HIT ESC ON 9-5
To be a full hustle artist Ellen Rutt had to quit her day job… twice.
DETROIT, MI
I flew out to Detroit because I wanted to return to my Michigander roots and learn from some some amazing working artists in the area. I discovered Ellen Rutt’s work through the Red Bull Artist’s Residency, where I quickly fell in love with her visual style on Instagram. Ellen is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose work can be found on everything from album covers to eyeglass packaging to basketball courts, and whose murals bring life to cities around the world.
Ellen’s career began out of art school when she took freelance work, but she couldn’t find the right balance and habits to continue doing freelance.
"I was struggling for a while right after college with anxiety and spread myself thin working on a lot of freelance projects I didn’t love just to make ends meet, so I reluctantly accepted a full-time position at an advertising agency,"
"I loved learning about advertising, but also found my passion pulling me in a different direction. That experience taught me how to find humor even in intense workplace environments and gave me the self discipline to structure my time more effectively.”
Eventually Ellen found the right habits to go full hustle on her art. She saved up $5,000 and quit her advertising job.
I wanted to ask her about the role of social media and self-promotion in an artist’s life. But what really made me excited about this episode was Ellen’s path to becoming a full-time artist, which included freelance design, a full-time job, and was not complete without a total breakdown. The amazing part about Ellen’s story, and Ellen herself, is that she was willing to be completely honest and open up about how she made it through that difficult time in her life. And now she’s a real-deal artist and an inspiration to anyone who dreams of one day doing the same. I can’t wait for you guys to hear this one.
- Mia Hagerty
DOCU-SHORT
PODCAST
DISCUSSION
Ellen’s first (and second) attempt at quitting her day job didn’t go as planned, however she learned to manage her time, accept critique, not be so precious, ask for opportunities, and save up for the eventual shift.
Q: Have you tried to quit your day job? What’s your plan to go full hustle?
When Ellen first attempted going full hustle, she didn’t have the right habits. “I didn’t have the personal structure to be emotionally sustainable... to make myself get up everyday, eat a healthy breakfast, not smoke so much weed…”
Q: What habits do you need to be a full hustle creator?