Maggie Butler

Trained in advertising and communications, Maggie Butler took the jump and left her corporate design job to pursue a path in art – something she had dreamt of since she was a child. She now works as an artist, muralist and graphic designer, where she’s found one of the most valuable traits is persistence. From faking it ‘til you make it to building relationships and creative community, Maggie shares her tips for moving out of the corporate world.

About my work

My creative practice
I’m an artist, muralist and graphic designer. I started my career in digital and social media marketing, became a self-employed designer in 2021, and shifted into visual art in 2025. Now, my mediums are screenprinting, collage and painting (mostly murals), in addition to the graphic design work that I was trained in.

Influences and inspiration
I often find inspiration in the world around me. I love disconnecting from the screen and getting out into the real world to find inspiration. Some artists that have influenced my craft are Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lauren Hom, Timothy Goodman and Rachael Renae.

I really became interested in murals and street art when I spent time in Rome and saw the juxtaposition of the Renaissance art with the graffiti and street art. I’ve also been inspired by the city of Milwaukee, where I was born, raised and lived for most of my life. Now, I’m inspired by Seattle and the vibrant art scene here. And, of course, all of my art teachers.

My training
I went to college for advertising and minored in graphic design, so my training was heavily skewed toward corporate, with little fine arts training. Many people believe that art is a natural talent or ability, and while it’s true that some people are more naturally inclined to art (I knew from a young age that I liked it), art, like any other skill, is practiced and learned.

The most essential trait of an artist is persistence. When you first start out, or even if you’ve been doing it for a while, your tastes are typically more refined than your skills, so it’s going to feel like everything you make is bad. It’s important to get over that speed bump and keep going.

Favourite recent project
My favorite project continues to be the pride murals that I was commissioned to design and lead a group of artists to paint at the Amazon headquarters in Seattle in June 2025. It was such a joyful and public expression that I had never done at that scale before. I’m so proud of it and proud of my decision to live my life out loud.

Maggie's pride mural at Amazon Headquarters, 2025

A day in the life
On a good day, I wake up around 7:30 or 8am, write or paint in a journal, work out, shower, make breakfast and coffee, check my horoscope, pack a lunch and then head to the studio to start my day of projects. Each day is different and my projects can range from graphic design client work to prepping for workshops, painting murals or screen printing.

Today, I woke up to the sound of construction in the apartment below me, cleaned the rug that my cat had an accident on, arrived late for a virtual meeting, ran around the city looking for supplies and cried a bit. It’s all about balance.

A starter pack for my job:
At least 3 beverages (black coffee, water, sparkling water), MacBook Pro, wagon full of art supplies, pants that used to be regular pants but are now paint pants because I got paint on them, an endless supply of podcasts, audiobooks and playlists.

How I got here

Starting my creative journey
I always knew that I wanted a creative career. I wanted to be an artist when I was younger, but was encouraged by my family to choose a path that would make more money, so I landed in graphic design. After attempting to climb the corporate ladder, I realized that I still just wanted to make art, so I quit my job and became self-employed after three and a half years in the corporate world.

I still feel like I’m finding my footing to this day. But once I realized that everyone is just trying their best and faking it ‘til they make it, I got a lot more confidence to follow my dreams.

Landing my first few jobs, clients and/or commissions
Although I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like had I gone straight into art instead of taking a detour through corporate, I cannot stress enough how important all of those connections I made were. I met and worked with so many amazing people and learned so much from the experience.

Most of my client work now comes through word of mouth – it really is about who you know and how you treat them. I also used avenues like staffing agencies and job boards to find work, which are good tools. Last year, I began taking improv classes because I knew that I would need to start pitching my business. Now, I send cold emails, make cold calls, and do business visits to try to meet people and find out what kind of mural or graphic design needs they have. If you never ask, the answer is always no.

Biggest challenges along the way
The hardest thing for me was building up the confidence to just go for it! I was always pining over the life that I wanted instead of taking steps to create that life for myself.

Money is also a challenge for me. I became so used to the regular, steady paycheck of working a full-time job that it took some adjusting to understand that freelancing and owning a business has busy seasons and quiet seasons.

Maggie with a commissioned painting for Anchor & Bloom Cafe in Seattle

Everyday skills I’ve found helpful for my creative work:
Interpersonal relationship skills are super important. Being able to talk to people succinctly about your work and build relationships will not only help you build a strong community, it will also help you get paid work.

Problem-solving is another skill that I find myself using often. If something isn’t working, you’ve got to find a different way of looking at it.

My social media and self-promotion vibe is…
I think authenticity is key! People love to cheer on someone who is being themselves and having fun doing it. Also, only put in as much effort as necessary. Social media can very quickly become all-consuming and lead to burnout. I know this first-hand because I worked in social media marketing and burnt out fast.

If you want to grow your following, it takes a lot of work, so set aside a specific amount of time each week to dedicate to social media and try not to get too obsessed with the numbers.

Three things I've found useful in my career:

My greatest learnings when it comes to making money and supporting myself as a creative:
Always Always ALWAYS (!!!) have a contract and collect some of the money up front. Even if it’s for a friend. Be clear about how much your time costs and don’t let the scope change without charging more money.

Advice

My most useful career tips
I think that always keeping true to your word is a good one. If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. This means that you will have to say no sometimes.

Where I go to feel connected as a creative
I have an amazing creative community in Seattle called Art Club that I adore. I’m a teaching artist there and we focus on stepping away from the screen and making things with our hands. I also love my Creative Mornings chapter and love that you can find a local one all around the world. Finally, I love to be out in nature, away from it all. That’s always a nice reset.

Psychedelic Lens, the building where Art Club is hosted and Maggie is a teaching artist (she helped paint the exterior)

What I'd say to someone looking to get into a similar role
Start by honing your craft. As much as you want people to believe that they can hire you to do the work, you have to show them that you already know how to do it. I wanted to work in the music industry, so I started designing band posters just for fun and shared them widely on social media and my website. That’s how I was able to get paid work for music clients. Get a website and build a portfolio – seeing is believing.