HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WORK AND GAIN NEW CLIENTS? IS SOCIAL MEDIA/YOUR WEBSITE A LARGE PART OF THE THAT? Social media and my website are a huge part of promoting my work, I like to think of them as the gas that keeps the engine going. But the engine is real life experience and interaction. There is nothing better for promoting my work than meeting people in person and showing them what I do. My biggest advocates are people who know me personally and spread the word about my artwork, ethics, and drive. People who don’t advocate for me are typically threatened by me. There is always going to be someone trying to keep you down or stand on your shoulders. All we can do as artists and entrepreneurs is speak the truth, do our best craftsmanship and treat others with kindness. If you know in your own heart you are doing the right thing, then those few and far between people can’t bring you down. Went on a little tangent there but it needed to be said. Back to social media for a second. Again I believe the more you put into it the more you get out of it. I have been consistently posting for my entire career, about once per day on average. It may have taken 7 years, but the community found me. Its been about 7 years of sharing my work with an actual community of people who appreciate my work and I must say, it feels great! I am so grateful for everyone in the TEA family. Every single interaction with TEA online is super appreciated and I make a point to answer every message that comes my way. I think my collectors really appreciate the open line of communication and professionalism. WHEN CREATING A NEW PIECE OF WORK, WHAT PROCESS DO YOU GO THROUGH (SKETCHES, RESEARCH, ETC.)? Research is a big one, and for me sometimes its just looking back at my notes on my phone I’ve been making to spark an idea. I believe that ideas float around in our collective conscious and we are just sitting on the riverside fishing for them. If you get a bite, you better hold onto it. And in my experience I hold onto it by taking note of it and coming back to it later. Its a catch and release method. Catch it, write it down and then release it back in to the collective consciousness. Sometimes I get to it first, sometimes someone else beats me to it. But really if you find your own style and perspective, you can make an original piece with the same concept as someone else. It’s not easy but it can happen. The false belief of ownership of an idea, only leads to personal suffering. After research, I begin to sketch. I do drawing studies of the content I want to share and find where they will fit into the end result. Oftentimes, only about 40% of what I draw ends up in the final work.
PHOTOS COURTESY DANIEL ZETTERSTROM
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