[00:00:00] Cali Bronkema: Welcome to Generation Hope a podcast by connect.faith. This season, we’re talking to young adults who are pursuing careers that don’t always have linear paths to entry. We’ll be talking to musicians, visual artists, and others about the unique challenges and rewards young creatives can face as they turn their passions into a career.

[00:00:32] So today I’m talking to Ella Ritts, who is a Program Content Coordinator for Griffith Observatory, in Los Angeles. Thanks for joining me.

[00:00:43] Ella Ritts: Oh, thanks so much for having me on Generation Hope. This is a real treat.

[00:00:47] Cali Bronkema: I’m so glad that we could have you on today. So why don’t we just start with you telling us a little bit about yourself?

[00:00:55] Ella Ritts: Sure, of course. I was born and raised in Los Angeles county in a small town called La Cañada Flintridge. My parents are intensely creative people. My mom worked onstage and set, and was a vocal instructor and my late father was an actor, puppeteer, producer, and writer. So I definitely come from a creative household.

[00:01:19] I was one of the super goofy creative kids, kind of an odd ball. I loved acting in the children’s theater in my town, my homework was always covered in doodle. My imagination my dreams were always equally wacky.

[00:01:32] I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, and it was there that I studied painting, got my BFA in painting, and few interesting twists and turns in my career, and then we’ve ended up at the observatory. I’m so excited to delve into that.

[00:01:50] Cali Bronkema: Awesome. So it seems like art and creativity was part of your genetic makeup, if you will. It came from the very beginning. Was there a point where you decided, yes, this is what I want to spend my life doing, or this is how I want to make money is actually through this art.

[00:02:12] Like when did art become less of a hobby and more of a, I want to major in this in college and do more in it?

[00:02:21] Ella Ritts: Great question. Well it became a serious interest, I’d say in a like early high school. When I like, when I knew I wanted to study it, but really my interest in art started when I was four years old.

[00:02:32] Like even three or so, like when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, like, I would say an artist and that’s stayed the same. And you know, until I was like 22 or so. Yeah. W when my mom or dad would drop me off at preschool, I would usually like, cry about my parents leaving me, but then every time I would realize there’s an easel in the classroom with paints over there and I’d run to the easel and make a very carefully crafted masterpiece. And then I’d forget why I was sad. So from the very beginning, it was always about art. And I knew that, you know, even if I wasn’t going to become like a freelance professional painter, per se, I knew that creativity would be a part of my work situation somehow.

[00:03:20] Cali Bronkema: I love that. What, so it seems like art was almost like calming presence for you at the beginning and definitely a distraction from whatever the sad part was of leaving your parents in preschool. Do you still find art to be that that calming presence for you? Or what is it about art that keeps you impassioned with it. Impassioned with it?

[00:03:43] Ella Ritts: Well, it was, it was always a comfort for me. Like in the toughest moments of my life, art was always there. It was a way for me to express like, you know, anger, sadness, frustration, angst, confusion, and, you know, all like, and be able to self-soothe. That was like the one tool that I had. And very recently I’ve, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I, I I’m a very highly sensitive person, like it takes more time and energy for me to process the world. So this like quiet time for creativity has always been like how I ground myself. And it was really important in my formative years.

[00:04:17] Cali Bronkema: I love that. You said it’s essentially a way for you to express emotions in a really healthy way.

[00:04:25] Ella Ritts: Precisely.

[00:04:26] Cali Bronkema: That’s beautiful.

[00:04:28] So you love art art. It sounds like you, as much as you put into it, it gives back to you. So take us through, you graduate college. And then now you’re working at Griffith Observatory. Take us through that journey.

[00:04:47] Ella Ritts: Yes. So my career took very, very interesting twists and turns. If you had told me when I was a senior in high school, that someday I was going to be working at Griffith Observatory, like I would have fallen backwards in a stupor, I would have been so very confused.

[00:05:02] But yeah, in college it, it was. MICA is, is an art school. So I was very much immersed in the art world and I was loving it so much. And I thought in college that like, that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a freelance artist, like work in a studio, live kind of like a solitary work existence, exhibit in galleries, maybe like co-curating exhibitions.

