Perspectives Archives

Working moms in the United States have long felt that to get ahead, they had to hide the “mother” part of their lives from view, lest they be seen as undedicated to their career or somehow less suited to the job — which is how ERGs (or Employee Resource Groups) were born. An ERG is a voluntary employee group providing a unified voice and enhancing personal and professional development.

At Creative Circle, ERGs participate directly with our ongoing Diversity Equity & Inclusion initiatives and assist in fully integrating these themes into Creative Circle’s day-to-day business practices through events, strategic initiatives, and goals. ERGs also foster a safe space for those who self-identify to find guidance, encouragement, and support — and are also a place where allies of that group can show support.

Four mothers in our Parents & Caregivers ERG took some time out of their busy schedules to share what it has been like to balance work and motherhood during this ongoing pandemic — these are their stories.

Kristen Rosselli

Age: 36
Charlotte, North Carolina
Married, with one son, Christopher, who just turned nine months. Kristen manages the Charlotte Creative Circle office.

+ What has been your experience as a working mom during the pandemic?
Pandemic motherhood is the only kind of motherhood I’ve known — my son was born August 6, 2020. Other moms had a “before” to compare to — not me. I nursed on conference calls, pumped during the day — and I feel fortunate to have been able to do that in this time.

+ What kind of work do you do? Where do you work?
I manage Creative Circle’s Charlotte office and interact with clients to get them enrolled. It’s essentially a sales and management role. The Charlotte office opened in 2017, and we moved down here to open the office. My husband moved to North Carolina because of my work.

+ How have you gotten work done with the kid/s home?
I was on maternity leave from August to November 2020. We had help; in the beginning, a babysitter came in when I first went back to work. Now my son is in daycare. But we had about a month there where we did not have any childcare because of Covid. Our babysitter ended up giving us Covid in January. All three of us got it. We were in a tailspin. We were fortunate that we didn’t get super sick.

Daycare in Charlotte is way overcrowded. You have 1.5 year-long waiting lists. We ultimately did get our son in daycare after the babysitter fiasco, but we both had to work full-time and take care of our son for a month. Looking back, I honestly don’t know how we did it.

+ Have you gotten any help from a partner?
My husband is wonderful. He works in technology, meaning his job is 24/7, supporting a financial organization. The most challenging part is that if someone’s job has to take a hit, it’s often mine because I’m not supporting 7,000 people and their tech. But he helps with cleaning and cooking and is so hands-on with our son. But moms are the default parent; for instance, only one parent can go to a pediatrician appointment — and nursing is excellent for soothing after vaccines, so this has fallen to me.

+ What has been the most difficult thing about mothering and working and existing this past year?
The lack of time for myself. I used to be able to give work an extra 30 minutes, but things have shifted — I can’t always do that anymore. And don’t want to. In the evening, I have two maybe two and a half hours with my son, which includes picking him up from daycare, bathing him, feeding him, which means very little quality time. To just get a workout in or read, I have had to rejigger my approach and accept that everything has changed.

+ Has there been a best part?
Pandemic motherhood has been all I’ve known, but silver linings abound. WFH allowed us to have the sitter for fewer hours, saving money and letting us both have more time with our son that we would not have otherwise gotten. I could not imagine bringing my son to daycare at 14 weeks; he couldn’t even sit up, so having someone trusted in my home allowed me to be with him, nurse him, and work — making my transition smoother than it might have otherwise been. Our plan initially had been for him to go straight to daycare after maternity leave.

+ What would help working mothers in this country?
Longer maternity leave. I don’t think it will ever be easy to go back to work after having a child, but companies need to see that both parents must have time to be with their new child. Parental leave is critical. It’s harder for men because women are accustomed to taking maternity leave, but there can be a stigma attached to men taking paternity leave. If it were mandatory, I think it would be great. Even six mandatory weeks would be great.

+ What advice would you share with other moms and mother figures?
Put yourself at the table. Don’t quiet yourself for someone else’s sake, and have one or two people who are your safe zones. People you can go to at any time of the day, someone who will have your back and won’t judge you. They will help get you through it all. And also, create a relationship with a trusted neighbor who can be a lifeline in case of an emergency.

Ramona Estephan

Age: 38
Washington, D.C.
Married, with two kids — Zuri, age 3, and Lennox, four months old. Ramona is the Managing Director of the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia team for Creative Circle.

+ What has been your experience as a working mom during the pandemic?
It has been great! For the first two years of Zuri’s life, I worked long hours and missed a lot of her major milestones. Being home has been a blessing because I have spent more time with her, watched her learn and grow, ate meals with her, and more. In addition, I was pregnant with my son from the moment we went into quarantine, so it allowed me time to embrace my pregnancy. Creative Circle has been great at being flexible and allowing our kids to sit in on meetings and understand that there may be times we have to step away or may be distracted.

+ What kind of work do you do? Where do you work?
I am the Managing Director of the D.C., MD, VA team at Creative Circle. I assist my team and set operational best practices to reach sales goals and recruiting top talent for our clients.

+ Have your kids gone back to school?
My daughter starts school for the first time in June.

+ How have you gotten work done with the kid/s home?
Thankfully, I have gotten work done. Both my husband and I worked from home, and we have a nanny who was able to come to the house to help part-time during the first nine months of the pandemic. However, we often had to trade off hours or have Zuri join our meetings when childcare wasn’t available.

+ Have you gotten any help from a partner?
Yes, my husband has been an enormous help, and luckily, we have a nanny to help as well.

+ What has been the most difficult thing about mothering and working and existing this past year?
Having to keep a 2-year-old away from other kids and family, finding ways to keep her busy without using a screen all day, and learning to have more patience during difficult times. Dealing with a growing toddler has probably been the most challenging thing about mothering.

When it comes to working, trying to stay positive for my team when things were clearly not going well, and we were being pulled in many different directions as we worked to figure things out as a company.

+ Has there been a best part?
Spending more time with my husband and daughter — and giving birth to my son. For work, the best part has been seeing different people’s faces throughout the company more often than ever before (hello Zoom)!

+ What would help working mothers in this country?
Such a tough question because working moms need SO much! Having a safe, no-judgment outlet to vent or talk about issues they are facing is critical. We need more flexibility and understanding from management, with space to take time to do something for our children when necessary. Childcare assistance would be ideal as well!

+ What advice would you share with other moms and mother figures?
You are not alone. And it is okay to feel overwhelmed, lose your patience, and feel like you can’t do it all. Just take a deep breath and don’t be afraid or feel bad asking for help!

Kristi Seifert

Age: 39
Kenmore, WA
Married, with one son, Leo, age 6. Kristi is the Senior Recruitment Manager for Creative Circle’s Seattle office.

