Samantha Hahn: Lifting Your Spirits
Samantha Hahn is sharing stories of solace, fear, and everything in-between. The Brooklyn-based illustrator, author, and creative director has been producing artworks in various mediums throughout her life, and now, she’s finding new ways to authentically connect her work to the current moment. In a recent project, Hahn collects quotations from various individuals on how they are feeling and what they are experiencing in quarantine. The statements, handwritten and surrounded by primary-colored polkadots, are vulnerable and real, resonating with many. Highlighting how we are connected and inspiring positivity is just one of the many reasons Hahn creates. She is the author of Stories for my Child: A Mother’s Memory Journal and A Mother is a Story: A Celebration of Motherhood, both heartfelt takes on motherhood, and the writer and illustrator behind The Cut’s series Carrying On. Below, Hahn shares more about why she creates, what inspires her, and what’s on the horizon.
How and when did you start illustrating?
SH: I've been painting and drawing my whole life. I studied illustration in college and then had a meandering path doing other things before making it happen professionally. I worked at a magazine and then got my masters degree and taught art for a while. Eventually after trial and lots of error, I found my way into the industry mainly through working for indie designers and getting small editorial jobs and pushing forward through the rejection and acceptance period.
What keeps you going in your practice? How do you stay inspired?
SH: I love the variability in my work. Sometimes it's collaborative and other times it's self-directed. Every project I do feeds off of the others I've done. I'm always learning and growing. Early in my career I had dream clients and then when I got to the level where I was working with them I realized there's no finishing point, no ultimate achievement. It's really about the process for me. I want to stay creative and connected. I want to always be learning and growing and pushing. That's how I grow creatively and spiritually and that's what keeps me inspired.
Where do you find inspiration?
SH: I'm inspired by beauty in nature, vintage photography (especially 70's ads and magazines), people on the street, work my friends in the industry produce and of course an internal drive to put compelling images into the world.
How do you get out of a creative rut?
SH: I've learned that after big projects like doing a book, launching a shop, completing a campaign or fashion week coverage I often feel devoid of creativity and I need to be gentle to myself and lean into gratitude for the work I did allowing myself a little time to creatively recover. Then I need to work in a different way from the work I just did. This dichotomy is often the creative medicine I need to regain motivation and creativity. For example, if I just painted tight illustrations of fashion collections during NYFW, I need to paint loose abstractions for a little while to recover. If I just art directed a campaign with a bunch of other creatives I need to work alone.
What has been your most rewarding project, or one you’re most proud of?
SH: Every project I've done has fulfilled different wells within me but they empty out again inevitably so I need to focus on the process rather than the product. Illustration and art direction are ephemeral. Nothing I've done leaves a lasting mark. The products of my labor potentially spark a moment of feeling in the viewer. That, plus the experience of doing the work is enough for me as a reward.
Where do you go when you need to recharge?
SH: Nature.
What is a goal that you have set for yourself and achieved, and what would you say was the most key factor in achieving that goal?
SH: I wanted to create my own thing. I had the idea to build an all rainbow art shop called Maison Rainbow. I knew there'd be lots of obstacles such as juggling commercial work with building my own thing, the inevitable learning curves involved in starting a business and of course feelings of self-doubt and fear that go with putting work into the world for consumption and approval. I broke down the project into steps and focused on one at a time until it was ready. Also, I knew that it would be a malleable project that would grow and shift with time so I didn't wait for it to be perfect because there is no perfect. The key factor in achieving the goal was not letting myself get lost in fantasy about how it would be received or what success should look like. I can only focus on the work, not the results.
What's next for you?
SH: I'm leaning in to working on continuous projects. They're helping me to stay creative and connected. I hope to keep them up. The continuity is grounding and giving me serenity during this time.
I'm working on an ongoing series with NY Magazine/The Cut on the ways people are finding happiness in the everyday. Additionally, I'm doing an ongoing series sharing fashion designer's DIY projects with the style section at The New York Times.
Staying creative and connected and putting work into the world that elicits good feelings in a visually compelling way is what I want to keep working on and what I'm about.
What's one piece of advice you'd give someone pursuing a creative dream?
SH: The universe is abundant. Celebrate the work of your peers, root for them to find their creative niche and you will find yours and see that they're cheering for you as well.
Keep creating work and growing. There's no finish line, no "I made it" finale. It's always going to be about doing good work to beget more opportunities to do good work. So lean in to relishing the challenges and process.
Learn more about Samantha Hahn’s work here.
