Sketching a new narrative

Toronto-based artist and illustrator Maia Hoekstra takes her sketchbook everywhere.

For Hoekstra and, she suspects, for many neurodivergent creatives, making things is necessary: “It’s a survival tactic to pursue creativity,” she said. “I can’t not make. It is something inside me that has to come out. If I don’t make art, I feel miserable. I don’t feel like myself.”

In the last five years, Hoekstra has been growing in her understanding of her ADHD diagnosis. It’s improving her work and her relationships: “I am feeling more authentic in what I am making and sharing.”

Doodling dragons

Hoekstra grew up in a small, southern Ontario farming community where she attended Christian schools. She was a doodler, interested in “flora, fauna, fungi, mythology and fantasy,” and often felt different from the people around her. Her high school art teacher supported her goal of pursuing art as a career, but it wasn’t until Hoekstra participated in a Rotary-sponsored high school exchange with an art school in the UK that she realized she wasn’t alone. Immersed in a group of young people who were as passionate and creative as she was, Hoekstra said: “I was making friends immediately.”

Hoekstra has been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and suspects she might be on the autism spectrum as well: at least her friends think so. “I am finding that most of my close friends are neurodivergent as well, and they are the ones who just assumed I was on the spectrum,” Hoekstra laughed.

Hoekstra’s ADHD diagnosis was confirmed when she was an adult, but she said it would have helped to hear it earlier. “I think it would have made a huge difference, a positive one. I would have understood myself more and I would have figured out what I needed. I could have learned, with my parents, what would help accommodate me and regulate me, and it would have also nurtured the creative side of myself.”

“Whether it’s ADHD or autism or OCD – when you understand how and why your brain works, you can accommodate it, whether that means trying medication or going to therapy, or maybe just sensory accommodation. For me, I like to hold a pillow on my lap, or a bag on my lap.”

Hoekstra’s high school exchange experience opened her eyes to a world beyond her small-town, Christian-bubble childhood. It gave her the interest and confidence to move to Toronto and study art at OCAD University – the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Artist & barista

Now an OCAD graduate, Hoekstra works as a barista at a Toronto coffee shop, and “as long as it’s busy at work, I’m good. The more things to do, the better I will feel.” When work is slow, she doodles. She is never without a pocket-sized sketchbook, full of doodles, sketches, things she saw that piqued her interest, or ideas for her latest commission. She even takes her notebook to church.

Hoekstra supports herself with the job at the café. Money she earns through commissions as a professional illustrator is put back into her art practice, for things like computer software, pencils, pastels, paints or brushes. She works in many mediums, and prefers to accept commissions from art directors at magazines and publishing houses, because they negotiate professional remuneration.

Hoekstra plans to make more of her designs available as prints or merchandise sold through her website, but the business aspects of producing merch, selling it and shipping it are more time-consuming and onerous than she likes.

Show interest

Hoekstra says well-meaning adults in her life who complimented her on her God-given gifts actually undermined her development as an artist, because they seemed to suggest that the quality of her art was simply a given and not the result of hundreds of hours of practice. The emphasis on “glorifying God in your work” also baffled her, because it seemed to suggest that Christian-centric art was more valuable than what interested her, like dragons or fantasy.

“It’s important to show interest in what your child is making, especially if it’s their special interest,” she said. Even if you aren’t interested, “just expressing interest and encouragement is so validating.” (Consider offering art classes or clubs!) But it’s also important to respect a child’s privacy, she said, because this might also be a necessary safe space. Hoekstra recalls one peer in her childhood who mocked her for drawing dragons, and how it made her stop sharing her work.

Now that she’s making it on her own in Toronto and pursuing her passion, Hoekstra wants to make it easier for others like her to see themselves reflected in what she creates. “I want to talk about neurodivergence more in my work and create more pieces about mental health.” She is convinced that for anyone learning about their own neurodivergence, greater understanding leads to greater happiness and an authenticity that comes from accepting how you’ve been made.

“Because when you embrace what makes you different, it will feel so natural. You will attract the right kind of people, who want to encourage you, and see you grow. And in turn, you will have beautiful relationships with people and you will inspire each other.”