We’re thrilled to introduce Jessica Molina, a Nicaraguan-American lettering artist and illustrator based in Dallas, Texas, whose work has captivated clients like Target, Snapchat, Sol de Janeiro, and Toyota. Jessica’s art fuses bold, expressive lettering with lush, feminine visuals, embodying her mission to empower others to embrace their unique selves unapologetically.
In our interview, Jessica shares her creative journey, starting from her childhood love of drawing to discovering her passion for lettering in 2016. She reflects on how her art addresses themes of mental health, women’s rights, and self-love, providing inspiration to those who may need it most.
As a proud Latina, Jessica is committed to fostering representation in the art world beyond cultural stereotypes. She strives to pave the way for others in the Latinx community, and hopes to inspire future generations through her work.
Thanks for chatting with us, Jessica! Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi there! My name is Jessica Molina, and I’m a Nicaraguan-American lettering artist and illustrator based in Dallas, Texas. I create work for national and global clients like Target, Snapchat, Sol de Janeiro, CASETiFY, Toyota, and more. My art weaves together bold lettering with lush, feminine visuals. My mission as an artist is to empower others to embrace their uniqueness, fully and unapologetically.
Can you share the story of how you discovered your passion for art and how it has evolved throughout your creative journey?
Growing up as a kid, I was always drawing. It was my number one creative outlet. As I grew older, though, academics took precedence. Eventually, I found my way to graphic design after taking a few classes in high school and college. After graduating from college, I decided not to continue pursuing architecture, and switched to teaching myself everything I could about graphic design. I was always attracted to being able to create things that were aesthetically pleasing to me; it fired me up in a way nothing else could.
I dabbled in lettering and illustration during my 10-year graphic design career, but I really found my calling with lettering in 2016. Bored and frustrated at my design job, I discovered a whole community of creatives practicing this art form on Instagram, and I was hooked. I participated in challenges, practiced my work, and started meeting other artists in the field. Eventually I started to incorporate illustration with my lettering work. Just like when I first discovered graphic design, I could feel my passion igniting. I just loved creating beautiful things.
How do you use your art to explore and express topics like mental health and women’s rights, and what impact do you hope your work has in these areas?
I often express messages of self-love, progress, growth, and empowerment in my art, whether it be through the quotes I use or write, or the subject matter I choose to illustrate. These themes are prevalent in my own life as someone who, at different times, has struggled with things like low self-confidence, fear, perfectionism, and depression. I view my work as a reflection of the messages I needed to hear the most during those times—and sometimes still need to hear. My mission is that the messages in my art are able to inspire women in the world who might be feeling the same way I have, reminding them they are unique, strong, and a work in progress.
What has been the most challenging project you’ve worked on, and how did you overcome those obstacles to deliver a final product you’re proud of?
There’s one project in particular that was really exciting for me to land but ended up being challenging due to a sort of clash with the art direction I was getting. This isn’t something I usually deal with, so it was very frustrating and even demoralizing; it made me question my skills and made the whole process really not fun. That being said, the finished product is something I’m proud of and continue to get compliments on.
I did my part by being open and receptive to feedback, sharing my concerns when I had them, and being flexible with what was being asked of me. As an artist, that’s all you can do. It was hard at first, but upon reflection, I reminded myself that I met the brief the best I could, and I worked with the project coordinators to get the project to something we were both happy with. It’s not my favorite artwork I’ve ever created, but it was something I could live with. Sometimes that’s the best you’re going to get out of a project, and you have to just accept it, learn what you can from it, and just move on to the next one. I’m still proud of the project and happy that my name is on the final piece.
How do you approach balancing the artistic side of your work with the business aspects, such as working with clients or managing your online presence?
It’s definitely tough to be a one-woman show sometimes, so I find that being organized is essential. I use Notion as a digital task management platform to keep a task list, calendar, goal tracker, and more. I do regular check-ins to make sure things are running smoothly. I also like to batch work, where I cluster similar tasks together and knock them out all at once; this makes me feel more focused and productive.
I actually find carving out time to create artwork harder than managing the business often times! This year, I’ve set a goal to create at least one art collection a month, as well as to draw regularly without a goal in mind. It’s important for me to put these things in my calendar so I keep up with it as much as I keep up with all the other aspects of my business.
All of this is tied together by a commitment to regular rest. I live alone and work from home, so it can be easy to just find myself working 24/7. I’ve dealt with burnout from that before, so now I make sure to take daily breaks and take evenings and weekends off. This is an essential part of my overall wellness, but it helps my business, too. I’m much more productive, refreshed, relaxed, and motivated with regular rest.
What trends in the lettering and illustration world excite you the most right now, and how do you see your style evolving in response to them?
One trend in lettering that excites me is playing with the line between legible and illegible letterforms. I’ve been seeing a lot more abstract, experimental lettering, and I think it’s interesting. I think lettering can look very “generic” in the sense that it’s hard to misinterpret what the artist is communicating; I think creating borderline-illegible type and lettering can morph the art of lettering into something more abstract—a piece of art the audience or the viewer can engage in. I’ve been experimenting with this myself recently, and hoping to unveil a mural soon that plays with this trend.
If you could collaborate with any brand, artist, or organization, who would it be and why?
Hands down, Beyoncé is my dream collaborator. I’m a huge fan of her work and she is my creative inspiration. I love how she celebrates her culture and her femininity in her work, and I think her overall creativity is boundless. I just have so much admiration for her music, her art, her work ethic, and her dedication to being unapologetically herself. I would absolutely die to create ANY type of artwork with her.
As someone running a creative business, what advice would you give to other artists looking to balance artistic passion with professional growth?
My number one piece of advice is to create a creative community for yourself. Find other creative business owners and artists and make it a point to stay connected with them. Doing this kind of work can get very lonely and isolating very fast. It’s important to have people you can talk to, bounce ideas off of, and socialize with that understand what you’re going through.
How do you see the representation of Latinas evolving in the art world, and what role do you hope to play in shaping that narrative through your art?
What I hope to see in the future is that we get hired for ALL projects, and not just for Latinx-focused and/or Spanish-language projects. While it feels great to be hired by big brands for any project, I think true representation happens when we’re hired not for being Latinx but for just being a good artist, period. I’d love to see more Latinx artists being hired to create work year-round, not just during Hispanic Heritage Month.
As far as my own role in the industry, I love the quote “you can’t be what you can’t see.” That’s what I think about whenever I do a piece of work or a campaign about my cultural background. I strive to create work for all the Latinx people out there who feel like they’re lacking representation in art and media. I especially feel that as a Nicaraguan-American, a severely underrepresented Latin American country with an incredibly rich culture and history. I love to share what I can to teach people about my culture and to connect with others in the Latinx community.
A question we ask all of our interviewees – what’s your interpretation of a Raw Femme?
I think a Raw Femme is someone who is unapologetically confident and comfortable in her femininity. She is multifaceted, able to be soft, nurturing, and loving as much as she is strong, fierce, and empowered. All of these sides of her exist simultaneously, and she is all the more powerful for it.
Follow Jessica on Instagram and support her beautiful creative journey!
All artwork and photos are courtesy of the artist. All rights reserved.