Challenge 144: 10 Years, Looking Forward: A-Frame Studio Life
Buckle up-- this is a long one!
Wow, ten years. Itās hard to believe a whole decade has passed since Square Carousel began, and since I graduated college. In some ways, it feels like another lifetime, and in others, it feels vastly shorter than the decade before that, from ages 12 to 22. Time is fascinating that way. College was such an incredibly impactful time period, but just a measly 4 years-- I could have done college 2.5 more times back-to-back in the years since I graduated, but somehow those four, from 2007-2011 were monumental.Ā
Itās hard to believe Iāll be in a post-college world without Square Carousel, since the group has been a constant in my life these last ten years. Iām really proud that we made it this far and are able to choose to end the journey, rather than it fizzling out or dying from lack of interest. Sometimes it felt like that might happen, but other times it felt like we were blooming. There have been many ups and downs over the course of this journey. And damn, it was a lot of hard to work to keep running, but I am so grateful for the learning experience. I know so much more about leadership now than I ever would have before-- the delicate balance of having rules to keep the group running (deadlines, participation requirements, our dreadedĀ āstrike systemā) and keeping up morale (knowing when to forgive slip-ups, keeping challenges sufficiently entertaining and well...challenging, making sure the group feels like itās a community).
Elizabeth and I were reluctant leaders, just naturally having to take those roles as other original members of the group left and were replaced by folks who needed guidance. We definitely didnāt seek it out, but we knew that if the group were to stay alive, we had to put some structure into the system. Pretty early on we made our rules and guidelines, extended the challenges to 3 weeks from just 2, and worked on our visual image online. Our awesome logo was made by former member Casey Crisenbery, and we switched from Wordpress to Tumblr, purchasing a URL, and Casey using special code for custom organization on the site. Sketch critiques were now a halfway point through our 3 weeks-long challenge, which helped a lot with the community aspect and engagement. We started doing interviews for each member, reaching out to other illustration groups, blogs and submission sites and had our work featured on a few of them. Some of us even got jobs from the connections made through Square Carousel!Ā
There was a bad stretch several years ago when I wasnāt sure weād make it through, with toxic behavior and a few folks petitioning for removing deadlines and structure, making everything optional. One thing I can tell you with certainty after ten years of working with artists is that 95% of us require deadlines to do anything, and incentives/obligations for meeting those deadlines, or it just isnāt going to happen! Elizabeth and I, along with a few other solid members, were able to keep the structure weād worked hard to create, but the toxic culture had already killed group morale and we lost a lot of members simultaneously. That was a sad and scary time for Square Carousel, but I didnāt want to go out on a sour note. So the small group of us picked the pieces back up again, did a little refocus on our goals as a collective and created anĀ āAdminā so Elizabeth and I didnāt have to carry the entire burden alone. I am forever grateful to Sayada and Jordan for stepping up into these roles to help us get the train back on track. Sayada especially picked up a lot of responsibilities that a newer member shouldnāt have to worry about, and was a total rockstar for Square Carousel. I wish weād had her with us for the whole ride. Iām so happy that weāve had a few really great years with some really loyal and talented artists to round out the experience at Year Ten.Ā
There is nobody Iām more thankful for than my Good Cop, Elizabeth, though. She was so reliable, always able to provide balance in our leadership roles, and such a wonderful shoulder to cry on when things got too stressful. Elizabeth, thank you for this journey and for being my SC Wife all these years! Itās so funny because of all the original members, you were one of the only ones I hadnāt really known from SCAD classes, yet youāre the SCAD Illustration friend I have remained most connected to most consistently. Nothing bonds you quite like running an illustration collective does! It also cracks me up that in all these years, we hadnāt ever facetimed or talked on the phone until a few months ago--I didnāt even know your mannerisms or voice, but knew you so well anyway. My greatest internet friend! I love you dearly and it truly wonāt feel right, the absence of our weekly SC conversations. Thank you for all of the memories!
As just a member and artist, this group has helped me grow so much professionally. It was my client when I didnāt have clients. It was my motivation to paint when I didnāt feel creative. It was my source of portfolio-worthy work, but also my safe place to experiment and fail when I was trying something new. The girl who started as a Square Carousel member freshly graduated in 2011 was working part-time at Urban Outfitters, had basically no money, and no clue how to promote herself. TheĀ āstudioā was a corner of the bedroom and nobody took her seriously. But a stubborn dedication and the security, purpose and structure of Square Carousel helped the slow change from that lost girl to a full-time freelancing woman. Now, in 2021, I have been doing freelance illustration fully for six years, through contract jobs, editorial, publishing, advertising, commission and local work, as well as selling prints and products online, in local shops and events. I am not making the big bucks, certainly, and I still have goals Iām working towards, but damn, if that isnāt a glow-up, I donāt know what is. Thank you for helping me achieve my impossible dream, Square Carousel, and always being a place with the right amount of advice, support and critique.
Ten years, 34 artist interviews, 38 artists, and 144 challenges. Iām the only member to have completed every single one. 144 illustrations through the years. Some were game-changers for my style and my portfolio. Some were total stinkers and I hope you donāt go looking for them. But all were an important step in my career.Ā Ā
So, in ten more years? Iāll be 42 years old, which is very weird because I have never imagined myself that old before... itās hard to honestly say what that would look like, especially considering the world we are currently living in and how the last 4/5 years have proven that anything (awful) can happen. Jordan and I have a goal to move to Colorado in the next 4 or 5 years, and Iād love to have a little A-Frame in the mountains with a loft studio, shown in my illustration here. Texas has become extremely problematic, especially after the winter storm in February of this year, and will be impacted greatly by climate change, both environmentally and economically. Right now, Austin is still booming, but at some point the lack of foresight in this stateās government is going to screw over the residents and it will be one of the places from which climate refugees run. Is that tomorrow? No, obviously not. But I want to already be settled someplace more stable, having grown some roots, before other folks start to roll in. But, to be able to do that, I need to rely less on my local jobs and connections and be able to have anĀ āanywhere career.ā So right now I am focusing on expanding in that way, particularly with book cover illustration and design. Iāve been doing a lot of portfolio work and self-publishing jobs, and hope to get an agent that can shop my work to big-time publishers sometime in the next year or two. Letās say I succeed at all of those things in five years-- weāre in our Colorado A-Frame, Iām illustrating book covers (and Iāve also convinced my parents to come with me, and maybe a couple friends!). The next five years after that? I donāt know... hopefully a lot of adventures. Hopefully a lot of cool jobs, but also a lot of work/life balance. Right now, I donāt want kids, so the A-Frame will be filled with cats. Maybe weāll have an old camper van for regular road trips around the western National Parks. Iād love for my work to reflect those passions-- more jobs with outdoor brands, parks, organizations. More book covers for stuff Iād personally love to read and keep on my overflowing shelf. Thatās the vague goal for me in ten years, but I donāt want to plan any further than that, because life just also needs to happen the way itās going to happen. There are parts of my current life I planned for in 2011... and there are parts I never, ever would have guessed. I hope thereās some fun surprises in 2031, too.
Thanks for the decade, Square Carousel. Joining illustration collectives will always be the first bit of advice I give fresh graduates.
Caitlin