+ What has been your experience as a working mom during the pandemic?
It’s been tough, but I know we’ve been fortunate to have the luxury of being safe at home.

+ What kind of work do you do? Where do you work?
I’m a Senior Recruitment Manager for Creative Circle Seattle, which means that I manage a team of recruiters and am also hands-on as a recruiter.

+ Have your kids gone back to school?
Yes, our son went back to school in October 2020. It was a bit nerve-wracking at the beginning, but his school has so many safety protocols in place. It’s been so incredible to see him thrive — despite social distancing and mask-wearing.

+ How have you gotten work done with the kid/s home?
When faced with challenges, my husband and I find comfort in routines and organization. Before our son went back to school, every morning, I updated an Excel spreadsheet with our schedule for the day — a different column for each of us. It allowed us to split our time between working and remote learning and made the situation more manageable.

+ Have you gotten any help from a partner?
Oh, yes. My husband and I did a lot of dividing and conquering. He handled the majority of the remote learning and we took turns working throughout the day.

+ What has been the most difficult thing about mothering and working and existing this past year?
The hardest part has been combining the two in the same space — both physical and mental space (and time) during the day. In normal times, our son knows that we work, but he’s never had a front-row seat. It was difficult to repeatedly say, “no, I need to do this for work first” or “you need to wait until I’m off this call.” Of course, part of being a kid is hearing “no” and having to wait your turn, but I hated sending him the message that he came second to work.

+ Has there been a best part?
Absolutely! Since the day I went back to work after maternity leave, I’ve wished for more time together. A global pandemic wasn’t on the wish list, but I’m so grateful for the extra time and memories.

+ What would help working mothers in this country?
There are so many parental leave policies that should be better (or exist at all), but I also think it starts with a realistic view of what it is actually like to be a working mom. I feel like no one talks about it. It’s hard; you feel guilty if you enjoy the break, you feel sad when you miss your child, it is difficult to compare yourself to your former pre-kid self. There are so many emotions that you feel and everyone experiences things differently — and all version are okay!

+ What advice would you share with other moms and mother figures?
Your life with a child is going to be different and wonderful in a way it wasn’t before — remember to celebrate that because it goes so quickly (I know everyone says that!). BUT, your life will also be different and harder in a way it wasn’t before; it’s okay to talk about that and feel it. It doesn’t make you a bad mother or a weak person. And in those moments when you feel like you’re falling down on both jobs (mother and employee), your child still thinks you are the greatest person who has ever lived.

Renae Virata Meyer

Age: 40
Dallas, Texas
Married, with one son, who is almost four years old. Renae is a Senior Account Executive and was the first one to have a baby in that office.

+ What has been your experience as a working mom during the pandemic?
Finding balance has been essential to meeting the needs of my family, my job, and me! My husband and I both work, and we’re fortunate to have help who’s like family. We’re both focused on ensuring we’re there for each other, have time for ourselves, and dedicate time to our son when we are with him. We don’t want to miss these precious growing years with him. It’s been an exercise in precision time management.

+ What kind of work do you do? Where do you work?
I’m a Senior Account Executive. I’ve been with Creative Circle for four years and am grateful to be at a point where I’m more tenured. I’ve built solid client relationships and work with a great market and regional team to get and lend support. Also, because I work in my own home office, it’s been easy to have my own space to work and think.

+ Have your kids gone back to school?
Yes, my son goes three days a week to his German language school.

+ How have you gotten work done with the kid/s home?
We have a sitter who takes our son to school, brings him home, and takes care of him on days off from school. It helps us get a lot done. Before, I used to work at night, but with our new schedule, I feel confident and happy to shut off my computer at 6 pm when my son comes home to give 100% of my attention to him.

When he is at home, though, it’s a delicate balance. I’ve had more than my share of interruptions this past year, but clients and CC colleagues have been super understanding!

+ Have you gotten any help from a partner?
My husband is a-maz-ing! He fully supports and is interested in my career at Creative Circle and sees my work as demanding and important as his. It took some time to create a balance because I was just doing more, worrying more, etc. We’re continually refining our schedules and responsibilities and aim to give each other flexibility. Overall, it’s been pretty solid.

+ What has been the most difficult thing about mothering and working and existing this past year?
Anxiety! I’ve had the worst case in my life this past year. It’s hard because as someone that wants to show up and be good at everything, it’s just not possible. I put 150% pressure on myself and feel guilty in any given area of my life, but I’ve realized that it’s okay. I’m one person, and I do the best I can. The key is to recognize that and ASK FOR HELP. Without therapy, talking with my managers, husband, friends — I couldn’t get through it.

+ Has there been a best part?
I had a tough time mid-last year with all the pressures of AE life, having a toddler son whose demands were (lovingly) growing every day, making sure my husband and I had time together, connecting with girlfriends, taking care of myself, all while in the midst of the pandemic. But with the support of my team, especially my manager and VP, I came out the other end with a renewed sense of purpose and a solid plan that has helped me thrive at work.

My husband and I talk daily, and I’ve committed to stay in touch with my girlfriends and be honest about life when we need to chat. All in all, I feel more present and better understand that life is about progress — not perfection.

+ What would help working mothers in this country?
Working moms need more flexibility in the workplace and recognition of the unique hardships that befall us. More resources to help with the mental and emotional transitions would also be huge.

+ What advice would you share with other moms and mother figures?
Be nice to yourself. Get help when you need it. Don’t feel shame for having an episode now and then; you’re human. Know you’re not alone. And don’t forget to schedule time for yourself!

About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist—Karina writes, produces, and edits compelling content across multiple platforms—including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Yahoo News, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties and has spanned insight pieces on psychedelic toad medicine to forecasting the future of work to why sustainability needs to become more sustainable.

Photo Credit: Allan Warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Most widely known as the Catwoman to Adam West’s Batman, the originator of the beloved holiday tune, “Santa Baby,” and to a lesser extent for voicing Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove, Kitt’s life and legacy extend far beyond these notable marks on popular culture.

A Southern Outcast

Born in 1927 to a Black and Cherokee mother on a plantation in South Carolina, Eartha Kitt never learned the identity of her father, who likely raped her mother. It was said he was the son of the plantation owner, but all her attempts to verify his identity were inconclusive. She only learned her true birth date (January 17 instead of what she always put down, January 26) 10 years before her death.

As a child, she was handed off to various relatives by whom she was often abused. In one interview, she describes being tied to a tree and sexually assaulted by teenagers, in addition to the abuse she experienced at home. After her mother died, which Kitt believed was murder, she was sent to live with an aunt in New York.

