Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella Geida

Hi Ella, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

Art has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I even had an Alexander Calder style mobile above my crib! My mother was an art professor in Queens, NY and she would often take me to visit the museums in the city. Growing up, I always took art classes throughout my childhood and high school. I eventually went on to attend the Hartford Art School and graduated summa cum laude with honors, with a double major in Illustration/Visual Communication Design and a minor in Art History. I am currently pursuing my Masters in Illustration with a projected graduation date of July 2025.

I approach art as if it were a language. During my undergraduate studies, I taught as an adjunct professor within an anthropology based science class about the origins of human speech. I delivered an art history focused lecture series to students in both the regular and honors version of the course about the relationship between art and the development of human communication and cognition. In viewing art as a language, I strive to make my work transcend surface level aesthetics and attempt to achieve a more emotional and layered meaning within my pieces. I want to be able to communicate through my art and create the feeling as if the work itself was in conversation with the viewer.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

It’s often spoken about how after graduating college you’re faced with the daunting task of finally entering the “real world”. However, in 2020, the world I was met with after graduation didn’t feel real at all. And in many ways, it largely wasn’t. There were no more in person classes, no senior shows, and no physical graduation. They were reconstructed in the form of website links, videos, and zoom meetings. In the first few months I was completely overwhelmed by the uncertainty and instability of the world around me. I feared for the safety and health of my parents and friends, I became overtaken by depression and constant panic attacks, and I questioned my purpose as an artist. Art had always been therapeutic for me, but its use completely took on a new intensity during quarantine. I began incessantly creating work; more frequently than I ever had before. I would throw myself into my art and just draw and draw and draw until the anxiety subsided.
During this time, I created a piece entitled On Display, which is a self portrait with half its creation in the digital realm and half in the physical as a reference to the way many aspects of life became divided between the two spaces during quarantine. Drawn digitally, printed on canvas, then finished with acrylic paint. The portrait is encircled by references to works that are emblematic of prominent movements that reshaped how we think about art. Historically, art has been reactionary to its environment. From destruction and atrocity arose new forms of creativity. Modernist movements such as Dadaism and Abstract Expressionism grew out of the First World War and the Russian Revolution. These pieces now serve as a testament to how art has always been there as a healing tool for the world during times when it seemed the world had stopped making sense. They represent human perseverance through periods of global uncertainty. They functioned as a method of therapy during their own unprecedented times and continued to do so in the present. After this; I embraced becoming a full-time artist and dedicated as much time as possible to working in the creative field.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I am incredibly lucky to be able to say that I make a living from working as a creative. I know the usual narrative in society is that it’s nearly impossible to get a job working in the arts; but I’ve found that the truth is quite the opposite. Over the years I’ve had quite a few jobs in the arts. In high school through college I taught as a painting instructor and also ran a children’s art camp during the summer. After graduation, during the pandemic, I started my own small business and began freelancing. In 2023, I began working at the Holderness School in New Hampshire where I taught graphic design as well as an art history based drawing class. During my time there I also worked as the gallery assistant at the Edwards Art Gallery, which is partnered with the Pucker Art Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the responsibilities I carried out while working at the Edwards Art Gallery included curation, assisting in transporting and packing work, prepping the gallery space for exhibitions, writing show analyses and artist biographies for display, as well as creating graphics for vinyl decals. Currently, I am with a fantastic company that works closely with museums and contemporary artists. I am a full time graphic designer and illustrator, and I get to create content for social media that focuses on art history, bringing awareness to museum exhibitions, and putting the spotlight on contemporary artists. I also have a hand in some of our unique product design and creation, collaborating with other members of our design team to come up with fun ideas for new merchandise. I continue to work as a freelance artist on the side and have recently begun pursuing a career in the movie poster industry. My art is expansive. I have a wide range of interests so I try to create an equally wide variety of work. I love exploring different mediums and methods. Earlier in my career, I used to see that as a detriment, but now I enjoy being able to create in a range of styles. I’ve been able to see examples of successful working artists, such as Bill Mayer, who also works in a multitude of different techniques. His work is stunning and incredibly inspiring. I would encourage all artists not to limit themselves to one look just to try and appear more marketable, but instead to create whatever they have the urge to. As of late, I’ve tried to push the boundaries of my own mark making and have explored everything from traditional mediums such as watercolor and oils, to contemporary digital art, and even more experimental choices such as using cut paper, bleach, and painting on a shattered mirror.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

I would say the most important quality to have for a successful career is to be positive and always move forward. You can’t get caught up on rejections, critiques, or negative feedback. An optimistic mindset and persistence will always get you to where you want to go. It sounds like cliche advice, but it’s incredibly easy to get bogged down by those who try and tell you you can’t achieve the goals you envision for yourself. You can get trapped in your own head and become your own worst enemy. The most dangerous thing you can do is tell yourself you can’t. If you continue to push yourself and constantly go after what you want most, eventually you will achieve it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ellageida.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: @ellageida_art

Image Credits

All photos by Ella Geida