We were lucky to catch up with Autumn Liv Cyr recently and have shared our conversation below.
Autumn Liv, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Mental health has been a major struggle throughout my life, however it may very well be the driving force behind the kind of work that I do. I grew up in a sort of dysfunctional household situation where art, music and literature were some of the only activities I could dive into freely and find comfort in. I struggled severely with mental health in my youth when I couldn’t make art. In the years that my creativity wasn’t celebrated, my mental health worsened. Today, as an adult and as a professional artist and musician in a post-pandemic world, I still struggle, sure, but I find the best tool to work with and grow around the struggle has been through honesty. By being authentic and vulnerable I am able to relate to my audience. I speak freely through my art and music and use it now as a venue to connect more genuinely with people. Many of us battle mental illness but through creativity, we don’t have to fight with it alone.
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?
My name is Autumn Liv (Pronounced Leave) Cyr (it/they/he/she) and I’m a multi media visual artist, graphic designer, muralist and musician hailing from New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a visual artist I work with any medium I can get my hands on from pastels and pen and ink to acrylic painting and watercolors. Creating fine artworks allows me the opportunity to connect with people, to tell a story and to create a dialogue. One of the most exciting feelings is when something I’ve created resonates with someone. I never want to make someone cry, however, when something I’ve poured hours into affects someone in that way, it’s more than moving. Additionally, the journey of each piece and how it’s built up from start to finish will never cease to amaze me. I am constantly trying my best to best myself and build up more and more skills, sort of like leveling up in a video game. At times I fail to see how far I’ve come due to always looking at where I want to be, but when that Facebook memory pops up on my feed of a painting I had done 3 years ago versus today, I am reminded that every piece is a lesson and everything is practice and it motivates me to keep working.
Using these skills and also to establish myself further as an artist and sustain myself, I take on a lot of commission work. Interestingly, my most popular artistic service is creating home illustrations that make great gifts for real estate agents on closing days or anniversary gifts. I also do a bit of portraiture ranging from pet portraits to portraits of friends and family and lovers. I love being able to create sentimental gifts, and I love working with clients to create meaningful heirlooms that will hang in their home. I love that many of these artworks, my artworks, have pleasantly surprised their recipients.
As a graphic designer, I enjoy working with local businesses and local musicians to help fully realize their brand and to help them stand out. I have helped with logo design, album artwork, flyers and more! I am currently working a little extra to advance my graphic design knowledge and skillset. Funny enough, I did not excel in graphic design when in high school and have only recently been driven to work harder at it! If you are looking to have a unique and more illustrative take on your brand, I may be the right choice for you! Being a musician myself, I find so much joy in connecting with other musicians for their visual art needs.
As a muralist, I am actively working to acquire more opportunities. Though I’ve done mural work a number of times, now, over the years, in October of 2023 I was given the opportunity to paint my own original idea on a wall. I would love more opportunities like that. It was amazing, and challenging. I had only 3 days to get it on the wall and it was huge, but it was the opportunity of a lifetime and I just kept going. When it was finished at 3:00 am on a Sunday, I sat on the floor and cried. It was a message that I wanted to send. “Let the Children Paint” at the Kilburn Mills in New Bedford was my message that the youth, or anyone for that matter, will continue to create even when the means to aren’t necessarily given to them. It is a project that I am extremely proud of. It’s wholly mine, my vision, and I love it. A goal of mine for this year is to secure more opportunities like this one, though I’ve been blessed to work on a number of commercial murals, murals for homes and personal spaces as well as temporary window murals. I love large public projects, and one of the best feelings in the world is when the public responds to the work. Children looking up at it, seemingly inspired, the soft smiles on faces walking by, the encouragement from strangers and the passing inquiries. It becomes interactive and it’s a feeling that can’t be replicated through social media. It’s in person, it’s human connection.
As a musician, I have a number of solo projects under my belt, but my main musical squeeze these days is a band called StarBath. Starbath is a 5 member hardcore/shoegaze/midwestern-emo inspired, loud rock experience and we’re currently recording and writing new material. As we record, we are working to update our online streaming presence with music that reflects how we sound currently and live. It is one of the greatest collaborations in my life and better yet, I’m experiencing it with my best friends. We work hard to best ourselves and create original music and are extremely driven to constantly create more. We have high expectations of ourselves this year to reach a wider audience and to get better as musicians. Within the band, I hold the position of lead vocals and whatever instrument might suit the song, these days it’s mostly synthesizer, but I’ve also played harmonicas, violin and guitar where need be. In tandem with the music each of us have skills that help to make StarBath fully realized as a brand. We are excited for the new opportunities and projects that this year will bring and are making StarBath a priority in our lives. Our live performances are extremely interactive, and you feel present and connected with the audience. We are driven to do our best, better ourselves and share our sound with the world.
