Illustrator and marker artist adding color to the world with a felt tip.
My StoryStar StudentFinger Painting, paper mache apples, paper cutting crafts; those are some of the art projects I remember loving when I was a kid. I loved it so much I was star student twice- which is a big deal because it goes around to every kid once. It was the only thing I ever really wanted to be when I grew up.
A Different PathBut while my love for creating never changed, my understanding of the world and how to make money did. I was told by my high school art teachers that art was a viable career path - just not in the traditional sense. I was encouraged to find a career in graphics, photography, fashion, something that could incorporate my love for artwork without actually giving my life to the canvas so to speak.
So I chose interior design. I graduated with an Associates in Applied Science for Interior Design and will graduate in May 2019 with a Bachelors in the Arts. That's right - 2 different types of degrees for the same field. But the keyword there is "art." That's right - I'm back in art school. |
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The SparkBeing at school, specifically a college with only art majors got me excited to get back into drawing. At this same time I was watching a lot of youtube (I still do) and I was inspired by Marie's Cuppa Craft Sketch-along challenge. I had never heard of or participated in a challenge where everyone was a beginner and was able to interpret prompts through arts and crafts.
There were people embroidering the challenge, sketching them, painting them, and I desperately wanted to be a part of it. It brought back this spark. And so I decided to buy a new sketchbook and try a medium I never had before... marker. |
The LeapAfter the drawing challenge ended, I started thinking about how I was going to keep myself accountable for my artwork. I already had a blog I ran about crafts and DIYs that I loved but wasn't going anywhere. So, I decided to merge my ideas into one and convert my craft blog into an art blog and run an Instagram account called Rachel Antonia Designs.
After almost a year of sharing my artwork, learning to create surface patterns, and really falling in love with markers I was ready, read: terrified, for the next step. I honestly gave myself every excuse to not to it because I was so afraid it would fail. Eventually, I signed up for a free small business course and then I read everything, literally everything i could get my hands on from blogging, to making money online, to art businesses, to SEO... everything. And on July 31st 2017 I made the leap. |
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You Wanna do What?In 2017 I opened Rachel Antonia Designs intending to sell my own collection of products.
In 2018 I participated in 6 shows and opened an online shop as well as worked with a non-profit for a custom logo design. My goal for the future is to continue to put out collections and products that I love, as well as work with and for businesses creating everything from powerful political pieces to logo designs. I want to develop more characters, scenes, portraits, and work on a children's book one day. I will get my products in Target and Anthropologie and find myself an art agent so I can work on collections outside of my own business. It only gets better from here. 
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