Meet Mo Moeller | Creator, Engineer, Forever Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mo Moeller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mo, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
For me, inspiration has always come from a feeling like claustrophobia. The world, especially the world I saw in magazines and on tv growing up, didn’t seem to include people like me. I was very boyish; I didn’t understand all of the unsaid rules of ‘politeness’ – I use that word because that’s how it was pitched to me, when it was much more like doling out unearned respect. I was nonbinary and autistic and fat, looking at representations of the world that didn’t include me. So, I would draw and write. I would build my own worlds that included me, quite literally as the self-insert creator. In a way, it was like building my own imaginary safe space, and now I have found and grown a community around my and my friends’ art. So inspiration comes from them, and me, and our capitalist society that curses us for loving ourselves. I find joy in existing, in doing the little mundane things that we get to do, and I am inspired to share that.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Most of my art and my business is a competition between me and a younger, dumber me, which means I’m usually winning. I sell most of my art and merchandise at conventions. So, I think the key to my art business is understanding conventions. I volunteered with a large, local convention on staff for about 7 years, and I accepted an opportunity to work as a table helper for a friend, A Steampunked Life, for a host of shows over about a year. I learned so much. I learned the behind-the-scenes of conventions and how registration and guest prices affect turnout and customer demographics; I learned load-in, inventory, receipt tracking, and good profit estimation. In the end, even with all of the information and background, the best way to learn was by doing, but I had a wider set of knowledge to base my decisions on. Nothing is easy, but some people (and the rose-colored filters of social media) can make it look easy. I recommend volunteering for some events, joining art groups, and reading blogs, but ultimately, I recommend trying it once for yourself.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Most of my life revolves around food, so most of the spots that come to mind include food. I would definitely reccomend Pho Dalat, Racha Thai, Judy’s Sichuan, Mr. Shawarma, and Island Krave, which all have fantastic menus. I recommend going to Ghent to walk around, stopping in Kitsch, Local Heroes, and hopefully making it to a Ghent Famers Market with amazing vendors like Norfolk Candle. We have some amazing Asian grocery stores, like American Asian Food Market and Royal Bazaar Indian Asian Market. You can always roam around Quixotic Arts and Aries Apothecary or window shop at the Croc Store. There’s also Painted Tree; some of my friends’ have booths there. And, if you’re tired of stores and food, you could swim at the beach or walk along some of the nature trails; there’s usually cute mushrooms and flowers.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am a collection of experiences, most of which I cannot remember. So, even though I’m sure there are many more people to include, I will mostly shout-out my high school teacher, Mr. Fenley. He happened to be my philosophy teacher and my art teacher, which I think was the key for me. He allowed and encouraged me to make art as a statement of my existence, my ideas. There were a few pieces that would worry him, darker and lonelier pieces that he would discuss with my mother at student-teacher conferences, but there was never any expectation of false joy or forced positivity. He (and my mother) saw art as my way to work through discovering and experiencing the world and accepted it. I think he created a safe space for me and other students, which I really respect and appreciate. Though, I’m sure I also annoyed him, as I did most of my teachers.

Website: https://portfolimo.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/portfoli.mo/

Other: Portfolio: https://portfolimo.myportfolio.com/