[00:05:25] Like that’s what I was really passionate about. But then I got a job in college as an education assistant at the Walters Art Museum. And I was working with kids and families as well and for a lot of the time I would give tours to families and the kids like as part of their summer camp.

[00:05:43] And also like leading studio classes there. And I realized I really, really loved education. When I would see someone’s eyes light up because they learned something new. That was all of it for me. And having like, a whole gaggle of coworkers, having that sense of community was like, felt really special.

[00:06:01] And I realized, like, I don’t know if I can be isolated in the studio by myself. Like I think I drive myself absolutely nuts. I exhibited in some galleries here and there. I made a few more pieces, but I realized like, man, I really miss working in a museum. And so, when I got, I went back home to Los Angeles after being in Baltimore for four years, and I had this document of every single museum within like a 30 mile radius of where I lived and I would check their job pages every single day until I found a listing for something I was qualified for or would find cool.

[00:06:43] The Griffith Observatory was listing a job for a museum guide. And I was like, I don’t know too much about astronomy. I go to telescope conventions every year with my brothers, but like just believe me, I hardly know anything it was mostly because they were intuitive. It’s like my one time to see brother Dan who lives in Boston.

[00:07:01] So it was like a fun thing that we do, but I really did not know much apart from like, you know, an elementary school foundations. So, I applied, I got an interview and I thought I completely bombed it, but for some reason, they were like, you’re going to make a good tour guide. Okay. I’ll study really hard, I promise! Oh, I had this notebook that I filled with everything that I was learning on the job, like about, you know, the pendulum and the Tesla coil, like I had no idea. And so I like outside of word, I mean, I don’t recommend this like I didn’t get paid for this. I did so much research and like created these like touring documents for all of the guides to use. And it, it was just like, it was, it was a way for me to feel like I knew what I was talking about. Cause I had the research right there and if I ever felt like, you know, like I’m going to blank, I’m going to forget something. Like I had it. It could be like, give me one second, look in my book. And that was an incredible job for a year. It was so fulfilling.

[00:08:07] We have, we had an onsite school program and teaching fifth graders about astronomy and, you know, seeing their eyes light up of course, about space. Like, you know, it wasn’t art, but it was that same feeling that I really craved in a workplace. But then the pandemic hit. I was furloughed from that job and also my two other jobs.

[00:08:27] I worked at a children’s museum, Southern California Children’s Museum at the same time. And I had just left a job at a high school working as like a club instructor. So suddenly I had zero employment. And for six months, I continued to have no employment. And after a certain amount of time, I sent out a desperate plea and my boss, like, is there anything I can do at the observatory?

[00:08:50] Like I know that we’re not hiring anything special right now, like there was a hiring freeze. Are there any. Projects I could do. I told him my skills and he said, actually, since we can’t have the onsite school program anymore, we want to transition to an online school program. It seems like you have experience teaching kids and you’re creative and this seems like a good fit.

[00:09:13] Oh my God, that sounds like a dream come true. And here we are, about two years later, we have a fully operational online school program and I have been the person leading the creative direction of the entire program. So I’m called the the Program Content Coordinator, so I help with scripts. I source imagery or tell other people like our photographers and such like what they need to capture. I string it altogether, I edit videos, I make animations. There’s like these extensive program packets that we have where like teachers and students can do fun activities from home and in the classroom. And I’ve learned so much about graphic design, about video editing, and it’s just, it’s an endlessly fulfilling job.

[00:10:01] And every week. We serve about 6,000 local fifth graders. So I think like by the end of this school year, I think we’re, we’re, we will have served about a hundred thousand fifth graders, which is far beyond what we were able to serve in person, of course, you know, nothing beats going up to the physical observatory, but I mean, you know, it just being able to impact those kiddos for a little while, as you know, priceless.

[00:10:33] Cali Bronkema: First of all, I want to say, just commend you for the level of commitment that you put into researching all of that stuff and just trying to be the best. At whatever job was given to you, the best that you could be.

[00:10:47] I think let me know if you’ve ever gotten this impression. I think sometimes people get the impression that folks who go to art school or try to become a freelancer are seen as, you know, not hardworking or taking an easier way out. And this just shows me how entirely wrong they are. Have you ever gotten that, that kind of stereotype given to you?

