What If Your Whole Career Was Just Practice for the Work You Were Meant to Do? with Jeanetta Gonzales | The Typecast Episode 72
She’s been a fine art major, a print designer, a Barbie packaging designer at Mattel, a surface pattern designer, an art licensing exhibitor, and, for the past 10 years, an artist coach.
In this episode, we sit with Jeanetta Gonzales, Ilana’s first art licensing mentor, for a conversation that goes way beyond business strategy. We’re talking about the long, winding road of building a creative career, what it was actually like to exhibit at art licensing trade shows, and why the seeds you plant at a show might not sprout for years.
Jeanetta also shares all about her brand new book series, Free Pass, four illustrated coupon books published with Chronicle that are essentially permission slips for creatives, workers, resters, and parents. The creativity book was born directly out of her coaching work after she noticed that the moment she gave an artist the green light, everything changed.
If you’ve felt stuck in a creative funk, wondered if your winding career path was “wrong,” or needed someone to just give you permission to rest, this one’s for you.
All that and more when you listen to this episode:
How Jeanetta went from UCLA fine art major to Barbie packaging designer at Mattel
Stumbling into art licensing and what Surtex was (and why it mattered)
Whether art licensing trade shows are still worth it, and what the long game really looks like
What it’s actually like to design and work on a trade show booth
The story behind her new book series, Free Pass
How she illustrated 72 pieces in the middle of a cross-country move
Working with ADHD: procrastination, pressure, and finally getting it done
Why your environment has more impact on your creativity than you think
Being honest about being in a creative fun, and not rushing to fix it
Her plans to rebrand for the first time in 10 years
Connect with Jeanetta GonzalesWebsite: https://www.jeanettagonzales.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nettdesigns
Free Pass Book Series: https://www.jeanettagonzales.com/freepasscoupons
Mentioned in this episode:Free Pass, Jeanetta’s 4-book series
Surtex (art licensing trade show)
National Stationery Show
Las Vegas Trade Show
Upper Limit Challenge (concept from The Big Leap)
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