Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Christianson
Hi Heather, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey as an artist started before I can even remember! But I do remember one specific drawing I made in kindergarten- my teacher commented on it and told me what a good job I had done. My parents even framed the drawing (and it’s still up in their house!). I think it clicked that I had made something special, and I was encouraged to continue making art throughout my whole childhood. My great-grandfather was a sign painter, my mom painted and made comics, and I watched her create with much delight. Art followed me through high school, as I ran the student art club and painted sets for the school plays and musicals. I wanted to go into animation, so I chose an art program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. I quickly realized the art major I had chosen wasn’t exactly what I was looking for (had to learn how to code and was VERY bad at it), so I tried a graphic design class and fell in love. I loved learning about the design world, but was still drawing cartoons and characters and inserting them into every project I made. It was clear that graphic design still wasn’t the ~perfect~ fit, so my senior year I switched to the comics program that had just been developed. The professors and directors of the art program at UW-Stout allowed me to flow and change and even make up classes, for which I am forever grateful! I graduated with a degree in graphic design in 2013, and later that year took the leap and moved to Los Angeles. In my first few years there I was pitching show ideas to Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and even Netflix. Nothing ever stuck but I’m so appreciative of all those experiences. I ended up getting a job at a popular YouTube channel, iHasCupquake, where I worked on a small team of funny, creative, and supportive friends and family members of the channel owner. I created designs for clothing, animations for the channel, graphics for socials, and more fun merchandise like coloring books, keychains, pins, hats, etc. When 2020 came around, we all worked from home for about two more years before I eventually decided to head back to Minneapolis and focus on my own art business! I’ve been creating my own products and videos on YouTube ever since. And NOW I’m learning how to tattoo! I’m currently an apprentice studying under my good friends Sean (@pokeapolis) and Rachel (@rachelradiant). My art life is continuously changing and growing. I love it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’d say the road has been relatively smooth, with some BIG curves along the way. Whenever I did hit a bump in the road, I always had a big supportive net of people to catch me. My family has always supported my journey as an artist, and almost all the friends I’ve made in my life have been creative people in some way or another. I feel so lucky for this! I think I struggled the most with fear… just a general fear of not doing or saying the right thing. Especially as a young 20-something in LA, I often felt intimidated by the industry I was trying to join (animation) and I definitely messed up A LOT. I was kind of scared away from it (and none of my ideas or characters were picked) so I kind of switched gears. Did I give up? I don’t know. I think I tried my best, but again, I was a scaredy-cat almost all the time. As I’ve entered my 30’s and now work for myself, I feel more confident than ever. Even now as I enter another big, scary industry (tattooing), I feel confident and excited that I can do it. I’ve been obsessed with tattoos ever since high school, so it honestly feels like the most correct next step I’ve ever taken. Here’s to more bumps in the road that I will simply hop right over! Hopefully. 🙂
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work has been described as “spooky, but cute!”, “purple-y rainbow”, and simply, “round”. I’ve been doing mostly digital illustrations since college, but dabble in traditional mediums every once in a while. I just love the clean, bold, and colorful look I can achieve with digital art. With my digital art, I make stickers, prints, enamel pins, keychains, tote bags, notepads, and other stationery products that I sell in my online shop. I also create YouTube videos where I share my life as an artist in Minneapolis. I was making vlogs in LA, too, and even before that, I was making Vines. Anyone remember Vine? The 6-second video app? The things I made on Vine cringe me to my core, but the friendships and artistic connections I made through the app have literally lasted for over 10 years now. As I enter my tattoo artist era, I hope to be known for creating cute, bold, and colorful characters that will live in someones dermis.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something that most people don’t know about me… I think people might think I’m a quiet, normal person, but people who really know me think that I am LOUD and very… not normal.
Some general little fun facts about me include: I’m vegan, I once had a pet toad named “Froggy Dude”, I have 1,254 hours put into Animal Crossing New Horizons, and I have high school varsity letter in Drama (not volleyball, even though I played for 5 years). Oh, and one time, Matthew Gray Gubler told me he liked my pants. That really has nothing to do with me but it’s funny and it happened.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ummmheather.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ummmheather
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ummmheather
