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

Orna, appreciate you joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

There have been several things that I have innovated throughout my career, but my most important achievement is in the field of printmaking. In 1999, I began printmaking, and I felt there was a lot of potential to innovate in the field. Over several years of making monoprints, I was able to develop techniques of printing on non-traditional materials besides paper. Starting with monoprints on paper, and fabric, I moved forward with experimenting with printing on wood boards and plexiglass. When these experiments were successful, I was able to create 3D monoprints, utilizing plexiglass and hardware to create the sculptures. These achievements were celebrated with a touring retrospective exhibition in five Museums around Texas. In 2014-2015 works on paper, fabric and plexiglass were shown at the Geometric and Madi Art Museum in Dallas, The Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, Galveston Art Center, and more.

These achievements were documented in my book titled Treetopia. The 2018 edition includes many images, and a comprehensive essay by Dena Woodall, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Exhibiting extensively in numerous galleries, and museums over more than 25 years led to many acquisitions of my art by museums and corporations.  Museums and corporations who have my art in their collection include the Museum of Fine Art, Houston, The Fralin Museum, Virginia, The Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas, The Library of Congress in DC., The Douro Museum in Portugal, Microsoft, Fidelity and many more.

Recently, I have been experimenting with printmaking on concrete. The art I have created was juried into a group exhibition in Houston. The juror for that show was Cara Manes, Associate Curator in the department of Painting and Sculpture at Museum of Modern Art, New York, who awarded me second place in that competition.

Orna, 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?

I began making art at the age of 16, and haven’t stopped. Over the years, I have made art in all media, including drawing, painting, and sculpture. But after many years, I experimented with printmaking, and fell in love with this process of art making. After decades of making art, I was able to create non-traditional 3D prints and room-size installations. I am most proud of my achievement in this field as illustrated previously. It became apparent that many of these experiments and achievements inspired many artists and other creative people when I learned I was selected this year as one of the 50 Most Influential women in Houston.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

This is a very unique story that came about last minute early this year. In January 2023, I went on an expedition to Antarctica. Just two days prior to that expedition, I thought about the lack of trees and plants in the continent. That’s when I decided to take art supplies with me and to make art on location. That project  included the creation of collages of monoprints, and exhibiting them on one of the islands on the peninsula. Not knowing how the weather would hold nor how ferocious the winds would become, I chose to work on a small scale, to accommodate the changing conditions.

The exhibition titled The Presence of Absence included 10 collages of monoprints that were created on board the ship on the way to the Antarctic peninsula, and were shown on Snow hill Island, Antarctica. This makes me the only artist to ever show artworks on Snow Hill Island, Antarctica.

Showing the works of art was a challenge in and of itself, as no structures are available for any purpose on the island. EPA regulation prohibits laying anything on the ground, so I opted for another last-minute solution. Five volunteers held the art in their hands, and I held the title of the exhibition.
In a place where weather conditions are extreme, and change rapidly, it was a great relief for me when the weather cooperated. The conditions were great at that specific time, with sunshine and only a mild wind.
In July 2023, I went on another expedition, this time to the Arctic Circle. I created 12 collages of monoprints on board the ship. On July 11, 2023 these artworks were shown on board the ship on Deck 8, surrounded by sea ice in the Arctic Circle, north of Svalbard Island, Norway. The next morning, in front of Monacobreen Glacier, I created a performance with four of my monoprints.

In addition to these two exhibitions, on July 12, 2023, I mounted another exhibition on Woodfjorden, Svalbard. Ten artworks that were created and shown in Antarctica, were shown again in an exhibit titled The Presence of Absence. This exhibition was viewed by many hikers in that area. These 10 artworks are truly “bi-polar” as they were shown on both poles within six months. In total, I mounted one exhibition in Antarctica, and three in the Arctic Circle.

Currently, eight works that were created in the Arctic Circle are part of my solo exhibition at the Beeville Art Museum in Beeville, Texas. This exhibition titled “Scenes Unseen” has 130 artworks on display, and will be on view until December 16, 2023.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

No matter what you do and how much you plan, things are not always flowing the way you want. I previously described how I had to be flexible and make last- minute changes to achieve my goals of creating art and exhibiting it in remote places. This was also true in the long run of my career.

Having a family and children creates situations where you have to prioritize. For me, family is always first. In the past, when my children were young, I had to delay and adjust my school schedule, exhibitions schedule, and other artistic commitments. Obviously, these decisions were hard to make at the time, but it all paid off big time later.

Over the years, the ride was bumpy, and had many turns. But with much patience, resilience and commitment, things worked out. I believe that acceptance is the key to success. As I mentioned, things don’t always go the way we plan, but many times, if we go with it, even greater things happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @ornafeinstein
• Facebook: ornafeinstein
• Linkedin: Orna Feinstein
• Youtube: Orna Feinstein

Image Credits
Carlos Navarro for the picture with 6 people holding Orna’s art in Antarctica Michael George for the picture of Orna standing with her art displayed on the ground in Svalbard.