[00:11:15] Ella Ritts: Oh, certainly by other people. I mean, I was very, very lucky to have a supportive family. Who, who, you know, it was fine to send me to a private art school. Like that’s, that’s an immense privilege. I mean, I still can’t believe that happened, that I was able to do that and that, you know, I was taken seriously in my, in, in what I wanted to do.

[00:11:32] But yeah, I mean, all throughout high school, I’ve experienced all kinds of condescending comments about that, you know, how could you ever turn that into a living? But w when I was researching colleges, one thing that stood out about MICA was just how specific the classes looked like. You know, even some things that didn’t necessarily look useful, they were, so they were so niche.

[00:11:54] I remember this class was called the black death in literature and history. I was like that’s so specific. But you know, they had business classes, study abroad programs all about professional development as an artist. They have of course like graphic design programs, animation programs and, you know, you can do kind of like a cross disciplinary approach there it’s perfectly possible.

[00:12:15] And I, one of my mentors was Amy Sherald who painted former first lady, Michelle Obama, like they’re like wonderful, inspiring people who worked there and are involved with that community. So it presented me with so many fantastic opportunities. And I know I have no regrets when it comes to art school.

[00:12:34] I worked my arse off, pardon my half-French. Cause it’s all project based. Like you’ll have a six hour studio course, and then you’ll have to come home and, you know, make a, an art piece, which it’s, it’s a different process of course, in writing an essay. But there’s like, there’s a lot of work and heart that goes into art.

[00:12:58] Because it usually is very much reflective of people’s like inner minds and personalities. Like people care about their art and it, it takes a lot, takes a lot of energy. And you know, if you’re truly serious about it, like art school, it’s a wonderful choice, I’d say.

[00:13:13] Cali Bronkema: And it, it shows in the way that you’re talking about the research that you did when becoming a tour guide and how you were working at two other jobs at the same time, clearly, you know, go level of dedication and, ability to be flexible and hardworking so that you can follow what makes you happy in a job is very inspiring.

[00:13:38] Let’s talk more about you being a Program Content Coordinator. It, when you were explaining it, I was like, oh my goodness it seems like an artist dream come true because you’re saying, you know, first of all, your job is creativity. It seems like it is just filled with creativity. And you’re saying you get to do video editing, graphic design, animation, and then on top of it, you’re still finding that small little niche of you love, not just art, but how learning can impact kids’ lives.

[00:14:16] And then finding a way to bring your creative passions into that. When you reflect on where you are now versus maybe where you thought you would be when you entered MICA how would you characterize, kind of the journey to get there would cause it, it all sounds amazing like where you ended up.

[00:14:38] Right. But you did have the six months of, of being furloughed and you were working three jobs and you were put into a position you’d never been in before. What was that like for your, your mental health and, and kind of playing into self-confidence and was that journey, not just what that journey was, but what was it like?

[00:15:01] Ella Ritts: I, I love that question. Yeah. So right out of college. I very much wanted to do exactly what I set out to do, which was be a freelance painter and perhaps like part curator and have something, something having to do with museums, perhaps. And I, I remember it at one point. This was the summer after my last semester at college.

[00:15:24] I was selected to be a part of two gallery shows at this that were occurring at the same time. And they wanted the exact same painting. And I was like, I am not in the position to refuse either opportunity. So over the course of two weeks, I built a second. I made a second painting, like built it from scratch again, like with the canvas and everything.

[00:15:45] This, this was originally a piece that took two months, but I, I created that second piece in two weeks. With my other jobs as well. But yeah, I wasn’t able to exhibit in both places and like that, that was fun at all. But the process of getting my artwork to both galleries and spending so much money on the Uhaul, the transportation, the publicity, having a website it just kind of bummed me out how many barriers there are to like be a fine artist. And you know, of course I’ve I’m, I’m a quite a privileged individual, I’ll say I’ve always had familial support when it comes to my art practice, but it bummed me out how people, without that privilege, like this, these opportunities, like won’t be possible in the first place.

