Today we’d like to introduce you to Jillian Schoettle.
Hi Jillian, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I earned a BFA in Studio Art from Lindenwood University in 2012 and started freelance work around that time, as well. My education trained me in lots of areas that I utilize daily now, like portraiture, and laid a great foundation for other skills that I honed after graduating: Hand-lettering and digital art.
I’ve done a lot of hand-lettering work for events like bat/bar mitzvahs, birthdays, and weddings; I have a very playful lettering style that suits really fun, creative celebrations. I’ve also always loved snail mail and in 2015 I started participating in a campaign called #write_on, wherein you write one letter a day during the month of April, for a total of 30 letters sent during the campaign.
Over the years, my envelopes have gotten more ornate, detailed, and artistic so that now it’s the main part of my business! I create custom letters for customers and send them directly to their recipients, tuned to their interests, and made one-of-a-kind with illustrations, hand-lettering, and handmade elements throughout.
I love the mail art community and I’m honored to have found a place there.
Alright, 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’ve learned a lot through failure and trial and error, just like every artist. I’ve given projects a shot only to find my strengths don’t shine there.
The “fake it til you make it” and “figure it out along the way” mentalities are useful only to a certain point; I found if I don’t feel enriched by a project while utilizing these mindsets, then it’s not in my skill set and I need to redirect the project or strike this experience off my list of future endeavors.
Failure is certainly a powerful teacher. But if I hadn’t tried out those projects, I would know a lot less about myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I do a lot of portraiture and illustrations married with hand lettering. Mostly revolving around pop culture, my artwork appeals to people with a sense of humor and a love of good TV & movies. Every October, I participate in Inktober, where you draw one ink drawing a day. I generally theme my Inktobers around either one TV show or a facet of pop culture.
It’s a great challenge for me to draw fun expressions and compose my portraits with handmade types. It also presents a great opportunity to converse and connect with my audience, who is — for the most part — over on Instagram (@pbandjillian). We talk about our favorite characters and I get to display some inside views of my art-making with process videos.
As I mentioned before, I also make postal art. This is really my specialty and I never intended to make it my focus but I kept finding more and more joy in the journey. And it’s not just the creative part of mail art that makes me happy!
I love the end result of mail art: The recipient gets something one-of-a-kind that was made with intentionality and for the ultimate purpose of making them happy and letting them know they are seen. People save their envelopes, frame them, and they reopen them again and again.
Postal correspondence is still relevant and has a place in our world.
What do you think about happiness?
Spending time with my friends and family brings me great happiness; a walk with my husband, son, and dog on the weekend is something I always look forward to, and nights during the week spent playing board games and drinking old-fashioneds with friends fill my heart.
My husband, Jacob, and I also have many friends in the Czech Republic and any time we get to go visit them is a true joy. We love Czech culture and getting to explore Prague with our friends.
We help teach English and art at a summer camp in the Czech countryside and our memories of camps spent with friends are some of our fondest.
Pricing:
- $60 – Custom Letter
- $150+ – Custom Portrait
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jilliankayeart.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/pbandjillian
- Facebook: facebook.com/jilliankayeart
