Mica Angela Hendricks is a professional illustrator who works primarily in ballpoint pen and acrylics. She travels the world with her military husband and her talented 7-year old daughter, Myla, with whom she collaborates for A Busy Mockingbird.
In this episode, Mica discusses:
-How she began drawing with her daughter.
-How her daughter has developed as an artist and how they now collaborate with ideas.
-The idea of being on equal ground with her daughter in terms of creative control.
-Trying not to get too discouraged by the talented artists and creatives that inspire you.
-Some of the many ways that she gets through creative blocks.
-Her advice for people who have trouble letting go of their creative control.
-A practice in collaboration of letting your followers or fans help to decide what you are going to draw.
-The friendliness and helpfulness of the people on Instagram.
-The value you can provide by posting either works in progress or “mistakes,” to show that it isn’t just as easy as creating something wonderful from start to finish.
-How Myla doesn’t care what other people think about her work and how we should all strive to reach that same freedom.
-Dealing with negative feedback.
-Dealing with dry spells and having to deal with the ebb and flow.
-How the name “Busy Mockingbird” came to be.
-How we all need both relaxation time as well as physically active time in our daily lives.
-The idea of “going on an adventure” with kids as a form of meditation.
-The story behind her book, “Share With Me.”
Mica’s Final Push will inspire you to keep trying every single day and to always continue to learn.
Quotes:
“I like to let her have control. It prepares her for when she’s older to be able to have the confidence to know that her ideas are valid.”
“I told her one time that she inspired me and she was kind of surprised by that.”
“Who cares, you know? I’m drawing what I like and if you don’t like it, there’s a little button up there that says ‘unfollow.’”
“You get dry spells. You get this time where everything just comes out like crap.”
“If you have to draw a hundred bad drawings to get to the good one to get you back into it, then you better start doing it.”
“Knowing that you’re going to have that ebb and flow is necessary to functioning properly as an artist. You have to know that it’s going to come back and it’s not gone forever.”
“I feel lazy if I’m watching TV. If I watch TV I have a sketchbook in front of me.”
“If you enjoy doing something, you’ll get better at it in time. You just have to keep trying and keep learning. Never ever ever stop learning.”
Links mentioned:
Connect with Mica:
Website / Etsy / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