[00:16:32] Like there’s fees to apply to every gallery about, unless it’s like a non, like a non-profit kind of thing, most galleries, there’s like a $35 fee that you pay to apply. And so if you want to apply to a ton of galleries, it like those costs, they rack up and you have to pay for the own, your own transportation to get all your work there.

[00:16:53] And if your work doesn’t sell, then you’ve just spent so much money and like, it was, it was, it was a lot to think about. And of course I love the art world. I love museums, galleries are riveting and awesome and amazing. And I love the work that people do to inspire others, but it just, it, it, it felt overwhelming in that sense.

[00:17:16] Yeah, bummed me out too much. And, and also of course, I, I realized I enjoyed working with others after the Walters Art Museum, working they’re in college. So yeah, I was, I was looking for something different and yeah applying to all the museums and getting that job at the Griffith observatory and also the Children’s Museum those were two very formative jobs, I’d say.

[00:17:40] Cali Bronkema: What about the job that you are doing now? You mentioned some of the really cool things that you get to do. How do you see creativity as being or, I guess, do you see creativity as being a central piece of this job?

[00:17:56] Ella Ritts: Oh, certainly. And it’s something that I’m endlessly grateful for. Th there’s. So I used to have a very intense, like personal practice with art. Like I I have a very particular style. I have, I had like quite a vision for the artwork that I wanted to produce, but I’ve noticed for the past two years, I haven’t felt the desire or the need to really create much outside of work.

[00:18:21] And I thought that meant that, you know, I was like a bad artist or something, or like, I wasn’t who I used to be, and I’m not as creative, but I really. It’s because I feel creatively fulfilled by my workplace. And once I had that realization, I was like, I’m not, no, I am still an artist. I’m very much an artist I am doing, I’m creating. And that is enough.

[00:18:45] I don’t have to have a particular practice or like, you know, a really independent study in order to be an artist. And yeah it took some reframing of mind to realize that cause you know, originally I, I didn’t want to work for anyone else when it came to my art.

[00:18:59] Like I wanted to have my own vision. My, my mom would say like, you should really get into like, you know, illustrating, maybe take a class or something in that or graphic design. And I I’d resist it because I was like, no, I want to be my own boss. I don’t want to draw what somebody else wants me to. But that’s honestly, one of my greatest regrets is like in college, not, not exploring different skills that, you know, that, that I could absorb because it would have given me more flexibility now. I mean, of course, of course now I’ve, I’ve had to train on those things individually. I’ve gotten much better at graphic design and video editing, but yeah it’s, my work is, is so creative and the fact that it’s making a difference and I can see that difference.

[00:19:43] It it’s it’s enough for me.

[00:19:46] Cali Bronkema: So you said earlier that it used to kind of be your goal to work more solitary and go be a freelance artist, and that has evolved.

[00:19:58] Do you have an idea of, of how you might continue to evolve, like, has this new found a passion for educating kids and using artists using art to do so this is kind of, I guess I’m asking, is this your new thing or what are you imagining your future could hold and how might art play into that?

[00:20:26] Ella Ritts: I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently.

[00:20:30] I think my career could go in one of two directions, which is like perhaps art directorship of a museum or something on the more educational programming side. So for instance, at the observatory, like we have planetarium shows and you know, art, an art director at the observatory would have a heavy hand in what goes into that planetarium show.

[00:20:52] And like, that the branding that the observatory puts forth and like the, the, the, the voice that we want to show visually for everyone. So that’s what an art director would do. But an educational programmer that’s, you know, bringing programs to all of the all of the audiences that we serve and educating about science and what the observatory is and all about the sky and such and both avenues are really interesting.

[00:21:18] And I think right now I’m in a really nice sweet spot cause I feel like I’m doing sort of both coordinating the, the visual brand for this school program and also, I didn’t, I didn’t have a chance to mention this, but I also work at Griffith Observatory Foundation, which is like the, the nonprofit donor support of the amount of, of the observatory. And for them, I do graphic design, I put out the newsletters, I help with events, our volunteers, and I do like odd creative projects here and there.

[00:21:47] Cali Bronkema: Because you’re both, you kind of have a foot in education and you have a foot in arts.

[00:21:55] Have you seen like obviously across the country, there’s an issue with schools being poorly funded. And the first thing to hit to get cut typically are art programs. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of that happening around you or seen the effects of it. But how can you imagine that having an effect on either the kids you serve or just the future of being able to be creative and, and how art might play a role in our world.

