We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angela Oster a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Angela, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
If I could go back in time, I think I’d still choose to start my creative career when I did. I began really embracing my art in my 40s, which is a bit later than some, but it felt like the right time for me. Before diving into my art practice, I was at a non-profit doing graphic design, which gave me a solid foundation in visual communication. But more importantly, those years gave me life experience, a broader perspective, and a sense of confidence that I might not have had if I’d started sooner.
I think if I’d started my career earlier, I might have been too focused on trying to fit into a specific mold. But because I started when I did, I was more interested in creating work that truly expressed my voice and vision. Waiting allowed me to develop my style organically, without the pressure of satisfying a client or a commission.
Starting later might have given me even more time to reflect and refine my work, but I think I might have missed out on some of the excitement and growth that comes with pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. So, looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. The timing was just right for me, allowing my practice to grow in a way that felt authentic and true to who I am.
Angela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a multi-media artist whose work explores narrative, humor and character design. My characters come from knowing human frailty, searching for immortality and the humor of the futility of it all.
My drawings and small sculptures use a comic aesthetic to delve into the themes of joy, acceptance, and feminine potential. While these characters search for belonging, they also have the courage to remain outcasts and find delight in their isolation. I make scrawny vampires and wide eyed creatures who are meant to evoke a vulnerability and uncertainty, yet also act as empowered alter egos.
Unexpectedly, I found that I liked doing vending events at local art fairs. The immediate feedback was rewarding as well as seeing people connect with my work. I also found a very supportive art community on instagram. Online platforms are susceptible to change, so it’s important to develop relationships with your audience in multiple ways.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn was the idea that creating something specifically to sell would guarantee success. I sometimes fall into the trap of trying to predict what people will buy, thinking that if I just tailored my work to the market, it would naturally lead to sales.
But time and time again, those pieces never quite hit the mark. It’s the pieces where I let go of the idea of selling and instead just create for the sake of creating, for the love of the process, that end up resonating the most with others.
This lesson taught me that authenticity is key. When you’re genuine in your work, it shows, and people can feel that connection. It’s not about chasing sales; it’s about creating from the heart. The sales, I learned, will follow when your work truly reflects who you are and what you care about.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist is the ability to bring my inner world to life and share it with others. There’s something incredibly fulfilling about taking an idea, a feeling, or an odd tidbit from my imagination and translating it into a visual form that others can see and connect with. It’s like inviting people into my own little universe.
Seeing how my work resonates with others—how it makes them smile, think, or even feel a little less alone—is a powerful reward. I love that art has the ability to evoke emotions and create connections across different experiences and perspectives. That sense of shared understanding, of communicating something without needing words, is what makes being an artist so magical.
Plus, there’s the joy of constant discovery. Every piece I create teaches me something new, whether it’s about the craft itself, about the world around me, or even about myself. The process of creation is a journey, one that’s filled with surprises, challenges, and moments of pure delight.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.angelaoster.com/
- Instagram: @osterjoy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelajoyoster/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-oster-46b9b7/
- Twitter: https://x.com/osterjoy?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@angelaoster8081