Life As A Botanical Artist In Chile
/Note from Danetha: Money & Mimosas is now enjoyed by readers in over fifty countries. Our vision has always been to be able to compensate and to give a platform to women freelancers, artists, and entrepreneurs from around the world. I’m excited to share our first article written in English AND Spanish. This article was written by Geraldine MacKinnon. She is a Botanical Artist, born and raised in Chile. Keep reading to learn about her journey, her work, and her perspective on the economy in Chile.
Being an artist in a small country like Chile can be a great challenge. I know this is true for any artist around the planet, as Art Schools have similar approaches to the profession and to the work itself. That approach is light years away from today’s entrepreneurial landscape, and even more in small countries with conservative economies (mainly extractivism and centered around safe commodities).
At age 21 I graduated from one of the best Art Schools in the country and quickly continued my studies through an Education degree which allowed me to teach art to middle and high school students. At that stage in life, I never thought it was possible to live from my art, as I was still searching for my path and even building my identity as a young woman.
Learning education and working as a teacher for 5 years gave me the mindset and knowledge to plan ahead, organise my activities and my finances. I didn’t earn much, but the regular paycheck allowed me to use credit cards wisely, and I never overspent. Financially this was rather perfect, but I wasn’t happy: schoolwork is draining, you just never get over the paperwork, art teachers were there for any job that no one else wanted to do, and I never had a decent budget to develop all the things I had in my idealist mind with my dear students.
Finding the courage to pursue art as a freelancer
After many adventures that I might tell you about another time, I ended up deeply in love with botanical illustration and decided to become a full-time Botanical Artist. No one had ever done that in Chile before, as there were only a few older artists that used to work illustrating nature. There was nowhere to learn, or anyone to turn to for advice. But I was so driven and my decision was so strong, that I just taught myself and later received a scholarship from the government. From there, I went on to become a pro-Botanical Artist at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In the middle of all that, I became an entrepreneur. Although I never felt any sort of identification with the word or with its meaning, I was working by myself, first as a freelancer and then at some point I was organizing workshops in different locations, then I created my own classroom at home and suddenly realized it was time to go online and make an e-learning site of my own.
But there was a problem: I had been working, teaching and painting, selling prints of my work and so on, without a real enterprise. I was totally informal, only paying my taxes as a university teacher, when I had uni courses to do. I was doing all the things without any structure behind my back, or in front. Just like that. It seemed like this was the right time to adult-up and do things as you’re supposed to. So I set up my SPA (like an LLC for instance), got an accountant, and started learning. Oh my! That was difficult! I felt like I was studying Chinese. But as a good self-learner, I did all the research and found tons of great information and brilliant women entrepreneurs, mostly from the US who taught me So Much. Thank y’all ladies, you are doing the work you say you do!
Life as a freelance artist in Chile
But OK: my country is a bit different. My culture is a bit different. There’s very little support for the creative industry. If I apply to startup funding, my field is left out. They prefer food, tech, and the Uber kind of business. Also, as our market is considerably smaller, we must look beyond borders. When I created my school, I wanted it to be 100% in Spanish. Well, this hasn’t been easy because my country is small. My school is growing, but it is a slow process. I’ve expanded our reach to include students from countries like Argentina, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia because I understand that my next big effort is to reach more students around those countries.
The three biggest lessons I take out of all these years as a freelance artist in a small and conservative economy are:
Never stop learning, search for resources, and people that resonate with your life philosophy and are in alignment with your values.
Learn a second language: this has been key to my personal development. It will open doors, your mind, and will give you friendships from the wildest places on the planet.
If your economy, culture, environment, or family doesn’t support you, don’t stop. Keep working and grow slow, use your own resources, and never give up!
En Español:
Ser artista en un país pequeño como Chile puede ser un gran desafío, aunque suele ser así para cualquier artista en el mundo, pues las escuelas de arte en general tienen la misma noción de la profesión y del trabajo artístico como tal. Su aproximación está a años luz del paisaje actual del emprendimiento, y más aún en países pequeños con economías conservadoras (principalmente extractivistas y centradas en los grandes commodities).
