Bragging Rights: VoyageLA Spotlight
LA’s Most Inspiring Stories / Just Kirby Interview
Kirby, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
There’s one question I’ve been asked throughout my life that I have always known the answer to, no matter what stage of my life I happened to be in, and that’s, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My response has always simply been, “An artist.”
My parents swear they knew I was going to be an artist when I started drawing fingers and toes on my stick figure sketches as a kid, and I swear that I have always had that goal in my heart for as long as I can remember—but since my memory of my childhood is shoddy at best, that might not be as impressive. The specifics of my artistic career have often fluctuated—moving fluidly between fine artist, art teacher, concept designer, book illustrator, and beyond—but the overarching theme has remained the same. Making art.
Art has always been my compass, guiding me throughout multiple interests and genres with borderline obsessive zeal because, to me, that’s what art is. Art is beautiful and passionate, but unforgiving in its hunger to learn more, to do more, to be more. I must continually create, no matter how large or small the project may seem, and because of that, each day I discover a new way to make art. And I love it.
This obsession has definitely taken me on some weird turns and wild rides (such as swearing that I would never work for myself because it’s too much stress to then starting my own business the day I graduated college and realizing that I’ve technically been working for myself since high school) but that’s definitely part of the journey.
Art is alive. It is never still. And I plan on spending the rest of my life finding out where it’s going.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Just Kirby – what should we know?
Just Kirby is simply that: me. An overly-hard worker who takes pride in everything she does and is looking to make the world a prettier place. Someone who gets bored easily so she is constantly learning new ways of entertaining herself and creating art.
A woman who refuses to give up and refuses to turn in a piece of art, work, or project that she isn’t entirely proud of. An intelligent, complex, bizarre, possibly-dangerous-yet-entirely charismatic being who likes to pretend she isn’t nice but is truly a softy for those she loves and those that need love. She is weird, but you’ll love it.
In the business side of things, Just Kirby is adding Kirby to your team. It is taking all of the above and making it work for you, and for your success. She will fall in love with your brand and mold it to perfection. She will be fiercely loyal to your product and take pride in what you create. She will be your cheerleader and share your message to the world.
She will take work off of your plate and stress out of your life. And—of course—she will make you pretty. Well, I mean I will.
Read the full interview at VoyageLA.