(Part 2) From 9-5 corporate to self-employed artist...

If you missed part 1 of the story, you can read it here!

This is the story of how I transitioned from 9-5 corporate to self-employed artist. The 2nd part is where it gets real good! I hope you enjoy the read 😊

Part 2 - The Seed Begins to Grow 🌱

In part 1, I ended off in a season where I was re-igniting my love for art and pursuing God with a renewed purpose. During this time, a thought took seed in my mind - “What would it look like to integrate my art and faith?” And this thought stuck with me, but it wasn’t until much later that the planted seed began to grow…

Fast forward around 1.5 years later, I was working at a new tech company in a new role as part of a natural progression in my corporate career. Throughout that time, I had still been drawing in the evenings here and there. However as I’m sure many of you relate, I just wasn’t left with much energy to create consistently after work. And without any kind of push (externally or internally), I stayed in that routine for a while.

But God had different plans for me.

In January 2023, I was laid off from my job. It was the era of mass layoffs in the tech space and I was one of many impacted by it. Despite the abrupt goodbye to my team and job, I had so much peace knowing God was in control.

Without a job and loads of free time now, I took the next few months to slow down and reflect on what I truly wanted. And draw. A lot.

I started posting on IG with more intention and hesitantly dreamed of pursuing an art career in which I could merge faith and art. But honestly, I didn’t know if it was feasible, how long it would take, if I could make enough money from it, or what others would think of this drastic career change. There were so many unknowns.

I was at a crossroad.

Do I start the job hunt for a full-time corporate job again? Or do I take another path that would allow me to invest more time in art?

I desperately prayed for clarity and direction - I prayed that God would open and close doors to make the path forward clear.

And I COULDN’T BELIEVE how God answered my prayer.

On a random Tuesday in April, I thought “what if I took a part-time job rather than full-time?” This solution would at least provide some income to pay my rent while giving me more time to draw. The last company I worked for immediately came to mind, which I knew hired part-timers. So that same day, I reached out to my previous manager to inquire about potential job openings.

It just so happens that the timing was perfect. The part-time team was in the midst of working on posting a couple of openings for THE NEXT DAY. My inquiry reached the team lead and due to my past work experience at the company, LITERALLY 2 DAYS LATER (on Thursday) I was presented with a job offer - no interview or questions asked.

I was shocked to say the least. It was like God was telling me “say no more” and flung the door wide open to this part-time opportunity. I took it as a sign that this was what he was calling me into.

And with a little more confidence, I took the leap of faith.

I started working part-time in May 2023 while continuing to create art and focusing more efforts on social media. Although, months passed by and I still had a very intimate audience of 300 people on IG (to all the OG’s I’m so grateful for you all). I wasn’t sure how an art career was going to happen, but I kept trusting in the Lord.

At this point I had been creating and posting for almost a year. Then, everything changed on November 15, 2023 when I posted a reel. Many of you will probably know which one I’m talking about. The “I’M FINE” reel that went VIRAL. I’m talking 30 million views!

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine how quickly and unexpectedly things could move.

Out of nowhere, I was suddenly bombarded with tens of thousands of new followers and countless inquiries if I sell my artwork and prints. This was the moment I was waiting for. And it was all God.

I got to work. I scrambled to figure out the logistics of how to sell my artwork, how to get a website and storefront up, how and where to source prints, how to ship artwork etc. It was so much all at once, but I wanted to make the most of this opportunity. I needed more time in my days to figure out the business side of things while still creating art and content. Note, I was still working my part-time job when this all happened.

So I took another leap of faith.

I quit my part-time job at the end of the year to put more time into building my art business. And therefore in that moment, I became (in title) a self-employed artist.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11

If you made it this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! There were so many more details and things I didn’t get to share here as I didn’t want to make this too long, and perhaps I’ll share them another time. But I hope that my testimony has encouraged you in some way. Through it all, God has been so so good and faithful to provide and lead. He works in mysterious and wonderful ways, and looking back on my journey from corporate job to artist, His hand was in everything. Honestly, I don’t know where He will lead Wendy Xue Art in the future or if He has other plans in store, but I will continue to trust in Him. Trust in Him and lean not on your own understanding, and He will make your paths straight 💜

-Wendy