Meet Jessica Kretchmer | Freelance Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Kretchmer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, what role has risk played in your life or career?
As scary or terrifying as it may initially seem, risk taking is so essential – not just for an artist, but for everyone! Playing it safe or sticking closely to your comfort zone are completely fine ways of living out your life (I know I am certainly guilty of it) – but how else can we truly exceed if we don’t take the occasional risk?

Besides the endless support from loved ones, I feel like risk taking has greatly shaped my artistic career. I took a risk going to an art school (shoutout to SCAD’s illustration department), knowing I could land myself in a giant hole of debt and wind up in a dead end job just to survive. I took a risk with my cut paper style, knowing that it isn’t the most popular or commercialized form of art out there. I take a risk every time I apply for a freelance position or send out postcards to art directors, knowing I could potentially hear back from none of them. Now of course, life is never linear or always positive and full of guaranteed opportunities, but I have accomplished so much more by taking risks than living out scenarios inside of my head. As many of my professors assured my peers and I, “The worst someone can say to you is ‘no’.”

Whenever I become scared of the endless possibilities of taking a risk, I always turn to the words of the beloved author and illustrator Maurice Sendak: “Artists have to take a dive – and either you hit your head on a rock and you split your skull and you die; or, that blow to the head was so inspiring that you come back up and do the best work you ever did. But, you have to take the dive.”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I keep myself pretty busy constantly, actively searching for potential work or focusing on expanding my portfolio. I honestly feel a little lost when I’m not moving my hands so I often pile on as many projects as I can. It feels very rewarding to be chugging along and producing things, but, oh boy, does it drain me to the core. When I get to this point, I really have to step away and (sometimes) force myself to take a breather. I’ll get in comfy pajamas, find a funny video to watch, and just allow myself to relax. While searching and applying for freelance work definitely adds to the busy mode, taking care of myself physically and mentally contributes an equal amount as well since it keeps me refreshed!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’ve never really thought of a label for my work – I mainly try to keep things fun, light and cute since my main focus is illustrating children’s books. I am definitely excited with implementing cut paper into my designs since it provides the texture I have been looking for! In my first two years of college, I tried so hard to be ‘realistic’ or be all fancy with multiple, textured Photoshop brushes. While I’m relatively happy with the work I produced, I just remember being so drained of energy and unsatisfied with the whole process. Now, I have let go of expectations and just focus on having a good, happy time.

I remember the first time I became interested in art – it was second grade and part of our homework was to draw a frog. I can’t remember why I devoted so much effort into this assignment, but I will never forget the happy smiles I received whenever I showed off my little doodle. It wasn’t the fact that I received compliments, but more the fact that I could make people happy with silly drawings that essentially paved the way of interest.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it was easy or extremely difficult – I think the biggest obstacle was myself. I still struggle with self-confidence, but I truly did not believe in myself or abilities, ultimately holding myself back from achieving anything. I would also be incredibly and unnecessarily harsh on myself (as my parents used to tell me, “You’re your own worst critic”) that I found myself producing work at such a slow rate. To go off of this, the biggest lesson I’ve learned was to love and forgive myself. Learning to let go of that inner critic and allow myself to make ‘happy accidents’ has been so helpful.

At the end of the day, I truly just want to give back to the community and help in any way I can. I especially want to focus on bringing awareness to mental health to a younger audience, hence my focus on children’s books. My main message is that life was never meant to be a linear line of progress, one should never feel that they have to suppress their emotions or true character at any point of life, for we are all still growing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hmm, this is really difficult since I haven’t been out much since this pandemic. Living in Indiana – which the locals dub as a ‘flyover state’ – I wouldn’t really know of any extremely exciting areas to take someone. Luckily, our local airport has a train that goes directly to the heart of Chicago, so I would probably take them there! You can never go wrong with their deep dish pizza (you’ve got to try it at least once!) and their lively, skyscraper scenery. They also have a lot of ethnicities there, a Chinatown, Greektown, so finding a variety of food would be really easy and enjoyable to find. Perhaps it’s a bit selfish, but I would definitely take them to Jollibee’s (a popular fast food chain in the Philippines that can only be found in a few select and highly populated cities) – if calories and weight were not an issue, I would happy eat sweet spaghetti with hotdogs and cheese with peach mango pie for the rest of my life.

There is also Michigan’s Adventure (again, sorry Indiana) – a water and amusement park about two hours away from my hometown. I haven’t been there since I was a kid so it would be really fun to experience it again with a close friend.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, my parents – even as a kid, they strongly encouraged my love for arts & crafts, never hesitating to buy me supplies whenever I expressed interest. They are the whole reason why I am an artist today and doing the things I love – they have always stressed the importance of finding an occupation that I will thoroughly enjoy instead of dread while waking up in the morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me this life, I will never truly realize how blessed I am to have parents like them.

Next, to my significant other, Zack. You have been such an emotional anchor in my life – you have seen me at my worst multiple times, from getting overwhelmed with projects or intense feelings of self-doubt. I always get a little embarrassed on how much you have seen me cry, but I am so grateful for your open arms. Thank you for being just as excited as me whenever I have good news to share.

And lastly, to my friends at SCAD (Room 210 will always hold a special place in my heart) – you guys have inspired me and made me experience the joys of life. I really disliked how this pandemic kept us all apart, but thank you for your support through text messages and Zoom calls.

Website: https://www.jessicakretchmer.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicakretchmer/?hl=en

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-kretchmer