Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Hennier.
Hi Haley, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been an artist, and yet, when you’re 18 and planning for your future it’s a a tough sell to lay all your eggs in the “career as an artist” basket. Especially when you don’t know what that future really even looks like. I ended up at the University of Kansas, graduating with a degree in graphic design, and yet still without a clear idea of how I could apply the skills I had just spent 4 years cultivating to the interests that filled my cup. Finally, through some mutual connections, I met a man named Carson Catlin – and he was a motion designer. Carson changed my life, and suddenly, a new world opened up. I began to see the connections that could be built between design, animation, and art. Carson introduced me to motion design, and to the video team at Barkley(OKRP), where I spent 5 years learning my craft, and making connections across the expansive network of Kansas City’s creative community. I felt like I had found my niche, the work that filled my cup and made me proud of the career I had begun to build. I wanted to expand, so I did. I left Barkley to pursue work in music production, VFX, and I even spent a short stint at Walt Disney Corp. under FX Networks. Eventually, all roads lead home and I retired lofty goalposts in favor of slow mornings and flexible hours – and I went freelance. I’ve been the sole employee and owner of the post production company, BRUTUS, for almost 3 years now. In this venture I’m able to take on the role of artist, designer, editor, motion designer, and any other creative challenge that I see fit; living the dream, having a career as an artist.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Perfectly smooth roads are never the ones worth traveling! Any pursuit of change or challenge is bound to come with its share of bumps, and I’ve had my fair share.
From the get, I was always unclear what I was supposed to do with this gift of life. As most in the Midwest do, my family faced hardships, and I had a tumultuous few years of tragedy between high school and college graduation. I saw a lot of darkness for a lot of years, and my only thought remained, can’t it be better than this? What can I do to make the world better than this?
I knew I had a ton of passion and energy waiting to be unleashed, and as I leapt into the workforce I was frustrated with the thought that my energy would be used in direct conflict with my values; to drive rampant consumerism and prolong injustices perpetuated by the corporations signing my paychecks. To me it seemed as though becoming an artist full-time meant that I would always be pouring my efforts into vested interests and it didn’t take long before I consciously decided to pursue the alternative.
After spending the first few years of my career in advertising, I made that leap into a music production company, where I thought my efforts may be better served bringing more art to people’s lives. However, this start up eventually crashed and burned at the hands of a couple rich kids who had different aspirations. (look up “Inside Pollen’s Collapse”, seriously, it’s insane). I floated around a bit before, finally, nailing what I thought would be the dream job. I worked for Walt Disney Corp. for almost 6 months before being laid off with over 10,000 other employees; during a year the company made $88.9 billion, a 7.5% increase from the year before. Looking back, I think I needed a major moment of defeat in order to finally decide that the only person I should leave in charge of my values, and my future, should be me.
After leaving the Disney Corporation, I launched BRUTUS. Named after my late bulldog, my post production company finally allows me to be in charge of the work I take on, the people I work with, and the energy that I can put towards an effort. Now, I can say that I’m doing work worth doing. I don’t think anyone MUST face hardship to meet the moment, and I think the more that we can identify and call out the systems that make this industry a harder place to thrive, the more we can break those barriers down for those coming after us.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In my work, lately I’ve been a creative catch-all. For years I worked solely as a motion designer; for the inevitable head scratches that basically means that I’m a designer for animation, less character driven and more graphic focused. When I broke out of the 9-5 I wanted to reconnect with the parts of my creativity that were underutilized in traditional mediums. I started painted and drawing again, and finding more ways to get my camera(s – don’t ask how many) out of the bag and to good use. I think through the pursuit of these various mediums I’m starting to carve out a really interesting multi-media style of work; collage with elements of hand drawn works and cel animations. This is creating a really textural and diverse portfolio and I’m excited to see how it continues to evolve. I’m mostly just proud that I can own and celebrate my work because I’ve started to create for me.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I went to the movies with my dad almost every Friday night for 15 years. We’d usually stop by Sonic on the way home for chicken tenders and fries. Nothing comes close to that.
Pricing:
- $125/hour
- $900/day
Contact Info:
- Website: https://haleymariehennier.wtf/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleymariehennier/
