https://canvasrebel.com/meet-evan-nie/
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Evan Nie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Evan below.
Hi Evan, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Since moving out to LA in 2009, I’ve always found work in various creative fields, although I felt my early contributions were more technical than creative. I started out as an electrician on various independent films and steadily grew my community until I had worked my way up to Gaffing (the Lighting Department Head). Only then did I get to flex some creative muscles. Even so, I felt something was missing.
Luckily, a chance gig to light a fundraiser for a spaceship-themed music festival stage was my unlikely doorway towards that missing piece. The crew that accompanied this traveling stage had created a kinetic piece of art and needed someone to deck out their spaceship with lights on the regular, so I set up shop on a small desk in the back their a warehouse and started teaching myself LED programming. My first major milestone outside of film happened in 2014, when I managed to scrape together $200/month to split a tiny workspace out of a shipping container with two other artists. At that time my income was still mostly from television, but every day I had off I was out in that shipping container working on my own creations.
The shift financially away from film and TV came gradually. I realized my goal was to make my full time living off work I created in my studio, but just like with working my way up to Gaffer, there was an inevitable amount of toiling, trial and error. I was eager to take on any fabrication dealing with LEDs or lighting. I got a commission from a DJ to create a light-up wolf mask and learned mold making. Another job had me in a glass studio helping to form globes for Bacchus themed chandelier. I had partnerships with all kinds of artist: woodworkers, painters, performance, but I still felt like the technician making others’ work.
By 2018 I was making 100% of my income from work coming out.of.my studio, but it was almost entirely commissions and clients. My goal shifted again, this time to living off of my own art. I had moved into a larger shop, put down some roots, and finally had the space and knowledge to really prioritize my own ideas and designs. I started submitting to galleries and had my latest series of floral lighting sculptures featured in a Downtown group show in August. The exposure kicked off another wave opportunity, as I was approached to join the upcoming group show at the TAG Gallery opening April 26th: Our Earth; What Artists Can Do.
It does feel like a long road to where I am now, but I’m not sure I could have sped up much of my process, even knowing what I know now. It takes time to create and refine a vision. It takes time to build up your community and find your voice.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a sculptor and lighting designer based in Los Angeles. I founded NieLights in 2012 and have since been crafting unique, high-quality sculpture and lighting for retail, restaurants, homes and galleries. I am a jack of all trades And a master of one (lighting). My experience across those various mediums has not only given me a unique perspective on sculpture, but also on how it effects the space it inhabits. My current collection uses bamboo and found objects to explore ideas of growth, balance, and rebirth. The bamboo that makes up the majority of my work I harvest in Eagle Rock, where I process it and cure over an open fire by hand.
More than anything I think that I’m proud of the journey that I’m on. I hopped on a spaceship stage going in no discernable direction and somehow ended up building alien flowers with light as its life force.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The goal of my work is to find a balance between natural and man made materials. Early in my artistic endeavors I started creating sculpture from bamboo and reclaimed materials. I imagined a new species growing and evolving out of the bits of waste and rubbish in my studio. Sketchbooks began to fill with other-worldly organisms, springing up from bottles, bones and gears. I began to explore the relationship between man and nature and look at where we draw the line. I like the idea of finding a balance with our surroundings, and creating objects and spaces that can be more than the sum of their parts. The more I work with bamboo and take part in the harvesting, curing and processing the material; the more I see the importance of finding a symbiotic relationship with our environment. I hope that finds its way into my work and not only adds some beauty and color into a space, but encourages us to think about our place in the world and how we can strive to find a balance with our surroundings.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I have focused most of my life on building and refining the skills to create art, but when it came to operating a business based around my art, I found myself sorely lacking. I was paying fines and fees for paperwork I didn’t know I had to file. At some point a peer mentioned the Small Business Development Center (SmallBizLA.org), a program under the Small Business Administration. I signed up and was immediately linked up with 3 different small business advisors specializing in general operations, finances, and marketing. One of my hurdles to starting a business was the idea that any professional help would cost more than I could afford, but the advisors at the SBDC allowed me to freely ask questions, receive advice and support from knowledgeable professionals. It took time to find the right advisors and start to wrap my head around what was required to competently own and operate a business in Los Angeles. Over the years I’ve found advisors that I work well with, and I meet with them monthly to stay on track with my career, all free of charge. It has been a huge help in keeping me focused, defining my goals, and figuring out how to get there. I would highly recommend anyone starting a business to link up with the SBDC and start with the resources and advice that could make the difference for your small business succeeding.
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