In her teens, she won a full scholarship to a dance company she auditioned for on a lark and tumbled her way into show business as a dancer. Her first big acting role was as Helen of Troy opposite Orson Welles in his rendition of Doctor Faustus, during which time he famously dubbed her “the most interesting woman in the world.”

The Most Interesting Woman in the World

Known for her distinctive vocals, Eartha had a wave of hits throughout the 50s including “I Want to Be Evil,” “C’est Is Bon,” “Monotonous,” “Love for Sale,” and the holiday favorite, “Santa Baby”. Kitt spoke in English, French, German, and Dutch, but additionally sang in Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

In a 1993 interview on The Whoopi Goldberg Show, Kitt discussed the colorism she experienced in her childhood that followed her throughout her career. As a child, she wasn’t quite white or Black enough to be accepted by her peers. Later, when she starred in Anna Lucasta in 1958 opposite Sammy Davis, Jr., hundreds of theaters refused to show the film because she looked too light on screen opposite the darker skinned Davis.

She also shared how as a dancer in an all-Black troupe, she had to use the back door and go in through the kitchens, but once she started performing on her own, her contracts declared she would waltz in through the lobby.

Kitt thrilled audiences in successful run at the Persian Room, but her agents chided her for being “too sophisticated” for the Apollo Theater and asked her to change her act before moving on to another theater show. Kitt took this as an insult, particularly toward Black audiences. She didn’t change a thing, and her three shows a week turned to five as audiences lined the block to see her.

After years of successful singing and stage work, Kitt pounced onto television screens in a role that seemed to be written for her despite not originating it. She became the third — and most beloved — Catwoman in the Adam West-led Batman series in 1967. While she only appeared in a handful of episodes, they were some of the most memorable of the series.

In Defense of the Children of America

The following year, Lady Bird Johnson invited Kitt and 49 other women to a luncheon at the White House meant to discuss the question “Why is there so much juvenile delinquency in America?” and explore how women could contribute to a solution. Kitt was working with a group known as Rebels with a Cause and spent her life working with “inner city kids,” eventually founding Kittsville Youth Foundation, which continues to operate under the direction of Wanda-Lee Evans.

At the First Lady’s insistence, Eartha attended the luncheon that would terminate her ability to perform in the United States for a decade. President Lyndon B Johnson appeared as a surprise guest and new audio of the conference found at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas in 2000 revealed the following change between Kitt and the president:

Kitt: “Mr. President, you asked about delinquency around the United States which we are all interested in and that’s why we’re here today. But what do we do about delinquent parents? The parents who have to go to work for instance who can’t spend the time with their children that they should. This is, I think, our main problem. What do we do with the children then, when the parents are off work?”

LBJ: “Well, that social security bill we just passed this year sets up millions and millions of dollars for day care centers… that’s one step we’ve taken. And that comes from… that’s approved by a bunch of men who are really not the best judges of how to handle children otherwise. I think that’d be a very good questions for you to ask yourself, and the women here, and you all tell them what you think.”

Later, Lady Bird finally did ask for her thoughts, and I’ll let her words speak for themselves.

“The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. They are not hippies for no reason at all. We don’t have what we have on Sunset Blvd. for no reason. They are rebelling against something. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons — and I know what it’s like, and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson — we raise children and send them to war…

You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kid’s rebel and take pot.”

She explained how many young men saw delinquency as a way out of being sent off to war, and that America should be focused on fighting for itself, inside its borders. After her respectful and insightful commentary was reframed as a disrespectful outburst, things changed for Kitt. The car that was supposed to take her back to her hotel disappeared, and within weeks, so did her job opportunities.

LBJ called the FBI and demanded they find something on her. When they came back with confirmation that she was an upstanding citizen, he called upon the CIA, who began collecting interviews and information for a dossier. For venues and producers, the choice became pass over Eartha Kitt, or have the CIA knocking on your door. They overwhelmingly chose the former, and opportunities dried up in the US. The pain of being cast out for exercising her right of free speech in her beloved country was a wound she carried the rest of her life.

For over a decade after the “White House incident,” Kitt focused her sights elsewhere, performing in Europe and Asia, where jobs were more plentiful away. Years later, Kitt was cast as Carlotta in the West End production of Follies where she sang the showstopper, “I’m Still Here,” a phrase that rang especially true through Kitt’s performance.

I’m Still Here

The tides turned again for Kitt in 1978 when she was invited not only back to the White House by Jimmy Carter, but to star in Timbuktu!, an all-Black resetting of Kismet that takes place in 1361 Mali. Her opening number, “In the Beginning, Woman” presented her on a human platter to an adoring audience as she proclaimed, “I’m Here,” in a triumphant homecoming. In a later interview on a show called Speaking Freely, her voice carries the weight of emotion, explaining how she knew she was home when, “the audience gave me a standing ovation before I could even open my mouth.” This performance presented her first Tony nomination. Later that year, Jimmy Carter invited her to the White House and officially welcomed her home.

Her career started building momentum with a series of acting (and voice-over) and singing performances, including disco hit “Where Is My Man?” and this banger of a tune, “I Don’t Care” in the mid 80s. She made appearances on range of shows from The Nanny to Jeopardy! and appeared at many benefits to support HIV/AIDS organizations.

She also kept speaking up about systematic racism and injustice, and advocated for keeping industry within the United States: “We have billions of dollars to go to the Gulf, why don’t we have billions for the people on the streets? For the boys who went to war and fought for this country? Maybe I am bitter. I thought we had freedom.” In that same interview with Whoopi Goldberg, she dispels the myth of the “welfare queen” that started gaining traction in the Reagan era:

“We don’t want to be on welfare. We want jobs. I have dignity and respect for myself and this is what I feel about every one of us in the United States as well as the rest of the world, but if you’re going to pay people to stay poor, why not stay poor? And if the job only pays as much as the welfare, you have to pay taxes on the job, but you don’t have to pay taxes not on the welfare.”

Sadly, her words still ring true today in the midst of COVID relief and unemployment spikes.

Life Begins at 70

In her Speaking Freely interview, she exclaimed, “At 70, life has just begun… I’ve had more fun being Eartha Kitt I think than anybody else has had being themselves, whoever they have become.” She also advocated for the importance of education, speaking up, and kindness: “Speak out and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Life was abundant for Kitt in her 70s when she made regular appearances on The RuPaul Show, declaring “I don’t have a secret, I just do what comes naturally. I was born this way, darling,” in her seductive purr. She also earned her second Tony Nomination for her role as Dolores in La Chiusa’s The Wild Party.

