We recently connected with Stephanie Neville and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have always wanted to be an artist. From a young age it was my dream to go to the Art Music and Dance high school (probably romanticised a little by too many episodes of the TV show ‘Fame’ ) but my parents couldn’t really afford it and the logistics of getting to the opposite side of the city was too difficult. The compromise was to take art as a major in the local high school. When it came to choosing university, the same issue arose – art was not deemed as a proper choice to secure a decent future. I settled for studying Marketing and PR which do come in handy sometimes. Art / painting remained a hobby for a long time. After a few years of traveling, I settled in the United Arab Emirates, and it was during 2005 when I got involved in the local arts and crafts scene. I became a founding member of ARTE (Artisans of the Emirates) promoting locally handmade items through a monthly market which gave me the opportunity to become a full-time artist. Finally in 2009 I commenced my Art degree through the University of South Africa, completing my Master of Visual Arts (Cum Laude) in 2018.
My career as a full time, earning artist has been a long time coming. Sometimes I do wonder where I could have been in my career if I had started earlier as I always wished. However, as a mature student, I realised my work draws primarily from my life experiences. I took a long time to grow up and settle down, I took the time to get to know myself and grow my confidence over many years. I do not think my art could have evolved the way it had, without the time and personal development. I am comfortable where I am in my career and never regret the past. Of course sometimes I wonder if I made different choices earlier in life, what could have been different, but it is always easier to focus on the present and find myself in the world I am in right now and rather dream about the future and what else I can achieve.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I created my company Stephanie Neville Projects in 2022. Known as a textile artist, I was able to create a niche in the local UAE market within the interior design / art consultancy field.
My love for textiles come from being surrounded by fabrics as a child. My mother is a seamstress, and I was always playing in her studio making clothes for my dolls. It was a dormant memory that really came to being during my art degree development. I found textiles and accompanying techniques (knitting/ embroidery/ weaving) to ideally translate a feminine perspective and conveying my personal emotional experiences.
I exhibited in Dubai during 2015 to introduce my textile works and was privileged to be one of only a few artists around working primarily in this field. This gave me the opportunity to assert myself in this niche, particularly when it came to working with art consultants and interior designers for major hospitality projects in the region. Currently I work solely on commission basis, receiving a multitude of requests for various materials and techniques related to Fiber/ textile arts. I create wall hangings such as large scale macrame or woven tapestries; textile and paper hand embroidery; larger installations (nets / textiles); and sculptural works (soft sculptures such as felted objects and airdry clay works). My consultants/ clients are predominantly based in the UAE, and I am currently working with a team from London. The locations of my artworks are expanding throughout the GCC region (UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait). I am hoping to expand as much as possible, yet I wish to remain a solo artist, with the occasional assistance. The projects are becoming more challenging as clients and personal development pushes me to learn new techniques and explore capabilities of the various mediums. It is always exciting to work with clients who wishes to push boundaries and create challenges that can bring stunning outcomes.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are so many rewarding aspects of being an artist/ creative. For me, it is to be my own boss, doing what I love as a job, but also when and how I want to do it. It is to be completely autonomous and having a freedom to explore and experiment. It is also quite special to be able to communicate and express values, emotions and opinions through visual language to connect with so many more people that usually possible. I also enjoy how we can use our creativity as an excuse to either hide from the world when we need to, and also approach it as subtle or as loud as we want to.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

In my experience, one of the biggest misunderstanding for my non- creative friends are their conception of my process. They all seem surprised by the dedication put into being creative. These days I work mainly on serious deadlines for projects, so when I am due an artwork I can work 14-16 hour days, give up social life and weekends to complete my work. I think it is the total consumption of being in the middle of a process, the amount of time is spent on producing artwork that amazes most people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stephanieneville.com
• Instagram: @stephanieneville_projects
• Facebook: Stephanie Neville ART
• Linkedin: Stephanie Neville

Image Credits

Capsule Arts
17A Art Consultants
Drawdeck
Juliet Dunne