Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Soodak.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Heather. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My love for art began when I scribbled a semi-recognizable face when I was three-years-old. Encouraged by my dad’s enthusiastic praise, I took off and ran with it! I was also influenced by the magical world of books growing up. Some favorites included: Miss Rumphius, Matilda, and Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I was attracted to humorous, sweet, or adventurous stories–and anything with animals. I escaped in these fantasy worlds of delight, devouring them like the most decadent dessert. The art and stories whisked me away from a somewhat tumultuous childhood, moving around a lot from Seattle and Oregon to Connecticut, and back west, where we settled in a small town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when I was nine years old. Art was healing for me, books engaged my imagination, and nature brought me to life. Playing in the Sierra Nevada forests, climbing trees, and swimming in the Yuba River grounded me. And of course, I loved animals growing up. I drew them constantly. The animals always came alive in my imagination as characters with different lives and personalities.
The happy cat cartoons I drew on the page cheered me up, so I drew more of them, created stories and comics of my own, and wanted to share this joy with others. I brought my Garfield and Ren and Stimpy comics to show off in Ms. Travers 4th grade class, copying the exaggerated-eyeball faces on my math homework and taking requests from friends. At ten, I knew I wanted to be an illustrator. I submitted my first illustration to Cricket Magazine and received my first rejection letter. I was always involved in the arts in high school and started my first freelance jobs then, designing flyers and creating custom paintings. I did my senior project on “Teaching Kids Art,” since I knew I was too much of a people-person to be the kind of illustrator that sat alone in a room drawing all of the time. I wanted to be one that also works with kids, sharing the passion of art and encouraging them to follow their own dreams–just like my teachers did–and I am so lucky to be doing just that.
Great, 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?
I am so grateful for what I have, but it was definitely a struggle to get here. And if we are being honest, there is always this internal, self-critical struggle to being an artist. The struggles in life, though, always fueled the art. I took a bus by myself when I was 18 to visit art schools in Southern California and fell in love with a different kind of nature; the ocean. I wound up going to Laguna College of Art and Design, earning a B.A. in Illustration, all while making my cartoon cats look a little bit better (I wouldn’t change a thing, but I am still paying it off 14 years later!). I got my credential in Art Education CSU Long Beach, and I graduated the year of the financial crisis–a difficult time to find a job. That time was a struggle, but I learned how to work really hard just to survive, sometimes working three to five different jobs at a time. When it gets difficult like that, it’s hard to have confidence in yourself and your art. But all of those experiences, of course, helped me get to where I am today.
I love my teaching job, but make time for my own art. My big goal is to illustrate children’s books, and I’m fortunate enough to be a part of great artist groups with friends that help support me. I think it would be impossible to do it without them and the persistence I have had for all of these years.
The main goal of my art is to spread joy to others and to help the animals I love to draw so much. What sets me apart is my distinct style and my unique ability to draw people as cats. I want to tell stories relating to travel, friendship, art, and nature. There is so much conflict in the world; it is so important to travel and meet friends from different places and get different perspectives. It is important to take care of each other and the environment–and to just live life fully as much as possible in the here and now. Have fun, be silly, be imaginative, have adventures, and do what you love. Otherwise, what’s the point? I hope some of these themes are evident in my artwork. The qualities of art that I most admire and try to capture in my own work are expression, movement, and humor–primarily working traditionally with ink and watercolor, though it’s wonderful experimenting with other mediums and digital art as well. I love splashy, bright paint and just digging in and getting messy-creating like a kid again! Typical projects are freelance illustration, fine art commissions, character design, pet portraits, murals, and children’s books.
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
Future projects include more animal charity projects, book projects, art shows, and conventions (stop by our booth at CATCON 2019 in Pasadena and get yourself drawn as a cat!). I look forward to connecting with other artists and animal lovers at shows. You can also expect to see a re-design to the website very soon with updated art work and projects and updates to my blog. Please send an e-mail to be added to the mailing list for updates on new products, upcoming events, and art commissions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heathersoodak.com
- Email: hsoodak@gmail.com
- Instagram: @arty_heather
- Twitter: @hsoodak
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/
shop/HeatherSoodakArt - Tumblr: http://youarenowacat.
com/ - Blogger: https://hsoodak.
blogspot.com/
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Abi
February 1, 2019 at 2:01 am
Great interview! Heather’s art makes me happy. The cat mural looks awesome.