In the early 2000s, she found a new audience in a younger generation as the voice of Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) and later The Emperor’s New School for which she won two Daytime Emmys. She also appeared in Holes (2003), and various other children’s shows as a voice actress.

Kitt died on Christmas Day in 2008, succumbing to a battle with colon cancer, but not without a fight. According to her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, who worked with her mother throughout her life, she died “screaming at the top of her lungs,” leaving her life the way she lived it.

The Legend Lives On

Years after her death, her iconic performances and interviews still make the rounds of social media, particularly this interview where she cackles at the thought of compromising for a man. She reframes the idea of a relationship for the almost incredulous male interviewer: “I fall in love with myself, and I want someone to share it with me.” When asked if that has ever happened, she replied, “many times, in many different ways.”

Kitt attributed her success to her hunger, both literal and figurative, and her practical, almost zen-like attitude toward life.

“Life is not problematical but we make it problematical because we listen to other people and we don’t listen to ourselves. For instance, we buy a lot of junk that we know we don’t need. We clutter up our lives with insignificant things that have no value at all but when we start to think about how simple life is and how simply It should be lived then we begin to realize; I have no problem. I don’t have a real problem. Problem is something you make. Life is something you live.”

Her legacy continues through the countless performers she has influenced, the Kitsville organization, and the trail she blazed for women of color — and champions of justice and decency everywhere.

About the author.
Alessandra is the mentor, educator, and writer behind Boneseed, a private practice devoted to deep self-inquiry through a range of physical, energetic, and mental modalities. She has over 500 hours of yoga, mentorship, and facilitation training and can be found slinging knowledge on her website, newsletter, and @bone.seed.

Image Source: Wikipedia

If you thought all great painters were men, you are not alone. Artemesia Gentileschi was relatively unknown by modern culture until the late 20th century when feminist art historian Linda Nochlin sashayed her into public recognition with an article titled, “What Have There Been No Great Woman Artists?” Nochlin explored the institutions that have kept women artists from historical recognition, using Gentileschi as one of her prime examples—whose art, despite her signature and style, had been attributed to other artists until the 19th ccentury. She also pioneered several exhibits that displayed many of her paintings all at once for the first time in history.

The Birth of an Artist

Artemesia was born in 1593 to Orazio Gentileschi, a Tuscan painter renowned in his own right and a contemporary of the great Caravaggio. Sometimes written about as a Renaissance painter, Artemesia Gentileschi’s style and lineage more appropriately exhibits the Baroque style with dramatic shadows and use of chiaroscuro—much like Caravaggio who influenced both her and her father. She and her two brothers grew up in her father’s workshop, although she was the only child to exhibit talent with a paintbrush. Orazio claimed she “had no peer” by age 12.

Her first known solo painting is Susanna and the Elders (1610) which she completed at 17. Unlike her male counterparts who tended to glorify rape and objectification, Artemesia places the Biblical woman center stage and shows a raw anguish, rather than flowery flattery. As a recent New Yorker article declares, “With this painting, and with many other works that followed, Artemisia claimed women’s resistance of sexual oppression as a legitimate subject of art.”

The content of Artemesia’s artwork sadly hit close to home, Her father’s colleague, Agostino Tassi, raped Artemesia when her father was away. Although she tried to fight him off and call for help, Tassi easily overpowered her and andsthe Gentileschis’ tenant and Artemesia’s friend, Tuzia ignored her cries. The details of what happened next have differed over the years, but the most common current understanding tells of Tassi promising to marry Artemesia after the rape, her agreeing to further sexual relations on that condition, and him later reneging on that promise. A common practice in Italy at that time was to marry rape survivors to their abusers as a way to restore dignity and reputation. When Tassi didn’t hold his end of the bargain, her father pursued legal action to force him to marry his daughter.

The Trial

It turned out Tassi was already married and also planned on having his wife murdered. Great guy. During the trial, Artemesia was inspected by midwives to prove her virginity had been taken. She was also tortured with thumbscrews to verify the accuracy of her testimony. Artemesia spoke of the indignity to her family and name, rather than a personal violation. Now, whether or not that was what was required of her for testimony or a reflection of her true feelings is another story.

For all Artemesia’s strife, Tassi was exiled from Rome for one year, although the sentence was never enforced. This disappointing outcome for a rape trial is all too familiar for many women—which makes Artemesia an appealing icon for modern feminists and the #metoo movement.

Catharsis, Retribution, Triumph

After the trial, Artemesia completed one of her most famous paintings, Judith Slaying Holofernes (1614-18) and its companion Judith and her Maidservant (1613-14). Historians say that in this depiction of a Biblical story, she used Tassi’s likeness for Holofernes and her own for Judith. Caravaggio similarly interpreted Judith beheading Holofernes, but his interpretation featured the protagonist, Judith, holding the head at arm’s length—hardly a posture that implies she could successfully sever the skull from the man’s body. As a woman, Artemesia had a more acute knowledge of the female form than her male counterparts. Comparing her Danae with her father’s shows a similar superiority with composing a more realistic female form.

Cultural dissection of Artemesia both surrounding her rape and her artistic ability abounds. While she was made a two-dimensional trauma survivor that simply painted as catharsis for the wrongs done to her, modern scholars have developed a more complex view of a woman who certainly included her rapist’s face in paintings, but channeled other influences into her painting like motherhood, ecstasy, erotic passion, grief and despair (only one daughter made it to adulthood), shame, ambition, and pride. In Artemisia Gentileschi and Feminism in Early Modern Europe, renowned historian Mary D Garrand explains:

“It is important to remember that this is art, not psychotherapy. The pictorial revenge that Artemisia took on her rapist was not a defensive psychological reaction by a female victim, but might be better understood as poetic justice — a playful, imaginative expression of retribution she was due.”

Ensuing Freedom + Artistic Flourishing

Soon after the trial, Artemesia married and moved to Florence where she became the first woman accepted into the Accademia di Arte del Disegno, the academy known for its association with Renaissance rockstars Michaelangelo and Cellini. While there, she became friendly with Galileo Gallelli, among other notable artists and intellectuals. As a married woman, she now had social freedoms that were denied her in her father’s house.

The marriage gave her children and freedom, but the pair separated 10 years later. Artemesia left Florence for Naples, Rome again, and beyond—following lucrative commissions, including a few for the Medicis. Her paintings centered a range of Biblical and historical figures including Mary Magdalene, Esther, Bathsheba, David, Cleopatra, Lot and his daughters, Salome, and John the Baptist.

In 1638, she travelled to England to partner with her father on a commission for the Queen’s House, Triumph of Peace and the Arts. While there, she completed one of her most lauded works for Charles I, Self Portrait as And Allegory of Painting (1638-39). While there are records of her still accepting commissions in 1654, it is speculated that she died during a plague that swept through Naples in 1656.

