I’ve had enthusiasm for art for as long as I can remember. I would spend countless hours in my room doodling on any paper I could get my hands on. My excessive doodling emerged into an apparent artistic skill. I entered art contests and conferences and won “Best of Show” and several first place honors. Before graduating high school, I was awarded the honor of being “Artist of the Year.”
Prior to these accomplishments, game planning a career associated with art was on my mind. Design stemmed out of the notion that I should avoid the role of a starving artist. In most cases, it seems like your art is only famous after you’re dead. By then, payments for bills are way overdue.
As a result, I majored in Advertising at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where I gained a well-rounded experience in the various roles and elements involved with campaigns. Advertising allowed me to have an array of opportunities with different job criteria, but specializing in graphic design was in the forefront of my goals.
After finishing my Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in August 2008, I worked as a marketing specialist for NMC, a Caterpillar dealership in Omaha, Nebraska. My husband, Sean, completed his Bachelor of accounting at UNL the year before I graduated and moved back to his hometown Sacramento, California where he worked as an auditor for the state. My original plan was to find a job in Sacramento, move out there and get married the following June. Even though my husband grew up in Sacramento, he began to miss his friends, less trafficked roads, the landscape and of course “the good life.”
I was up for anything, and I always knew I could live anywhere and be happy. Life pulls you in different directions when you least expect it, but the road I chose next in life made me understand where I truly belonged. My husband and I moved back to my hometown in Walthill, Nebraska due to Sean’s newfound interest in learning the ropes of my dad’s feedlot business. My parents, Roger and LeaAnn Tremayne, were equally surprised and pleased with the idea that there would be a future for our family business that my dad built throughout the years. Sean fit right in and caught on easily despite his city boy background.
However, I was on the job search during the worst time in our economy, and it wasn’t going well considering the small job market in surrounding communities. I didn’t imagine I’d find any job affiliated with advertising, much less graphic design. Somehow I managed to luck out and get hired as a graphic designer for The Pender Times in Pender, Nebraska. I owe that luck to Sean. Jason Sturek, the owner of the newspaper, was writing an article on Sean called “From California to Cattle Country.” As he was interviewing both of us, he found out I had a background in graphic design. He told me it wasn’t common to find someone around this area with my background and training. Jason happened to need a book designed for Pender’s Q125 celebration. He seemed to be as relieved and happy to find someone for the job as I was to take the job. Bingo! I was hired. More and more design projects kept rolling in throughout the progress of the book’s design. Jason soon realized that there was a greater market for graphic design in this small community than anticipated. In the two and one-half years I worked for The Pender Times, I gained a great deal of experience and have a lot to show for it.
I’ve always wanted to have my own dual business of art and design. Getting back to my roots of drawing and painting remained essential to me throughout the years. And, of course, I wanted to continue my niche as a graphic designer and utilize my education and experience. After having a baby, I realized how important it was to me to stay home with her. When the opportunity presented itself to play all three roles, I took it. Now, I have my dream job as a stay-at-home-mom and self-employed artist and graphic designer. Although life is often a juggling act, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
ANTC Productions 