Daily Inspiration: Meet Haochen Zhao

Today we’d like to introduce you to Haochen Zhao.

Hi Haochen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career as an independent artist after graduation from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2022. Before that, I started going to art fairs to show and sell my work. I love markets where I can have a booth with all my crafts and art. Seeing people love my work and taking them home is the most rewarding moment for me. I make fine art pieces based on my concepts, but I also make crafts like tote bags, jewellery and ceramic vessels because I enjoy making useful products that people could have in their daily life. After graduation, I started a full-time job as an art educator. Teaching high school students is fun and that reminds me of my experiences when I was a young art learner. Teaching offers me more energy and support for me to create whatever I love. I don’t need to worry about financial problems, so I started to enjoy making art even more. I’m now experimenting more on 2D works. I rarely draw or paint for a long time because I was obsessed with ceramic and soft sculptures and I don’t really know the best way to draw. But now I feel that it is enjoyable to draw with color pencils and those drawings are bringing me exhibitions and other opportunities. I’m excited about it.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There’s no way that it can be a smooth road for me, hahaha. I think for any artist we need to face a lot of problems. First, we have to find out who we are, what we should do and what style we can have. But at the same time, we need to think about how to earn money with our art. They are all tough questions. But I found that, in fact, I don’t need to worry about anything. It sounds crazy, but according to my experience, when I give up finding a solution to any of my problems and just create, I have no problems anymore. It’s really just like magic. But in fact, it is because if you enjoy making your stuff, you got the right energy, so other people will also enjoy it, and that’s why you can eventually have whatever you deserve. So the most important thing for me as a creator is to find some financial support first, whether it’s from art selling, side job or full-time job, and then try my best to relax, be the most natural and happy me, and just create. The less I think about or worry about, the more I can create and my road can be smoothier.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make a lot of things. Ceramics make me most happy. I haven’t made ceramics for almost a year now and I miss touching clay very much. Apart from ceramics, I also make soft sculptures. I made small toys first and then made some big-scaled sculptures. Now I’m also making hand-made bags and accessories with soft sculpture technique. I’m also drawing color-pencil illustrations and I found that very satisfying for me at this stage. As you can see, my works are kind of all over the place. So I don’t think I specialize in any area, but I really enjoy trying different things. And I think always experiment in different areas makes me most proud of myself hehe.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I’d love to mention Whitney Sherman. She is the director of MFA Illustration Practice at MICA. I learned a lot from her when I studied in the program. She generously helped me with my thesis work process and I will always remember her wisdom toward education career for artists. She has a very useful and meaningful course called Entrepreneurship for the program. I think the course reminded me that as artists, we are all entrepreneurs. We all need knowledge, courage, and experience to develop our own business and career. Everybody can have their own path. I miss her very much.

Contact Info:

• Website: haochenzhao.cargo.site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haochen.art/