want but it will push you and it will pay off.
I think the most important factor in your journey is passion. Without passion, what is there? Passion at the end of the day is what fuels you to do what you love. If I had no passion for art, I simply wouldn’t be doing art. Passion makes us who we are, it inspires us and drives us to achieve more and become better. The day I started creating for passion and not for others is the day my art changed for the better.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The number one obstacle I face day to day as an artist is to stress. I find myself getting so caught up in things that don’t matter I’ll forget to see the big picture, the light at the end of the tunnel. I find I’ve always had this struggle with high stress and I do believe as a creative there is always stress with job searching, posting online, putting you and your art out there, and simply making sure you’re checking all the boxes every day. Being an artist who is independent can have lots of stress but again, it’s all part of the bigger picture of being an independent artist. I will always be thinking of these things but I go to what I know and it seems to all fade away. Creating art is a blocker of stress but also is the reason for it sometimes. I’ve been teaching myself and instilling in myself that the stress isn’t worth it, push it aside and keep showing who you are.

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