Today we’d like to introduce you to Lennox Rees.
Hi Lennox, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
What got me doing what I’m doing today is my pit bull, Sasha. She passed away in 2020, a couple of days after her 7th birthday. It was the hardest hurt. The last few months of her life were sad, stressful, and trying. After she passed, I needed a creative outlet for my grief. I couldn’t bring myself to go to work in my studio, but I did have my computer in the living room at that time. So, I started working away on these little worlds filled with things I loved: antique objects, animals, texture, shape, and color through digital collage. That in itself was a breakthrough because I swore up and down that I’d never create collage artwork digitally for myself. That was strictly for client work only. Because I needed something to distract me from the emotional pain, I gave up that control and rigid thinking. I gave in to the creative process of working digitally for a personal art project.
From there, I’ve continued working, designing, and creating digitally for my products that are mainly tarot and oracle decks. Through my professional career as a graphic designer and creative director in the advertising industry, I’ve picked up a wide variety of skills that directly apply to what I’ve found myself doing today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road, but I take all of those experiences and try my best to turn those into lessons for the future. I learned a lot in my professional design career, which have made situations and struggles simpler to encounter and solve for in my current work. All I can do is keep trying to do my best. I don’t have a private investor, but I do have a community that shows up for me to crowdfund the production of my decks. I don’t surround myself with people who want to bring me down, but I do focus on the few that are always rooting for me. I don’t worry about what others think of me or what I do because I’m the only one who has to live my life. We get such a short amount of time on this planet that I’m continuously motivated to keep pushing through any hurdles.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a graphic designer and collage artist creating tarot and oracle decks. I’m inspired by Finnish mythology and folklore, developing worlds for my creations, and producing high-quality products as personal tools. I’m most proud of the direction I’ve taken my career as a self-employed artist and designer. These last 6 years have proved to me that I can take my artwork into something bigger, something more meaningful, something that connects to so many others I’d never get the chance to meet. My professional design and personal art experience applied to my deck creations sets me apart in the big wide world of deck creation. The way I see and interpret art, visuals, and design plays a huge role in my style as a deck creator.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along the journey is to lean into what makes you unique. Sure, someone else might be into the same thing, or do the same thing, or whatever the thing feels similar, but no one does it like you. For me, that looks like using my design training in my collage artwork, or taking my personal studies of Finnish mythology and folklore and making that the inspiration for a new project. Take inventory of your strengths and interests and apply that to what you want to do. The world is waiting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://helloivyly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helloivyly/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennoxrees/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LennoxRees
- Other: https://lennoxrees.com/