Artemesia has been the subjects of books, novels, film, and essays. She was given a seat at Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party, among the likes of one of her favorite subjects Judith, Hindu goddess Kali, Elizabeth I, Sacajawea, Sojourner Truth, and Georgia O’Keeffe.

What do you do professionally?

I would call myself a multimedia designer — it encompasses the various ways I create best. I am primarily a front-end web developer and graphic designer and take photos, edit videos that I shoot, and create print material.

Where are you from?

I’m currently based in the BX and have lived in NYC most of my life. My family is from the Philippines; I moved to NYC when I was 5. Grew up on 19th Street on the East Side, in Gramercy Park, and growing up in Manhattan actually informs my design work regarding style and direction. Hip hop, sneaker culture (even though I’m not a sneakerhead), skateboard culture — all were part of my coming of age. I used to hang out with the skater at the cube at Astor Place. Street style has always been embedded in the clothes I wear and the music I listen to, imbuing my personal aesthetic with a gritty minimalism.

What is your origin story—how did you come to do what you do?

I worked as a make-up artist for five years, starting while I was in college. I was doing Comic-Con, concierge Halloween programs and thought I would do special effects make-up for movies — but things took a different turn.

I found my way into design by helping several fashion start-ups with their e-commerce. I began updating websites, editing the lookbook photos, and realized that I loved the design part and working with images. When I started moving towards doing more design, I was creating catalogs and look books in PowerPoint. It was the time before I knew Photoshop, haha.

I began taking free classes at the New York Public Library for photoshop and front-end coding. Incredibly, the library offers all these fabulous resources. Through these library classes, I connected with a free coding boot camp in Long Island City called Coalition for Queens at that time, but it is now called Pursuit.

Can you tell me a bit more about Pursuit?

It’s an NYC-funded tech incubator that selects several students to take classes with them for free. I did night classes with them while working full-time during the day with fashion start-ups. I would go from the Garment District in Midtown Manhattan to LIC and be in class until 9pm. They assigned us in-depth projects that we had to complete. I was learning JavaScript and other coding languages at the time. I would do these assignments for two hours every night after I came home from class. It was a life-changing experience — albeit an intense one. Pursuit’s primary focus was to encourage women, and in particular, women of color, to engage the world of tech — and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from them.

What happened after those classes?

To be honest, I didn’t think I was developed enough to apply for a web dev job; the job descriptions felt very intimidating. I wasn’t very good at solving the functional part yet but felt more in command of CSS and HTML. Animation and web design felt like a better fit, so I segued into that end of the tech and design space and began building my portfolio.”

Artwork by Cindy Recile

Are you more in the world of tech or design?

I am a graphic designer but also do front-end development and web design. I code the styling for websites using HTML and CSS.

At this point, I actually see these coding languages as more an extension of design than coding proper. I think designers today need to know CSS and HTML to successfully design in digital-first spaces.

What’s the difference between web dev and web design?

I consider CSS and HTML as really an extension of design, not even front-end development at this point, but it’s not back-end structure. To use a house as an example, HTML and CSS are the bricks or facade, but not the plumbing or electrical, which I see as back-end.

What has it been like to navigate the world of tech and design as a woman — and as a woman of color in particular?

To be fair, I haven’t interviewed for a fully tech-based job. It can be intimidating. But the engineer teams I have to deliver my front-end development work to are often comprised of almost all men. White-dominated. Male-dominated. And that can create distance and space for feeling like I have to step higher to reach the same playing field.

What kind of companies do you work with?

I am currently working for two real estate companies, a financial event company, and an online publication, the Ladders. I do a lot of digital and print for billboards and sides of buildings, create marketing collateral like promotional flyers, and do a lot of web-based work, primarily in WordPress and Squarespace.

What’s a day in your life like?

I’m a morning person. I like to start working early. I often tackle emails first because I typically see various clients on-site later in the day. Part of my job is capturing photos for real estate listings. I take the photos, shoot videos, edit the images, and use them as marketing collateral. I’m usually running around Queens, going to all these commercial listings.

Artwork by Cindy Recile

How long have you been a part of Creative Circle?

I just started working with Creative Circle in 2020 but have been part of the vibrant Creative Circle community for the last couple of years. I’ve gotten some of my most exciting work through them.

What are your biggest challenges doing what you do?

Clients often know what they don’t want, but not necessarily what they do. So, there’s a fair amount of testing out the waters to get a sense of what might make sense. I ask them to show me inspiration. I find myself playing design psychologist. I’ve learned how to really listen to better understand client needs and pain points. Listening is a profound skill, and intuiting moods is key. I have to read the room, which can be one of the biggest challenges, particularly as we are not meeting in person. Things get lost in emails and calls.

Also, prioritizing my work can sometimes be a challenge. I went full-time freelance just before COVID in February 2020. Learning how to manage my projects and deadlines is something I’m getting more adept at, but it requires careful attention as I add more clients.

How long do your gigs tend to last?

Most of my work is client-based and recurring, though I have a few one-off jobs that are more gig-oriented, like social media marketing projects.

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started?

I wanted to be in design all those years I was working in e-commerce but wasn’t sure how to get “started.” I would tell the younger me that it’s okay to not have a perfect plan or a resume with the ideal experience. Sometimes you have to find a connection and make your own work. You have to start somewhere. I am primarily self-taught, don’t overlook the grand treasure trove that is YouTube. I learned how to do everything I do through YouTube.

Artwork by Cindy Recile

Who (or what) inspires your work?

I take my inspiration from moving through the city, which is how I discovered Colossal Media, an NYC-based company comprised of old-school graffiti artists who have evolved into an artistic consortium who really inspire me. They create incredible murals in Bushwick. I love seeing the social impact that their murals can have, the way they give tone and vibrant texture to a block when the world is veering so much towards digital.

In what ways do you see your work evolving over the next year? Any projects that you’re working on that you’re really excited about?

The next big thing for me is going to be 3D design — I’m excited to dig in and expand my dimensions.

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s was an incredible and inspiring time in American history, where brilliant Black artists, writers, poets, intellectuals, and more reclaimed the African American narrative and developed a new cultural identity. Writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Alain Locke made history as part of the movement, but a lesser known artist of the Harlem Renaissance was actually one of the most influential American artists of the 20th century.

Augusta Savage, was a highly accomplished sculptor, an educator, and an activist who tirelessly used her platform to demand justice and equality for Black people in America, particularly Black artists. Her work was game-changing and her legacy continues to remind us how important it is to stand up for ourselves and peers in face of prejudice.

