We were lucky to catch up with Serena Saunders recently and have shared our conversation below.

Serena , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

For me, appreciation for the people who support, encourage and purchase our work begins with the care we place into the work itself. So when being commissioned for any work of art from a small painting, to a large mural or to show up as a facilitator … the work begins with listening to the client, working hard to understand their vision, including independent research… and then my favorite part of all is to “over deliver”. I show my appreciation for my clients by finding ways to improve upon what they are imagining and to execute their vision to the highest level of detail and clarity I can. I believe people, unfortunately, are used to being unappreciated in the spaces where they spend the money they have worked so hard to earn. Art is always going to be a luxury purchase. I believe the best thing we can do to show our appreciation is in the way we treat them in every stage of the process, but most of all in the end product. It should be art that they can see for the rest of their lives, and every so often receive a brand new moment of expression and impact. Show up, deliver on the vision and be kind during the process.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I do have that rather cheesy origin story of being fascinated with art at a very young age. Crayons, construction paper and then later in performing arts high school… oil paints and pottery wheels to the present where you can find me on a lift that carries me up towards the sky to paint large murals on the walls of buildings. Any physical or emotional tool that contributes to the process of making art has held my attention and gets me excited about how God can use this heart and this body to create and communicate in this way.

I have been extremely fortunate to have my name placed in conversations for opportunities that felt bigger than me – time and time again. When answering those calls I would normally turn to a long period of research, just to ground myself in the idea of rather or not the artistic vision being asked for – is of me, or for me to work towards. There are two points related to this that I would like to note. The first is, my gratitude for those big calls that found their way to me, which allowed me to rise to each and every one of those occasions and planted me inside physical spaces I hadn’t dared to tread. Here I am, in full belief that I can contribute to this conversation. The second of the two points is purely from a visual arts perspective. I absolutely thrive off of working with community input and collaboration for spaces that people will use. My work has been moving towards sculptural, architectural and textural applications. With this, my business PassionArt Designs, has in recent years experienced a growth spurt – where we expanded from canvas to installation commissions.

This is where the core of our unique problem solving skill set thrives. Using color, flow and narrative we are able to not only bring our clients’ visions to life in spaces where they live, work and interact with the community, but also while doing so we like to tell their stories. We dive into the DNA of the person, business or community group so that the work that we are creating together becomes an extension of their identity. My goal is to never have my artwork just ‘land’ into someone’s space, but to feel as if it was always meant to be there and the space was simply being held until our project came to be. This is absolutely one of the things I am most proud of, the process and impact of relationship building, rather with a muse that is sitting for a portrait painting or a mural client looking to transform a space.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Showing up as your best self, whatever that day’s best is, has been key to building a sustainable reputation. Showing up. Again, just showing up – rather by answering that email right away, not postponing uncomfortable responses, asking the hard questions, and physically being onsite when you say you will be there, and of course going what you say you’re going to do. I had to learn that it could be this simple, after years of being a procrastinator and avoiding ‘potential’ conflict. Now, I answer immediately, I am transparent about any limitations, I set realistic expectations for my availability and capacity for any given project – AND I give myself tons of grace for when I just – can’t. You will find showing up and delivering on your gift is all that is required of you (over and over again) is all you need to build and maintain a great reputation. You want falling short, or showing up late, or not answering an email to be so rare, that when life happens (and it will) your reputation will say to your clients, “That’s not like her” … that’s what I work towards. Lastly is my favorite thing to say and do – over deliver on their expectations.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Leading with joy has been really impactful for leading a team to a successful project outcome. With the work that I do with creating community murals – who my ‘team’ is composed of is constantly changing. A vital part to my work is the inclusion of the people who will live with the artwork after it is created. So rather it is community members helping to paint a mural, or a group of program participants working with me on the entirety of a project, I am always working with new team members and bringing on new contractors with specific skill sets. When working on installations that require all of these individual groups of people to come together for the purpose of my vision – I always address that grouping as a team. It is no longer MY vision – it has now moved to OUR vision, our project and our purpose. My tone is always, ‘we’, when working through our sessions and in email communication. People before art. To not have this collaborative spirit not feel overwhelming or diminishing to my overall creative process and style, I make sure to include into my schedule a healthy amount of solo studio time where I do not have to share the mental space or making art decisions and I can be immersed in art making and learning my brand identity for myself first.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mspassionart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspassionart/