Meet Kiera Nadeau

We were lucky to catch up with Kiera Nadeau recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kiera, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

As an artist I have always known that I wanted a creative career, it’s just taken awhile to figure out what exactly that looks like and where this drive comes from. When I started to struggle with my health, I was forced to confront what was really important to me and I realized all I ever wanted to do was create. Whether it was painting, illustrating, sewing, or crafting I was always motivated no matter how fatigued I was or how down I was feeling that day. Creating always made me feel better no matter what was going on in my life. I realized when I started college that I want to make joyful, beautiful things so that there was always a constant positive force in my life, because the only thing I can truly control is myself and the things I translate into this world. This is how I found my purpose and my fuel behind my creative practice and this is what continues to motivate me to this day.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am currently a senior at SCAD, majoring in Painting with a minor in Illustration for Surface Design. As a painter, my work is deeply rooted in memory and emotional connections to color. My paintings and illustrations often incorporate playful, dynamic compositions that evoke a sense of warmth and familiarity, giving a feeling of youthfulness and fun across all my work. Although they may seem like very different practices, pattern design is an integral part of both my painting and illustration process as patterns are something very nostalgic to me and I am very interested in how I can translate my interests and experiences into something physical for others to connect with. I love the process of building patterns, finding rhythm in repetition, and weaving together elements that feel both personal and universal. Although the two creative practices started off separate, its been an exciting journey to see how they intermingle and influence each other.

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?

Looking back on my journey, three qualities that have had the most significant impact on my growth was having a technical drawing background, being open to different creative fields, and perseverance. Having a strong foundation in drawing was really beneficial when I started painting because I already had a strong base in understanding form, contrast, and color theory which made it easier to transition into new mediums and refine my artistic style. I think I would have struggled a lot early on if i hadn’t come from an illustration background that allowed me to view painting as simply drawing with paint as opposed to being a whole new beast to conquer. Second, being open to different creative fields allowed me to explore and experiment, ultimately leading me to the path that suited me best. My work has been able to evolve in ways that wouldn’t be possible if I only ever focused on painting and I wouldn’t have found my love for pattern design if i hadn’t been willing to branch out of the fine arts world. Lastly, perseverance has been crucial. Throughout my journey, I encountered discouraging advice and moments of doubt, but pushing forward despite setbacks made all the difference. In any creative career, people are going to have their doubts and negativity but you have to be passionate enough about your dreams to keep creating and just keep working no matter what. There is a lot of rejection in the creative journey and the best thing you can do is keep applying yourself and not let rejections dictate the value of your work. Overall my advice is to keep creating and experimenting, the more time and work you put in, the better you will get and it will all be so rewarding as you look back and see how far you’ve come.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

Although I think playing to your strengths is important, I have always made an effort to be more well-rounded because it can be very limiting to only ever do what you’re good at. I feel like it can be very easy to become stagnant in your work if you aren’t actively learning or trying new techniques and allowing yourself to discover new ways of creating. I always look at it from the perspective that I don’t want to be forced to keep doing the same thing just because its where my strengths are or if I feel I am not skilled enough to be confident in trying something else. Very recently I was feeling stuck in my work and not feeling content with what I had been producing and I decided to take a step back and focus on practicing my drawing again and exploring portraiture which is an area I don’t feel as comfortable in. In working to improve other skills I was able to branch out from my usual motifs and try out something new and exciting that got me out of a rut that I would have continued to struggle with if I avoided the things I wasn’t so good at. Now that I have freshened up my drawing skills I feel a lot more freedom in what I create and I think that is very liberating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kieranadeau.com/
• Instagram: @kiera_n_art
• Other: @patterns.by.kiera