Savage was born Augusta Christine Fells on February 29, 1892, in Green Cove Springs, Florida. The daughter of a poor Methodist minister, she was drawn to sculpting from a young age, despite her father’s at times violent disapproval.

“From the time I can first recall the rain falling on the red clay in Florida,” she’s quoted as saying, “I wanted to make things. When my brothers and sisters were making mud pies, I would be making ducks and chickens with the mud.”

Growing up, she made a reputation for herself as a skilled sculptor. Her high school principal took notice of her talent and encouraged her to pursue art, and her work received a special prize at the West Palm Beach County Fair. In 1921, she journeyed to New York City with less than $5 to her name to pursue her dreams as an artist. She attended the scholarship-based Cooper Union in Manhattan, having beat out 142 other male applicants, and received further scholarships to cover room and board. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, she completed the four-year program in three years.

The prodigious sculptor excelled in portraits and was tasked with sculpting a bust of W. E. B. Du Bois for the Harlem Library and later, busts of Marcus Garvey, James Weldon Johnson, Frederick Douglas, and more. Known for capturing Black subjects, one of her most famous works was Gamin, a portrait of a Black child based on the likeness of her nephew. The piece, poignant and expressive, landed on the cover of the magazine Opportunity and led to more, well, opportunities to study abroad and gain more acclaim.

Courtesy Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, 1935-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Despite these remarkable accomplishments and the recognition that came with it, Savage was still denied opportunities for simply being Black and a woman.

In 1923, she was awarded a scholarship to Fontainebleau School of the Fine Arts in France, but her acceptance was rescinded when the school realized Savage was Black. Her predicament was met with media attention and massive public support, but despite the pressure to change their decision, Fountainbleau upheld their decision. Savage wrote of the situation:

“I hear so many complaints to the effect that Negroes do not take advantage of the educational opportunities offered them. Well, one of the reasons why more of my race do not go in for higher education is that as soon as one of us gets his head above the crowd there are millions of feet ready to crush it back again to that dead level of commonplace thus creating a racial deadline of culture in our Republic. For how am I to compete with other American artists if I am not to be given the same opportunity?”

These frustrations led to a career of documenting and celebrating Blackness in her work — as well as a lifetime of creating spaces, platforms, and opportunities for other Black artists to thrive.

In the early 1930s, she opened the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts, which later became the Harlem Community Art Center. Over 1500 students attended the school to learn various forms of fine art, including some of the most iconic artists of the Harlem Renaissance like Charles Alston, Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Ernest Crichlow, and more.

On top of teaching, Savage dedicated herself to fighting for Black artists to be included in projects under the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. She also co-founded the Harlem Artist’s Guild in support of African American artists to “encourage young talent, to foster a relationship between artists and the public, and to improve artists’ standards of living and opportunities.”

In 1939, Savage was the only Black woman to be commissioned to create a piece for that New York World’s Fair’s Board of Design in what would become one of her most well-known works. The Harp, was a 16 foot sculpture inspired by the anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Even though it was said to be one of the most popular and photographed works that year, it was demolished along with the rest of the fair.

That same year, she was the first Black woman to open an art gallery which she dedicated to exhibiting Black artists. At the opening reception, she declared, “We do not ask any special favors as artists because of our race. We only want to present to you our works and ask you to judge them on their merits.”

Courtesy New-York Historical Society. The John Axelrod Collection—Frank B. Bemis Fund, Charles H. Bayley Fund, and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection.

Despite all her efforts and accolades, Savage’s career was hampered by financial difficulties as she worked to house and support her family. Many of her surviving pieces are in clay or plaster because casting them in bronze was too expensive. After her two galleries went under and Savage struggled under the pressure of financial difficulties, she left her illustrious art career behind and moved to Saugerties, New York, where she worked as a laboratory assistant and also ran a summer arts program. She died from cancer on March 26, 1962, in New York City at the age of 70.

Savage’s work brought grace, poise, humanity, and life to the portrayal of African Americans in art at a time when Black artists were absent from mainstream art and cultural spaces and contemporary depictions of Black people were rooted in racist caricatures and stereotypes. Though only a fraction of her work still exists today, they remain a testament to her belief that talent, hard work, and vision, transcends race — even when opportunity doesn’t. Her work is full of hope, expressiveness, and groundbreaking candid Blackness. Her legacy lies in her steadfast effort towards equality and autonomy for herself and the artists that came after her.

She fearlessly broke down barriers, becoming the first Black woman to do a number of things in her field — and working to make sure she wasn’t the last.

About the author.
Sam Mani writes about work, creativity, wellness, and equity — when she’s not cooking, binging television, or annoying her cat.

What makes a powerful piece of art? Is it purely aesthetic? Is it the technical skill and precision that goes into the work? Is it the emotional response it evokes? Or is it the way art challenges that audience? Is it the way we see the work or the way the work makes us see ourselves?

Known for her use of traditional 19th century-style silhouettes and stark Black caricatures rooted in racist imagery, Kara Walker is one of the most important and celebrated artists today — whose unflinching, thought-provoking works have generated plenty of controversy and even more important, necessary conversation for over two decades. Throughout her career, Walker has proven time and time again that shocking art can be powerful and that powerful art serves to challenge us.

Walker was born in Stockton, California, in 1969, but moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia, at the age of 13 when her father became a professor at Georgia State University. Growing up in Georgia, in a town that witnessed the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan, Walker grew up in a far more racially charged environment than what she experienced as a child in California.

With a painter as a father, Walker knew from a young age that she wanted to be an artist. In 1991, she received her BFA in Painting from Atlanta College of Art and in 1994, her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design.

In 1994, she burst onto the art scene with her mural, Gone, An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred B’tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart. Featuring what would become her signature black Victorian-era silhouettes set against a white wall, the piece is filled with caricatures of Black slave characters and white master characters with exaggerated features and violent sexual overtones. The scene is jarring, and unsettling, the depraved whimsy of the antebellum imagery, weighed down by the gravity of its violence, which is to say, the violence of America’s enduring racism.

Courtesy MoMA. Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b’tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, 1994.

Reflecting on why she was drawn to silhouettes, she said:

“What I recognized, besides narrative and historicity and racism, was this very physical displacement: the paradox of removing a form from a blank surface that in turn creates a black hole. I was struck by the irony of so many of my concerns being addressed: blank/black, hole/whole, shadow/substance, etc. (There’s also that great quote from Sojourner Truth: ‘I sell the shadow to support the substance.’)”

