We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Selena Ferrer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Selena , thanks for joining us today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)?

Towards the end of my term at University of South Florida I only had 1 thought “I don’t want to feel lost when I get out of college”. The pandemic pulled us all out of school leaving me to finish my degree online. Even though 2020 brought a lot of tragedy to the Globe, I found my way coping with it all digging deeper into my art. I got together with a few friends & had the urge to connect with our community despite the despair & limitations. We started a monthly event that showcased theatrical acts from all trades & walks of life & open our doors to everyone. In 1 year we had grown a following of over 2,000 people & gained recognition in various newspapers. I was a full time student & tapping into curating art. I was eager to expose myself to different trades & ended up connecting with a world renowned artist who took me under their wing. I was making trips from tampa down to Miami as an intern gaining knowledge about entrepreneurship & making a career out of fine art & mural work. By age 22 I had started non-profit & had 5 murals under my belt. I was thriving & also completely and utterly chaotic. I can’t say that everything was ‘bright & dandy’, I had many hiccups emotionally and physically along the way but I had momentum & that is all I wanted. Many times I was hosting events or showcasing work with little to any money to eat & had to lean on my family during those times. Any time I questioned the path I was on, I always tried my best to get out of the box & push the boundaries. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I asked a lot of mid career artists for guidance.

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 am a multidisciplinary artist with a traditional fine arts background. I found a love for painting in high school & often times offered myself up to help any teacher with school banners or entering art contests. I spent a lot of time going to nature parks with my friends with a suitcase filled to the brim with acrylic paints & brushes; ready to create at any given moment under the trees catching sun rays. I entered college pursuing a physical therapist degree until I was faced with my fears of being miserable in a career that was chosen solely based off an ‘ideal salary’. Although I can say I’ve always been an ‘overachiever’, I eventually let go of the ‘conventional’ pressures & changed my mind a year later to pursue an associates of arts. It’ was a big ‘leap’ into the unknown, however it made the difference when I decided to open myself up to it all. I moved to Florida when a close family member was experiencing medical concerns. I attended the University of South Florida to pursue a Bachelors of Arts Degree with the hopes of improving my painting techniques. I left everything I knew & experienced a lot of loneliness however this became the fuel for me to start searching for an arts community. I started volunteering for school mural projects, & showcasing my paintings in bars. At an early age I experienced this hunger to do art from the minute I woke up till late night hours. People started commissioning me for small canvases, I somehow along the way figured out how to make art prints & sold those just so that I could have extra ‘gas money’. I was exposed to many different art forms in school, however photography, sculpture, & painting were my favorites. It was during the final months completing my art degree, that I interned under a professional mural artist in West Palm Beach by the name of Craig Mcinnis. I spent a year driving 3 hours a few times a month to study under an artist who helped me understand the business of my field. I opened myself up to learning different art forms such as graphic design & print making along with a variety of styles such as landscapes, animals, & portraits. I started to understand how to make quicker sales creating my own mock ups, speck commercials, & contracts. I consider my fortune a by product of hunger & enthusiasm. Ive learned along the way that if you are pushing the boundaries within your own practice, people can appreciate & rely on you to guide them through their own journey. I believe what sets you a part as an artist is your imagination. People think money will be the answer to their problems, when the reality is ‘if there is will, there is a way”. My biggest advice is to reach out to a variety of people or business models that inspire you & start taking notes, you will start to see a thread in what makes you a grander asset towards your company & whoever you choose to work with.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I had to make was ‘acknowledging that my art & business will never be perfect’. Salvador Dali once said “Have no fear of perfection, you”ll never reach it” There was a point in my life where I thought curating art shows would be the only way I could feel fulfilled in my purpose & sustain a comfortable lifestyle, however the pressure of always having to execute excellence on someone’s behalf drove me into period of introversion with an alarming desire to unlearn motifs I had always carried with me for a long time. I needed to carve out my own identity & figure out what made me happy. I worked hard for many hears building a reputation, & the same time wanted to leave everything & and everyone I knew if it meant I could return to making messes in my studio & experimenting with new or foreign materials. I started filming my process & sharing videos of my projects on YouTube. I left room for mistakes & even found couple alter ego’s I never knew I would have. People started to recognized my transparency & acknowledged me for being a versatile artist. I was no master, & still had imposter syndrome in beginning, but over time I started to see a change in how I perceived myself & my business. I started to receive a different level of respect and admiration for my work & even experienced more opportunities. What changed? I started to hone in on my enthusiasm & honesty until it became my superpower. At an early age many feel inclined to help others, this being the most fulfilling pursuit, however it wasn’t until I unlearned perfectionism where my career started to become successful. It’s important to ask people about their process, often times you will find out quicker if you truly want to pursue a similar path. Finding what ‘frustrates’ you in this life can be an arrow leading you to what you’re passionate about. Discover what you would do to resolve some of these problems & I can guarantee you that others will start to listen. Once I started to breach the doors of ‘perfection paralysis’ & sharing my process with others, my products started selling & I accelerated my return on investment.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is building my relationships around ‘fulfillment’. Many entrepreneurs & small business’s have one similar thread, & that is memories. When creating new relationships, I ask others ‘What inspired you to create this brand?”. Yes, I may hear a current perspective, however I can always find the clues I’m looking for when I ask them to reference a time when they were young. I then start to understand what motivates them through these good or bad memories. I then acknowledge their memories as unique ladders towards their optimal goal. There is a survivor in everyone, however reminding someone of their ‘Why’ is unique strategy I use because it can guide me towards what they want, & help me process what product or service they may need to satisfy that want. Connecting with people 1st is important. Many companies will try to present you a ‘ready-made’ system that will ‘solve all your problems’ & unfortunately this causes trust issues. Asking your client “What is your Why” will paint a picture for you its up to you as a professional to see & acknowledge the gaps in their presentation, product or service. You can both reap the benefits when you build a foundation of inclusivity & a plan of action.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.selenaferrer.com
• Instagram: @selenaferrerart
• Facebook: Divine Duality
• Youtube: Selenaferrerart
• Other: Etsy : Divine Duality Designs

Image Credits
Joshua J. Believe @88_jbellve “Selena Ferrer @ Vibes of the Bay, Crowbar Ybor, FL”