Today we’d like to introduce you to Miranda Hauser.
Miranda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It’s always been a dream of mine to make art for a living. I started working with some of the local musicians in the Orlando area around 2015 or 2016 in high school. I took photos and started sketching my first few album covers. This connection to the music scene inspired me to consider illustration as a career. I was fortunate to attend the Pratt Institute for a summer and take college level classes in high school and being there really launched my passion to learn everything I could about illustration and where I could go next. I landed on attending the Ringling College of Art and Design and graduated 2021 with a major in Illustration and a minor in Business of Art and Design. Recently I landed a job and Marc-Michaels Interior Design as a design Admin and its been very eye opening to how a creative business successfully operates. On the side, I am working with a growing video game company in the visual development department and I just took steps into opening a small business with my best friend. I am currently working with Nervous Nature and Social Vinyl Club on album covers for upcoming projects.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Because of COVID, my senior year was a lot different and many of my classmates graduated without internship experiences. For me art is a very interactive experience and zoom classes could not replace that back and forth relationship of looking around at what everyone was creating for their senior thesis. My friends and professors made everything worth it and I am so grateful to have made such beautiful and lasting connections over the years. I took a long break after I completed my senior thesis “The CookBook for Guinea Pigs” because it was constant sunrise to sunset work that I needed the moment to relax. I recently got back into drawing again and it was a little bit of an emotional journey. I recently found out I have deep issues with anxiety and depression that really made it difficult to start a new job and get out of bed everyday. The support I have from my friends and partner helped me get help and be ok with getting help which is a concept that is still very new to me. I’m stubborn and I am glad for the patient people in my life that helped me slow down and find love for myself and my art.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My senior thesis helped me realize that I have a love and stress relationship with my art and, I really wouldn’t want it any other way. I use to struggle with pen and ink and color pallets so I took something my professor George Pratt said and started to “draw what you hate”. This is where my styles merged into work that focus in linear languages and colorful oddities. I get most of my inspiration to compose pieces from music like Kandinsky did with his work and Jazz. I can not comfortably work in silence so I am always working with music or the tv on. when I work with musicians to make album covers I try to get involved by listening to their music and understanding the emotion of the music they wan the cover for. I am really proud of the small business I started with my best friend Griffon. We met in high school and we had a deep sibling-like bond. Our shop, The Corduroy Cottage, will be hopefully dropping soon and we will be vending at our first convention in July at MetroCon.
I don’t think that I have anything that particularly sets me apart from other artists but I know my work process is unique and involved with people that I do business with. I really enjoy getting to know the person or people behind the idea and taking it from there.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The job I have at the interior design firm gave me extremely useful skills in organization and self-management. The business skills I learned in college and new skills I picked up on the job have helped me start planning and realizing what goals are attainable and what goals need to be adjusted to then become attainable. I found it’s really easy to forget plans/activities when I don’t write them down. A small handwritten calendar is really important in planning and solidifying future activities for all of the projects I have going on. Handwrite everything you want to remember.
Contact Info:
- Email: mhauser.art@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.mhillustration.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petite_duckling/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MirandaHauser.art/