Over the next decade, Walker continued creating large-scale pieces featuring sharp silhouettes. She drew from the same visual language of pre-Civil War caricatures and themes of violence and sexuality, lust and depravity, bondage and levity, with works like Insurrection! (Our Tools Were Rudimentary, Yet We Pressed On) and Why I Like White Boys, An Illustrated Novel.

In 1997, she became the second youngest person ever to receive the MacArthur “genius” grant for her work and in 2002 she began teaching at Columbia University. She has also won the Larry Aldrich Award and the Deutsche Bank Prize.

Her first sculptural piece and one of her best known works was 2014’s A Subtlety, also known as the Marvelous Sugar Baby, centered on a striking 35-foot tall, 75-foot long sculpture of a sphinx. The all-white sculpture was coated in sugar and, like her previous work, was an exaggerated Black caricature, drawing from mammy tropes and addressing the history of slave labor in the sugar industry.

The enormity and lasting power of Kara Walker’s work speaks to the depth of racial trauma inflicted on Black people that she’s drawing from, as well as the depth of her own vulnerability as an artist. Walker has referred to her silhouette pieces as a “stream of consciousness,” a method of navigating the different “unruly” pieces of herself, her identity, the traits foisted on her as a Black woman in America, and her own sexual experiences. On that note, she’s also described the limitations put on her as a Black artist. “To be successful as an African-American artist, you have to spill your guts constantly to create a dialogue,” Walker said.

Throughout her career, Walker, her work, and its accompanying recognition have been met with controversy and backlash, which is unsurprising given the volatile content. She has been accused of producing art for white audiences and for creating derogatory and offensive work by employing the racist caricatures without any redemption for the subjects or the audience. While there is plenty to say about art, whiteness, and accessibility, what makes Walker’s work so powerful is the absence of redemption. There is no out.

Whether it’s a silhouette, or the sprawling fountain that pierces the myth of empire, Walker’s pieces force the audience to contend with the ugly insidiousness of how Black people have been treated and portrayed in America. And yes, this confrontation is very much on purpose. Walker has said:

“I didn’t want a completely passive viewer…I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn’t walk away; he would either giggle nervously, get pulled into history, into fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful.”

The viewer cannot escape Walker’s work. They cannot escape the perversion or humiliation or pain, and there is power both for the artist and as the audience member to sit in the discomfort of that, of America’s history. There is nothing to take refuge in.

For an artist who creates such stunning, detailed art, Kara Walker’s work sure is hard to look at, the near-slapstick physicality of characters only underpinning a certain embedded humiliation. Her uncanny ability to create striking, satirical visual commentary on power and desire through the lens of America’s (and broader, colonialism’s) sordid history of slavery and abuse has challenged us not only to think more critically about history, but to think critically about ourselves. It’s what has made her work so poignant over the last nearly 30 years. It’s what has made it such powerful, transcendent art.

About the author.
Sam Mani writes about work, creativity, wellness, and equity — when she’s not cooking, binging television, or annoying her cat.

Brooklyn-based Graphic Designer and Branding Maven

What do you do professionally?

I call myself a graphic designer. I do it all—print, digital, I’ve worked with experiential marketing. But what I really specialize in is branding and illustration. Whether it’s a one-off logo design, or a portrait illustration for a friend, or full brand package with brand guidelines, style guides and a revamped website with custom iconography, illustration, and merchandise. It’s where I have the most experience. Branding, identity, and illustration are what I love to do most. You can see my work here.

What is your origin story — how did you come to do what you do?

I always loved art and drawing and stuff like that. But more than sketching as a kid, I would always draw letters, I would always be more interested in custom lettering and creating custom posters for myself along with cartoons. I wasn’t as interested in “fine art.” And at some point, I realized that there’s a job for that: graphic design. And so, I pursued that in college (Oklahoma State, in Stillwater, Oklahoma) and really learned how to generate ideas. I learned how a strong concept and telling a story through design and branding was the most important thing, not just making something look pretty. Then I got into the thought process that goes into it, the discovery and the research, the ideas and the iterations you have to come up with to arrive at the best results. That whole process became really intriguing for me. It’s really exciting and rewarding for me to be able to do that with brands.

What brought you to NYC?

I grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and came to New York at the end of the summer right after I graduated from college. I didn’t have a job lined up before I got here. I had the money I made over the summer. My portfolio. My resume. I freelanced for a while, did a couple of long-term freelance gigs. Then for several years I worked with two different agencies, which were good learning experience. Both of those were good first jobs to have. But my second agency job, I got burned out on agency life. Especially a large agency that has lots of corporate clients. That’s when I started freelancing full time, just a little over a year and a half ago.

How long have you been in NYC?

I’ve been here for about 8 years. I can’t believe it. On one hand it feels like I’ve been here forever, but in other ways it’s gone by so quickly. I live in Stuyvesant Heights, where Bed-Stuy kisses Bushwick and Crown Heights. It’s not Bushwick, it’s not Bed-Stuy; there are lots of families that have lived here for a long time.

Talk to me about your approach, your process.

I think that the core of it is asking the right questions. Why are you creating this product or service? What are you offering that is special to your customers?

I recently did a logo for a friend that’s a photographer. And last year I did a full rebrand for an agency that specializes in higher education marketing. With each of those clients I have to ask:

What makes you different from everyone else?
What are you offering of value to your audience?
What sets you apart?

So, with that, my approach is to explore. I do my research and dig in during what I call my discovery phase. I explore other brands in the same industry and world and make note of what they’re doing that’s successful, not successful — and see where my client fits in. That’s the first step. Then with that, generating ideas, and eventually creating a full look and feel for the brand that fits and visually sets them apart.

Design by Daniel Nolen

When do you know if something is working or not?

Being a designer, I’m constantly noticing everything I see in the world — from design on the train, in the city, online. I can automatically sense when its design isn’t genuine, when it’s just trying to be trendy but there’s no heart to it. I can see that it’s not really saying anything besides using a trendy font or illustration style. I have a filter up all the time for that kind of design, where I think: “I see what they’re trying to do here but it’s not really working, it’s kind of hacky.”

However — when you see something that is truly original and really works, it hits you right in the gut, in the heart. One of my favorite brands is the Criterion collection. They create really beautiful merchandise and DVDs for really high-end films. They’re very selective of the films they choose, they select very well-made films, foreign films. Their entire brand is incredibly consistent in conveying a very intelligent look and feel that is indicative of the quality and value of their product. Criterion has a specific audience and offering, and they are not sacrificing the integrity of what they’re trying to say — they’re very true.

What’s a day in your life like?

Usually I wake up, start the day, and make coffee at 7:30 or 8am. I try to read something before I look at my phone or answer emails, because that helps ease me in and I’m not immediately flooded by stimuli… ooh, I’ve got to get this done. I sometimes write in my journal or meditate and then eat something.