[00:22:30] Ella Ritts: Yeah, I think, I think it’s intensely detrimental that art programs are, are the first to be cut or cut at all. It’s, it’s an outlet for people. It is a way to express emotion and kids if they’re not given that, if they’re not given the tools to express themselves, like th there’s a lot of thoughts that kids won’t express and don’t express them, you know, adults are the same way. But having that way to express yourself without having to, you know, air it to the world in like a really concrete way, it’s, it’s, it’s a language in and of itself.

[00:23:03] And I think if, if you rob kids the opportunity to learn about art making and have the time to create that, it’s not going to be good.

[00:23:15] Cali Bronkema: It’s really sad because I think some of the thoughts behind let’s defund art programs are let’s give kids the tools that they need to go out and make money and that’s it. Right. But there are art programs give a different kind of tools, right?

[00:23:37] Art gives people the tools to be able to express themselves, maybe express emotions in a way that they weren’t comfortable doing any other outlet.

[00:23:46] Ella Ritts: Yeah. And, and even if like people aren’t comfortable with the idea of like children having creative outlets, art is like more to offer them that as well.

[00:23:54] Like art history teaches us so much about the human mind throughout, you know, since the beginning of humans at all, like cave for back to cave paintings, art making, and making our mark physically on something in the world, is an innate human desire. Like we want to create our mark. We want to be remembered.

[00:24:18] We need to express ourselves. And, and if you look at just how the trajectory of like art culture, just like happens in different cultures throughout history. It’s, it’s just, it’s really, it’s really interesting. And you can always learn more about yourself and about history just by looking at art and learning about it.

[00:24:41] Cali Bronkema: I think that’s really important as that was a really good point of There, there are so many different lenses through which we can view the world. Art is just a really beautiful one, you know, it’s a way for people to understand others and understand themselves just a little bit better.

[00:24:58] So you, you said you were very privileged in the fact that you had a lot of familial support in going for an art degree. And you’re you’re from around LA so you kind of knew the LA scene a little bit, what would you tell somebody who maybe is thinking about either going to art school or quitting their job to do something that fulfills them in a creative sense? But they haven’t had the opportunity to do before. But maybe they’re nervous because they’ve heard the stereotypes of you’ll never make any money if you’re an artist and you’ll always be eating, you know, instant noodles. We all have to work multiple jobs to be able to make it. What would you tell someone who is, who is struggling with the decision of kind of how to figure out where their love for creativity and art could fit into just living in this world.

[00:26:00] Ella Ritts: I think, you know, just in this, in the simplest way, this is block out those other voices. If there’s something that makes you happy, whether it’s art or something else, like be earnest about that, be honest with yourself about what truly makes you happy, because that’s what life is all about is seeking things that make you happy.

[00:26:19] And if you help like your loved ones around you, like, you know, your, your parents understand like this, this is not some hobby, this is something I’m really passionate about. And then showing them all the different, important applications that art has within your culture. I think that’ll really help them understand.

[00:26:37] Like, if you look around you, everything around you has been carefully designed. Like the shelves next to you, someone, someone built those, the pictures on your wall, someone photograph that, or someone painted that. It’s you know, someone at a print shop printed it. Like that, that’s, that’s an artistic thing to do as well.

[00:26:56] Like the things you do on the weekends, the concerts you go to, the museums you go to, like the advertisements that you see posted absolutely everywhere, the logos that you see on businesses, an artist has created and coordinated all of those things. It is everywhere. We need those visual cues. We need visual markers.

[00:27:15] There’s a place for that there’s value in that. If that is earnestly, what you want to do, if you’re doing what you’re passionate about, people will notice.

[00:27:23] Cali Bronkema: Is there anything that we didn’t get to talk about that you really want to?

[00:27:27] Ella Ritts: Oh, yes. I would like to mention, there was this one point I think, I think I was in my second year of college and I came home to Los Angeles for the summer. And my mom and I were thinking about like different jobs or temporary internships I could have over the summer. And she found this call for an intern at this place called Curatorial Assistants Traveling Exhibitions.