Additionally, my partner and I are working on a little side project under the moniker Adult Gymnastics which falls under the Indie genre. We have a couple of singles under our belt and our goal for this year is to produce even more!
I want art to fully encapsulate my life, in some ways it’s what I live for, but it also brings me to the most interesting places. Through empathy, a great deal of love, creativity and authenticity, I prove that I am human, and my art is the venue that I chose to present that.
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?
My constant ambition and desire to learn. I consider myself a “Jack of all trades, master of none….” case. I have grown to be multi-faceted in a number of different creative fields. Admittedly, this was to keep myself afloat. I had to survive throughout much of my life, and as a creative professional, the more services I am able to offer, the more opportunities open up to me. To finish the quote “…but often times better than a master of one.” Constantly finding enjoyment and satisfaction in building up skills and learning new things has made me more marketable as a creative. I went from busking on New Bedford sidewalks to being in a professional touring band and am still learning all the intricacies of booking, marketing, music theory. Constantly building up a repertoire. I went from sketching houses in a ballpoint pen to being able to illustrate and paint houses in nearly any medium, and I’m still learning. Always seeking improvement is one of my greatest assets.
My objectivity. I am able to, usually, take a step back from a situation and look at it objectively. Did I make a mistake here? How can I make it better. If I can, I will work to remedy it. If I can’t, then I will apologize and do better in the future. Everyone is human, everything is chaotic and everyone is handling their own life stressors.
My work ethic. I find that being constantly creative leads me to working on something new almost all the time. That being said, there is such a thing as working too much and burnout does happen. I am working on giving myself time to rest and relax more, but if my body is in good standing with my desire to do something, I find that a seven day work week is doable and rewarding. I am learning to be a little easier on myself and am finding ways to work smarter and not harder. Everything is a work in progress! I am learning to balance my personal goals and ambitions with work taken on through commission. Doing work for others is great and rewarding, but when you’re not creating enough for yourself, it can and will hurt. A balance among the two is necessary.
As a creative, it is important to be honest with yourself. Start by looking at your work and be open to critique. An open mind and willingness to accept that nothing and nobody is perfect is a great place to start. Try new things and set small, doable goals for yourself! If you enjoy multiple things, great! You don’t have to do all of them at once. I find, at times, I’m more invested in music than I am into the visual art. Be sure to set aside time to do things you really want to do in tandem with work for others. Remember if you aren’t enjoying it, why are you doing it? Seize opportunity, but only if it benefits you. For every silly “exposure” offer, there is another, better, offer that will pay. Research and apply yourself. Objectively understand your worth, value and skillset and reevaluate periodically as you continue to build up those skills. Lastly, and this is one I’m still actively working on, believe in yourself, be kinder to yourself. It takes time to build yourself up, and every single day is a journey. There will be ups and downs, but with all the downs there will be ups again. If you want something, get after it.
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?
A huge challenge I have been facing has been my health, both physical and mental. Over the past few years I have neglected my health and prioritized the grind and hustle mindset. Though I’ve always struggled in this area, the area of taking care of myself, the pandemic, coupled with financial stresses, a gnarly car accident resulting in a prolonged head injury, grief and losing close friends, as well as a lack of resources, have put me in some of the most dark places I have ever experienced. Self care is paramount. I need this vessel to create, so I need to upkeep it. Firstly, I have adopted a positive mindset. It’s not perfect, but I have been mostly thinking, I have survived this far, what can I change so that I may thrive more. I have been making small changes here and there that will eventually lead to an ideal routine. Not skipping meals, journaling for mental health, creating more for myself in tandem with commission work, organizing a little and exercising! A little bit at a time, a little bit each day amounts to a whole lot more! These are things that will continue to benefit me and enable me to do more, create more and hopefully, get even better at what I love to do. I am a work in progress, and learning to be okay with that is a net positive. I am putting in the effort, and something that I have been telling myself, something that drives me to want more is “I want to know what it feels like to be good, worry-free and taken care of.” I have been replacing intrusive thoughts with positive visions and dreams. Instead of, “my joint pain is only going to get worse” or “how am I ever going to get this done” among other horrible thoughts, I’ve adopted “I feel a little better today, I think the 10 minute walk was good for me” or “I worked on this project long enough, I am going to play video games tonight.” Little affirmations go a long way. Go easy on yourself, a little effort in the right direction will pay off, but it’s okay to have bad days as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: instagram.com/autumnlivcyrart
- Instagram: instagram.com/autumnlivcyrart
- Facebook: facebook.com/autumnlivs
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/autasi
- Other: instagram.com/starbathband
facebook.com/starbathband
https://starbath.bandcamp.com/
https://adultgymnastics.bandcamp.com/track/kali-cat
Image Credits
All images are by Autumn Liv Cyr
