We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Juliana Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Juliana, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I don’t know that I will ever overcome imposter syndrome, as much as I simply choose to create daily despite my inner critic. Every time I sit down to create, it tells me I should wait until I master a specific skill or until I am better, and that there’s no one who will want to see what I’m doing. Instead, I create what my heart wants to share with the world. Whenever I find myself dissatisfied, it’s usually because I began to create with the goal of selling more rather than actually creating a product or story that my heart really wants to share.
If I have learned anything in the past few years it is that people value authenticity, despite whatever perceived talent or skills you may or may not have.
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?
My name is Juliana Miller and I am an artist known in Fairbanks, Alaska as the “Blob Lady”. As a child, I spent hours lying sprawled out on the floor creating my own worlds on large sheets of paper. As I grew up, art was near to my heart, serving as an escape from stressors, coping mechanism for life’s heartaches, and a way to express myself. In middle school biology class, I was told to draw what I saw under the microscope and label the parts of the cell, but I decided that the amoebic shape needed eyes and a smile. I called the character ‘Bob the Blob’ and began to doodle him on my assignments and whiteboards through the school.
My classmates were amused, and I was inspired. Through the years, Bob served as a silly little sidekick in my mind. Fast forward to adulthood, I earned my degree in Advertising, got a job at a newspaper, worked as a graphic designer, got married, and had twins. In that time, there was a lot of craziness and creativity, but it wasn’t until I handed my toddler duo some crayons that I remembered my old doodles. That reminder sparked a new desire in my heart to bring back the little character I created, and see what I could do with it.
I’ve worked through the past few years as a freelance children’s book illustrator, creating and self publishing several titles. Nearing the end of Covid, my husband asked me what I would do with the book collection I accumulated, and that was when I decided to do my first market. Looking back, I had no idea what I was doing, but I’m glad I jumped in and did it anyway. I set up a few tables with my books, paintings, and greeting card designs, and a dear friend of mine came and helped draw people in. I didn’t know how to sell myself, and I didn’t want to bother people by telling them about what I did. Luckily, my friend had no problems telling people about me, and I am forever thankful she was confident enough in my art to stand and help me that first day.
While I didn’t make a lot of money for that first event, what I did receive was encouragement. In order to draw some attention to the blob books, I created a small diorama made with clay and paper mache. On it there were small clay blobs enjoying a summer day at a lake. I was blown away by how many people wanted to take the blobs I’d glued to the diorama, and it was suggested to me that I should make blobs that could be adopted. So, after my first event, I did just that!
For a few months I worked on creating more blob products, as well as small clay blobs with adoption certificates that others could adopt. In complete opposition to my reclusive nature, I signed up for the ten day-ten hour day Tanana Valley State Fair as a vendor. I still can’t believe I went from one small event to signing up for the fair. I sold out of clay blobs and had to go home each night at ten o’clock to make more for the following day. I couldn’t believe that people were as supportive of my blob art as they were.
Since then, I’ve created more blob books, stickers, t-shirts, hoodies, and merchandise. I have ADHD, so I squirrel between art mediums frequently. When I am growing weary of drawing, I’ll sculpt. When I am bored with that, I’ll do some painting or dabble in woodworking. One of the things I am most proud of is the process in which I make the adoptable blob figures. I created over 1,000 clay figures before I decided to make a change to the production process. I create a master figure out of resin clay, make my own silicone mold and cast the figure in resin. It’s quite a process, but I have found the resulting figure is more durable and the process ends up taking far less of my time. Plus, it saves my hands a bit of work. Now, I save the clay for more detailed, specific custom figures. In fact, I am currently working on a wedding cake topper of the bride and groom as blobs.
It’s been a wild ride for the past three years, and I am enjoying getting more involved in my community. Last summer, I released a book called “Blobbify: Search for the Golden Heart”, where my characters toured my hometown. I’ll be releasing another book in the coming months where they enjoy a day at Pioneer Park. I have a seasonal cabin at Pioneer Park, where I am open all summer. I look forward to meeting new people, creating new stories, and making more blobs to adopt!
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?
Three things that were impactful in my journey are perseverance, flexibility, and resilience. If you have a dream in your heart (no matter how silly), go for it. If you don’t have the skillset, watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts, or join an online community. No one else will do the hard work for you in order to pursue your dream. Anything that is worth doing will require work. I love a good hard day of meaningful and productive work, but it is so much more impactful when it is for something that you have created from the ground up.
I am by all means a very (very) small business, but I am looking forward with dreams far bigger than I am even willing to speak aloud. I won’t get anywhere if I don’t start, so that’s what I’ve been doing. If I look back in twenty years and I’ve done nothing more than I’ve done today, I’ll still think it was a worthwhile journey because of the people I’ve met, and the change in my mindset that I’ve gained along the way.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Stephen Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” has been the most profoundly life changing book in my life. I have often viewed myself as a drifting log in the ocean of life, and this book gave me the proverbial canoe and oar to find my own way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blobbify.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blobbify/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blobbify/
