Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Felicia Olin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Felicia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I have never been a terribly confident person. I didn’t talk until I was 5 and hid behind my hair in  high school. If there was one thing I kinda had confidence in though, that was art.

I graduated college with a BFA in painting  in the  late 90’s, and then was rejected by the Masters program I applied to.  I was 22 years old with no real idea of how to use the information I had learned to go forward into an art career. I didn’t have the confidence to go into teaching, I didn’t take graphic design classes, so I wasn’t going to be able to apply for an art job, and the duplex I just signed a lease for had rent that needed paid, and pretty soon I was going to have to start repaying my student loans.

I applied for my first full time job at the kind of place an artist would feel most comfortable… A store that sold paint. The biggest perk was getting an employee discount on it. Not long after working there, I was moved to the frame department and taught how to frame art. I enjoyed the job, and it’s different every day, but it’s also a constant reminder that I wanted to be an artist when people would have artwork framed on a daily basis.

I still went home at night and played with art in small ways. Ways that were playtime where i had fun. I did “mail art”. I made collages and little paintings and mailed them to artists who would mail me something back. I still had a desire to do more though.

Honestly, by the time I left art school, I was falling apart. I tried all sorts of media and styles, but in the 4 years, I had not discovered who I was as an artist. I had gotten close but towards the end, my work just looked unfinished and made me sad. I had fallen out of love with it.

I had told myself that I wanted to start to paint larger and show my work publicly by the time I was 30. After I had said that to myself, I started sooner, in my late 20’s. I felt ready. I wished I could have started even sooner but I feel like I needed that time in-between to make things that made me happy.

It was not an easy process to paint larger after years of working small. I was going to have to re-learn by trial and error. I needed to fall in love with what I was making, and tune out the negative voice in my head. My goal was to make a series of pieces that I could hang in a coffee shop. That was my big goal.

I accomplished that goal, found projects to participate in, and discovered we had a local gallery. I joined it and hung the series there, and participated in shows. I slowly found myself  while balancing being a full time framer and a part time artist.

While working in the frameshop, I started working with a young student who was also working at another local gallery. Unbeknownst to me, she got me approved for a solo show. I would have never ever applied for that myself. I didn’t think I was ready… but here I was… I was approved. This was a large space and I was the only artist who would have work in that room. I spent a year on that show. My mornings and evenings before work, my days off, and my vacation time. When we hung it, it was surreal.

After that, one project led to another and I kept busy for the next 10 years. Before I hit 40, a customer at the frameshop suggested I apply to the big art fair that I grew up going to. Again, here is a suggestion that brought me a lot of anxiety. I had put my work in a gallery but I didn’t know anything about art fairs. I didn’t own a tent, I didn’t know what the walls should be made of, I needed to research it. I had never seriously entertained the idea before but I felt ready for this challenge.

I applied,  and was accepted, and invested in a tent and supplies. I did my first art fair when I was 37 and within 3 years, I was able to become a full time artist. I still struggle with confidence, but I’ve learned to dim that negative voice in my head.

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that the risk is worth the reward. Things happen if you get out there and try. I worried that people would be critical of my work, and but I’ve been met with love and kindness because people could visually see the  images that resonated with me, and those images reached something inside of  them and resonated. Don’t wait too long… get out there and make the world more beautiful and interesting.

Felicia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My art is a mixture of all the things I love. I have always had a love for fantasy films and art, children’s story books, the imagery from Alice in Wonderland, animals, nature, and art and styles from the past. When someone sees my work, I hope it connects them to something they feel nostalgic about.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I really never intend to build an audience on Instagram. My instagram was filled with my personal photos with some art sprinkled in when I decided a few years ago to participate in Drawlloween (specifically #mabsdrawlloweenclub). Through participating many years in a row in October in a daily halloween themed art challenge, using hashtags, and also using my page to promote the work of other participants, I have reached many new wonderful artists and friends.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like just about everyone, I definitely had to adjust to covid lockdown and how to function as an art fair artist in a time where art fairs were getting cancelled. I made small batches of work every week and switched to listing work online. There was a lot of trial and error figuring out how to mail out art in the best way. Thank goodness I could order bulk boxes and get a postal scale to weigh things at home.

Contact Info:

• Website: Feliciaolin.com
• Instagram: @feliciaolin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100030702863528&mibextid=ZbWKwL