A los 21 años me gradué de una de las mejores escuelas de arte del país, y en seguida continué mis estudios en Pedagogía, lo que me permitió trabajar enseñando a niños y jóvenes en colegios. En esa etapa de mi vida, no creía posible vivir de mi arte, pues todavía estaba buscando mi camino creativo y además formando mi identidad como mujer.
Aprender Educación y ser profesora por cinco años me dio la organización y planificación que no había recibido en Art, lo que me permitió organizar mis actividades y finanzas. No ganaba mucho, pero el cheque cada mes me ayudaba a usar tarjetas de crédito correctamente y a mantener un buen orden financiero que parecía perfecto, pero no era feliz: el trabajo escolar es agotador (lo fue en mi experiencia), con montañas de papeleo. Nunca tuve presupuesto para llevar a cabo todo lo que se me ocurría con mis estudiantes y más encima, los profesores de arte siempre teníamos que hacer trabajos manuales que los demás rechazaban.
Después de muchas aventuras que no vienen al caso ahora, me enamoré perdidamente de la ilustración botánica y tomé la decisión de transformarme en artista botánica de tiempo completo. Nadie estaba haciendo eso en Chile en ese momento, solamente habían algunos ilustradores de naturaleza mayores, y no había dónde aprender y la información estaba muy oculta. Pero estaba tan decidida, que empecé a aprender por mi cuenta hasta que en 2012 me gané una beca del Estado y fui a estudiar al Royal Botanic Garden Edinburg, Escocia.
Entre medio de todo aquello, me convertí en emprendedora, aunque nunca me sentí identificada con la palabra ni con su significado, pero estaba trabajando por mí misma, primero como freelancer y después organizando talleres y cursos en distintos lugares, hasta que diseñé una sala de clases en mi casa. Desde ahí, surgió la necesidad de volcarme al mundo online y de crear mi propio portal de e-learning.
Pero había un problema: había estado enseñando, vendiendo mi arte y productos de mi arte sin una empresa. Trabajaba en negro y solo justificaba mis ingresos como profesora universitaria. Entonces, decidí que ya era hora de ser adulta y formé mi empresa (una SPA o Sociedad Por Acciones en Chile), contraté una contadora y me puse a aprender lo que más pude sobre el mundo del emprendimiento y los negocios. ¡Fue muy difícil al principio! Casi como aprender chino. Pero como buena auto didacta, me puse a investigar por todas partes hasta llegar a muchas mujeres, principalmente en USA que se dedican a enseñar lo que saben de negocios brillantemente. Puedo decirles ahora: ¡muchas gracias por hacer el gran trabajo que hacen!
Desde que formé mi escuela, he querido que sea 100% en castellano, mi idioma. Bueno, no ha sido fácil: a pesar de tener estudiantes en países como Argentina, España, Perú, Colombia, México y Guatemala, tengo claro que mi próximo gran esfuerzo será llegar a muchas más personas en el mundo hispano. En Chile, no es fácil: si postulas a fondos de apoyo, siempre prefieren a las industrias que tienen que ver con alimentación, turismo, tecnología y empresas tipo Uber. La industria creativa está muy abandonada. Sin embargo, he decido continuar paso a paso, con mis propios recursos. Las tres lecciones más importantes que he aprendido en este proceso son:
Nunca dejes de aprender. Busca las fuentes y personas que tengan que ver con tu filosofía de vida y tus valores.
Aprende otro idioma: esto ha sido clave para mi desarrollo personal. Te abrirá puertas y te regalará amigos de los rincones más locos del mundo.
Si tu economía, cultura, país o familia no apoya tu trabajo, sigue igual. Busca a tus pares y nunca dejes atrás tus sueños.
About the author:
Geraldine MacKinnon is a Botanical Artist from Santiago, Chile. She loves teaching both in-person and online, and created the first online school in Spanish dedicated to Art & Nature.
She loves painting plants accurately with watercolor and creates her own paints with local minerals and earth.
Learn more at www.gmackinnon.com and on her Instagram @naturalistamac.