Then I move to replying to emails — as a freelancer I am often in conversation with different clients about current or future projects, as well as looking for new opportunities. After that, I go to my little home office and start working on projects.

I usually save personal projects for later after I’ve finished my “work” work. I try to take a break after lunch, go for a walk, get a coffee. At night, I like to go to happy hour or theatre.

How does community figure into your work?

Since I do work alone most days, it is important for me to make a point to reach out to fellow artists and designers even if they’re not graphic designers. I have a lot of friends who work in tech — web developers and web designer. Even though our roles aren’t the same, they can ask me about design stuff, and I can ask them about their areas of expertise. It helps to have people you can trust who will give you feedback and also support, if you just want to vent.

Aside from design, I have a lot of other projects I work on, whether theatre or music related. Making a point to get together and collaborate is really important for me, because that’s not something I get to do in person a lot. Being able to collaborate and share that with others helps recharge the part of my battery that doesn’t get recharged when I’m working at home all day on my own.

Consciously seeking out these communal moments has helped me grow as a collaborator. Working in an agency all day, especially in a cubicle under fluorescent lighting, you’re trying to make yourself comfortable all day, you’re trying to drown out everyone else’s noise so you can work, create a comfortable space for yourself and your team. But a lot of times it’s so difficult because there’s so much happening. It’s loud and it’s crowded, and you have to commute, and you have to go find lunch…it’s busy busy busy.

Whereas working for myself at home, while I do feel the need to get out of the house and it gets lonely, it’s easier for me to be aware of that. I am more conscious now about seeking community and collaboration because I’m not in the middle of all the extraneous noise that’s so present in so may work environments.

Illustration by Daniel Nolen

How long have you been a part of Creative Circle, and what does being part of the CC community mean for you?

I’ve been with Creative Circle officially for four years or so. Within that timeframe, I had some longer-term gigs so was not working with them as often as I have been the last two years. These past two years, I have been in regular contact with Creative Circle and they’ve found me some really great gigs that have led to other great projects. It’s really nice that people who are looking for jobs for you know your strengths and what you can contribute. I think that’s where Creative Circle is so valuable, they really get to know their clients and their candidates.

What are your biggest challenges doing what you do?

The biggest challenge? Definitely financial. I’m a full-time freelancer and sometimes it can be challenging to find enough work to support myself. It’s important that I stick to my guns so that I can keep working on my terms from my home office.

Right now, the most important thing for me is being able to call the shots and do the projects I want. Having the freedom to do that is so rewarding. But what comes with that is having to hustle, the “I need to find a job for when this gig ends.”

How long do your gigs tend to last?

The ideal ones (and many I have gotten from Creative Circle) have been longer term, by season or by project. The majority of my projects are between 3 weeks and 3 months in duration, many of which have led to other work.

Design by Daniel Nolen

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started?

For me personally, I was scared. Scared to not have a regular paycheck, benefits — having to take care of all that myself. I think that that fear really kept me from taking the leap and doing what I really wanted, which was full-time freelance, or working for myself. But as they say: leap and the net will appear.

It’s sometimes been stressful and uncomfortable, but the thing I would have told myself: “Don’t worry, it will always work out, even if it’s stressful and you’re anxious. You’ll make it work out. You’ll learn something from it. Ultimately, it’s all worth it because it’s what you want to be doing. You’re going to be happier doing this.”

Who (or what) inspires your work?

I’m such a fan of so many things. I love music and going to the theatre. There are certain actors and writers and artists I’m obsessed with. But I think what really moves me is looking to other people who have a really good work ethic, who have been successful even through difficulties and challenges, but have come out the other side wiser, more successful, and better at what they do. I think that’s what ultimately inspires me across the board. It reminds me not to take the easy route, to stick to what I believe in, and trust that that will ultimately yield the most satisfying results.

I love Saul Bass, who’s really well known for his movie title sequences and film posters, he did a lot of work with Alfred Hitchcock. Talk about a storyteller, his intros for movies like Psycho and Vertigo, he sets the scene, it’s like a mini-movie before the movie. He uses a very bold graphic style that I’m drawn to — that’s very similar to my own style, which is perhaps why I’m visually drawn to his work. He has also done a lot of recognizable logos that are simple and giving the most amount of information in the simplest way possible, which is the challenge of logo design.

Paula Scher, a NYC-based graphic designer. Her work is very modern, bold, and colorful. She does a lot of branding for the City. She’s done a lot of recognizable New York logos, the NY Ballet, The Public Theatre, the Citibank logo. Her work has so much energy and is so fun to look at, it’s so unique, yet it can be translated across a bunch of different mediums. Her branding for The Public Theatre, every year she and her team revamp it. And all the stuff she does with Pentagram is amazing. I love Pentagram too.

Illustration by Daniel Nolen

In what ways do you see your work evolving over the next year? Any projects that you’re working on that you’re really excited about?

This is outside of design, but I’m directing a cabaret show for a friend of mine, Christy Yin. She’s a singer and a dancer. Christy knew I had experience doing cabaret shows and asked me to direct her debut! We just met today and had a really great work session. I was struck by how similar the work process was to collaborating on a design project, it’s really “what story are we telling, how are we going to do that, with the right amount of information, so it’s not excessive, but enough to lead the audience.” You have to remember not to expect them to know anything we are not telling them.

It’s a similar process to branding or creating a website, you’re creating an experience for the audience. Collaborating with one or more people is really fun and exciting. It’s the creative process in motion. The show was scheduled to be at the Gallery Players, an off-Broadway theatre in Brooklyn, March 13, 2020 — and we look forward to making it manifest when the timing is right.

Another project that’s been really good for me is one I am doing with my friend Ben. We have a podcast on the Broadway Podcast Network called Ben Rimalower’s Broken Records. We just talk with artists, actors, singers, and drag queens about the music and artists that have influenced their careers and their lives.

I’m the co-host and producing and editing the podcast. And that’s just been super fun. It’s a collaborative process, creating content, and we’ve gotten a lot of really great feedback. I’ve learned so much and I hope the listeners are learning as well! It can be found on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher — all the sites. It’s weekly, a lot of theatre and Broadway related stuff.

Illustration by Daniel Nolen

About the author.
An award-winning creator and digital health, wellness, and lifestyle content strategist — Karina writes, edits, and produces compelling content across multiple platforms — including articles, video, interactive tools, and documentary film. Her work has been featured on MSN Lifestyle, Apartment Therapy, Goop, Psycom, Pregnancy & Newborn, Eat This Not That, thirdAGE, and Remedy Health Media digital properties.