Meet Jessica | Lettering Artist & Illustrator

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

Hi Jessica, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Work/life balance has been one of the biggest changes I’ve made in running my own business. The first couple of years, I felt an urgent need to always be “on” in some capacity, whether that meant actively working or even just being sure to answer every message and email right away. It truly felt like every hour not spent working was money lost. This thinking inevitably led to burnout—I was getting burnt out at least once a year, to the point that I struggled creating new artwork. I knew something had to change. At the time I was in a mentorship with industry leaders Emily McDowell and Lisa Congdon, and they encouraged me and my fellow mentees to make time for rest. I realized that most of the time I was “working,” I was actually spinning my wheels and just doing busy work that wasn’t really moving the needle forward at all; it just made me FEEL more productive, but it was actually counterproductive in practice. Upon this realization, I set a rest goal for myself for the year, which included giving myself evenings and weekends off. I also incorporated daily breaks every few hours. It was surprisingly not that difficult to get into these habits; my body was actually craving the rest, and in turn, I was able to actually be MORE creative and productive once I was working. Nowadays, you rarely find me stressing about anything work-related after 5 PM!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started working professionally as a lettering artist and illustrator simply because it was something I loved, and I was feeling creatively unfulfilled in my corporate graphic design job. I discovered the art of hand lettering on Instagram, and I was hooked immediately. Once I started meeting with other artists in the industry, I felt a strong call to leave the safety of my job and go all in on myself and my talent. Fast forward to today, and I still very much love what I do, but I’ve realized that monetizing your art changes your relationship to it. There are a lot of things you have to take into consideration with the art that you make that you don’t when it’s purely for your own fulfillment. I’m slowly learning that as a creative, you absolutely HAVE to carve out a space to create work that’s just for you so that you don’t go insane. You still have to make the stuff that “sells” or that looks good on a public face to make a living, but you can’t ignore the parts of you that need to make just for the sake of making. These personal projects are the things that fuel your creativity, and they ultimately end up helping you on the business side, too. It may be a harder path, but honestly, I wouldn’t trade this career for the world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There’s plenty to do in Dallas, which is why I love living here! Here are some of my recommendations for the city.

For the artists and creatives: Attend a CreativeMornings Dallas event, which is a free monthly talk that’s open to anyone, creative or not! I highly recommend stopping at the Nasher, which not only has fascinating art, but the building itself was designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano (who happens to be a favorite of mine). Then make your way over to Deep Ellum, where you can walk around and look at all the murals that make the neighborhood unique (including my mural at the Musical Art Garden at Commerce and Good Latimer!).

For the shopping addict: Head over to North Park Mall for all your upscale shopping needs, and be sure to look around at all the art throughout the building, which is curated and rotated out regularly. If you’re looking for something more local, there are plenty of large and small vendor markets that happen all throughout the year, including the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market, the Underground Market on Greenville Avenue, the Boho Market at Klyde Warren Park, and the Bishop Arts Bazaar in Oak Cliff.

For the foodie: When in Texas…get BBQ! My favorite place is Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum. And if you’re still hungry after all those ribs, you can grab dessert right next door at Emporium Pies (featuring a beautiful mural by artist Dana Tanamachi). If instead you’re looking for Tex Mex, I love Pepe & Mito’s (also in Deep Ellum), or Meso Maya downtown if you’re looking for something a little more upscale and diverse. A few of my other favorite places to eat include Cane Rosso for pizza, Eataly for upscale and authentic Italian cuisine, Wabi House for ramen, and Asian Mint for Asian fusion dishes.

For the partygoer: If you want to dance, you’ve got to visit Ladylove in Oak Cliff, which has theme nights and a rotating list of top Dallas DJs, or Ruins in Deep Ellum, which features Latin music. If you’re looking for a place to people watch and have a nice cocktail, I recommend Tiny Victories in Oak Cliff, which has a generous happy hour, or Far Out in South Dallas, which has a beautiful patio, stunning AND delicious cocktails, and a kitchen open until 9 PM. If you’re feeling more like a dive bar, my go to is Twilite Lounge in Deep Ellum, which has trivia nights, live music, and a nice patio in the back.

Honestly there’s so much to discover in Dallas! I could go on and on, but these are some of my top recs!

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?
There are so many people I could shout out that have helped me in my journey; I would not be where I am without my creative community. One of my favorite sources of creative community is my “Creative Baddies,” an informal friend group of women of color in DFW who are working as graphic designers, artists, and illustrators. We share resources, inspiration, and advice, and we often meet in-person for creative events. Before meeting these ladies, most of my creative community only existed on Instagram; having a community in person is so different, though, in the best way. I treasure my relationship with them so much!

Website: https://www.jessicamolina.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seejessletter

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seejessletter

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Image Credits
Amber Shumake