This week Ping and Sarah are joined by children's illustrator Emmi Smid. In an in depth interview Emmi shares her journey to becoming a children illustrator and storyteller, some of her success and failures along the way, her working practices and why it is important, to her, to share her stories with the world. 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

The guest, Emmi, discusses her journey as an artist. How she started working in fine art, then made the realisation that most of her paintings were narrative based. One day, looking at her bookshelf, she had a moment of inspiration, realising that she had always been fascinated with childrens books, from there, she took the leap to being a children's illustrator.


The ladies discuss the difference between art being a hobby and a career. Do you lose the hobby aspect of it once you start to be paid for your work? Do friends and family take you seriously if you choose a career as an artist? And, what do the ladies define success as?
What are your work habits and how do they compare to others? The ladies share their different approaches on everything from sketch books to full projects and discuss the need for each individual to understand what their unique process is and why they shouldn’t compare it to others. 
Emmi talks about the importance of working on personal projects. She talks about how it helps her figure out what is important to her and how, through sharing her stories and perspective on the world, she may be able to help others see things from a different viewpoint or realise that they’re not alone. 

BEST MOMENTS
“You have to believe in yourself and follow the path that you are on.”
“Society has conditioned us to think we are only successful if we make money. But this is not true, if you are doing the thing you love, then you are already successful.”
“You’ve got to accept who you are, but at the same time, continue to push yourself.”
EPISODE RESOURCES
Emmi Smid
https://www.emmismid.com/ 
ABOUT THE PODCAST
A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people.
www.thrivingwomenartists.com
www.instagram.com/twapodcast
ABOUT THE HOSTS
Ping He
Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline.
www.pinghe.art
info@pinghe.art 
www.instagram.com/pinghe.art
Sarah van Dongen
Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.
www.sarahvandongen.com
sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com
www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations
Dorien Bellaar
Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art.
www.dorienbellaar.nl
hello@dorienbellaar.nl
www.instagram.com/dorienbellaarSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.