Fun fact about me, my name is not actually Gosia... I mean yes it is, but it's a nickname that comes from my actual (long and frustrating) name which is Malgorztata. I know, I know... WHAT EVEN IS THAT. I hate the name (thanks dad..) and that's why I always go by Gosia, and I am planning to eventually make that my legal name. Now that we got that out of the way, let me tell you a bit about myself and my journey of becoming a picture book illustrator.
Since I can remember I always loved drawing and painting. As a kid, I used to fill out sketchbooks with random doodles of animals and all sorts of different, crazy creatures. I was lucky enough that my parents allowed me to explore the artistic side of me because I know people that were pushed to go after things that will let them have a "professional career". After all, "drawing is just a hobby". But my parents and my grandad were always very supportive of the choices I made when it came to studying art at school and later on when I decided to get a degree in illustration. Even today, whenever I facetime my grandad he asks me to show him what I'm working on and gets excited about my illustrations every time.
I always knew I wanted pursue a career in "drawing" but for a long time I didn't know what exactly it was that I wanted to do. University helped me explore all the different ways and aspects of the creative industry and it reminded me just how much I loved illustrating narratives and brining stories to life. In a way, during my time at university I found the love for books all over again because I kind of forgot just how much I loved them... especially picture books. But even so, after finishing university I wasn't sure exactly how to break into the industry and that forced me into a bit of a dark place. For months I couldn't get myself to draw anything and decided to have some time off because I felt overwhelmed and burned out. I was lucky enough to be able to take a few month off and travel with my fiance. We went to Bahrain, Lebanon, Poland and Rome and the months away helped me to relax and slowly fall back into the routine of creating and being excited to do so.
But then, just as I was beginning to look for a job in the creative industry the pandemic happened and I wasn't able to get a studio job like I originally planned. This made me decide to try freelancing and I have been doing just that ever since. I've done two picture books so far and my goal now is to find an illustration agent to help me reach more potential clients so I can do what I love and create books that help children escape the reality, and allow them to explore the limitless world of imagination.
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