[00:27:53] They needed a photography restoration and documenter. Like there’s this, there’s this man named Emil Otto Hoppé who’s photography was was kinda lost to time. It was, when was it? I think like 1920s, 1940s, I believe I might be wrong on that. But he took these incredible photographs and his work just was archived and people had not seen it.

[00:28:17] And so this company came in and was working on, restoring them and getting them out into the world. But anyway, they were offering an internship, helping with that. And I was like, well, that doesn’t sound like very artistic. Like I want to do painting. I want to like, work in a museum. Like, that doesn’t sound fun.

[00:28:32] But I applied, I got in and it was like, that was such a valuable experience. I realized it was because it gave me some new tools to work with. I learned Photoshop, I learned photography restoration. I learned how to be careful with, you know, like historic objects and like editing, going into metadata all that stuff.

[00:28:52] And I still use those skills to this day. And so I think, you know, if there’s any advice I could give anyone, who’s just starting out trying to find employment in something that they’re passionate about. Don’t be afraid to try something that’s kind of a stretch. Like that was a stretch for me, I thought, and those skills, like I said, turned out to be vastly helpful. And I think like one of my like guiding principles is just to try everything because every experience you have will feed into each other, they’ll build off of each other and kind of like the more diverse worldview that you have, the more powerful your, your work will be.

[00:29:33] Cali Bronkema: I think that that goes beyond the world of art to. Just continuing to educate yourself no matter what your field is, is so important, because then you’ll be able to understand so many different perspectives. I also like just the whole message of that story is just to go for it. Like there are so many jobs out there that have all these requirements for you to even apply, just go for it and see what happens.

[00:29:59] So this podcast is called Generation Hope, and I ask everybody who comes on the same two questions. And I asked you to be on this podcast for a few reasons, but one of them was that I think your story of how you took a degree in painting and you might not have ended up in a job that specifically does painting, but you’ve been able to integrate art and creativity into everything that you’re doing and be creatively fulfilled.

[00:30:30] And I think that’s a really inspiring story that will give a lot of people hope. So. I was wondering what– if this story gives some other people hope what right now is giving you hope?

[00:30:44] Ella Ritts: Oh, I love that. Well, what comes to mind, I guess pretty immediately is curiosity. Witnessing it around me in its many forms. I think not only is it a survival trait that we use to understand the things that perplex us and perhaps endanger us, I see it as something that will guarantee our longevity as a species. Like if we continue to fuel it, you know. I think curiosity is a huge driver for empathy as well, and a huge driver of course, for seeking knowledge.

[00:31:18] Empathy gives us love for ourselves and for others and knowledge gives us the power and agency to protect ourselves and others so curiosity fuels at all. So stay curious, do things that you love.

[00:31:36] Cali Bronkema: Given all of what we’ve talked about today, what do you hope for? And that can be for humanity, it can be just for yourself and your career. It can be on whatever scale you want.

[00:31:50] What do you hope for?

[00:31:53] Ella Ritts: Well, I hope that people will continue to be curious and stay persistent in, in what they desire for themselves. There’s always so much to learn about oneself and others and about the world. Explore the path less traveled, listen to others, and I hope that people more specifically, keep looking up into the sky. Like it’s I think astronomy the field it’s, it’s a lot like art in some ways, like we are all bound together by our cosmic place. Which, you know, which is earth itself. Earth is a planet in space, we are in space, too, space is something that we all own and we all share with each other.

[00:32:38] So. And art I think is, is similar. Like we all have that desire to make our mark on the world. And creativity plays out in so many different ways. And I think if we realize that art bounds us together and our place in space, that fact, bounds us together. I think that that leaves a lot of room for people to see common ground with each other.

[00:33:03] You know, we share so many similar traits and I just hope that people will recognize that it is worth it to explore the unknown things that are perplexing because it’ll in the end, bind us all together.

[00:33:20] Cali Bronkema: Beasutiful! Well, thank you so, so much for being here and sharing your story with us.

[00:33:27] Ella Ritts: Oh, of course it was such a pleasure to be here.

[00:33:31] Cali Bronkema: Well, this has been Generation Hope, a podcast by connect.faith. Thanks for listening.