Meet Elizabeth Chee | Artist in Animation

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Chee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
You have to trust your intuition, prepare yourself for luck to come your way, and also realize that uncovering new and exciting goals is just another way to succeed. I feel like there’s a stigma to “giving up” and certain financial privilege allows most individuals to take bigger risks and have an easier cushion. As someone who had been constantly told to give up pursuing an artistic profession I was lucky and still am grateful to this day that I had different sources of support. I wanted to give up and did give up becoming a professional artist countless times but I knew in my gut that I would be miserable otherwise. However I fell into a deep, seemingly bottomless pit of depression along the way and even after achieving some of my goals, am still taking a considerable amount of time to recover from. Understand that failure and success is arbitrary and only means something to you individually. What other people consider doesn’t matter. Find avenues of happiness in your pursuit to keep you sane and keep an open mind. What was a goal for you in your 20’s can change to something completely different in your 30’s. The world is vast and as you grow, your understanding of yourself and what you want and what you’re willing to sacrifice will evolve. Care for yourself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an artist in Animation and I’m still on my journey to finding pride in it. I’ve only gotten into this profession recently after working extremely hard to get here so I don’t have much confidence or pride in my career just yet. I feel that I got here because of my desire to learn as much as I can at every desk and job that I am at and though I may not be the most talented or skilled, I feel that the passion and inquisitiveness helped me move forward and not be stuck at where I didn’t want to be. I’ve learned that this profession is so multi-layered, and that one way of doing things at one studio can be completely different at another one. Just like how one job title can mean a completely different thing at another studio. I’ve learned also the importance of realizing your strengths and not to only focus on your weaknesses. Also that kind and caring people are few and far between and to nurture those relationships because this industry is difficult and small,

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m definitely a homebody, play videogames and stay inside type of person but there’s a few places that are worth braving the outside world for. I think a day at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Gardens is worth every penny. Grab some milk tea from Sunright Tea Studio around the area to freshen up and then eat some Bun Bo Hue from Nha Trang Noodle house for dinner. Some delicious Chinese beef noodle soup spots are P P Pop which also carry big pints of the most refreshing iced tea, or at Long Xing Ji which besides the noodle dishes, have really great soup dumplings on the menu. They also have a large crab and pork soup dumpling that you can puncture with a straw and drink the broth from. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is a great day trip to go to as well. Gallery Nucleus also has monthly revolving galleries in their store which is worth checking out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m only where I am right now because of the patience, care and support of so many people in my life. While I had experienced hurt and discouragement from people closest to me, I was met with love and tenderness from countless others. Currently in my creative journey and reconciliation with understanding my own strengths and weaknesses, I do want to shoutout a specific piece of media and that is the movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Looking at that movie too closely feels a little terrifying like being naked in public. I’m still processing that movie but the unapologetic embrace of maximalism was such a surprise and so validating to me and what kind of artist I am. Not only was it the perfect blend of the mundane, the absurd and the fantastical, it was the most thoughtful and kind punch to the gut that I had ever seen. To me, that is the kind of art I desire to make.

Website: www.elizabethchee.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lizcheeart

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lizcheeart