Meet Sy Phelan | Multidisciplinary Freelance Artist

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

Hi Sy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
One of the earliest memories that I have was made my first day of Nursery School. I was all of 3 years old, maybe, and after being dropped off by my Mother, I felt terribly overwhelmed and afraid. One of the teachers quickly guided me over to a little easel that was set up with large sheets of white paper and bulky brushes, each standing in glass jars of different coloured paints. I can still recall so many of my senses waking up: The unique and comforting smell of the long-sleeved patchwork shirt-smock that I was helped into combined with the tempera paints, the sound of the brush handle tapping against the jar like a little bell, the beautiful robin’s egg blue that I slid across the paper, and the feeling of joy every time a cold little drop of paint hit my skin. I remember feeling a sense of “home” and immediately no longer looking for my Mother. Everything in that small little “Art Corner” felt familiar despite my never having been to school or exposed to creative materials at that point in my life. I didn’t notice the other children around me, the sounds of a busy classroom, I was totally entranced by the freedom to simply create. I truly believe that this was the catalyst that started my journey in pursuing an artistic career. As I have passed through all of the different stages of my life, Art has always been the singular thing that both moves me and keeps me grounded. It has saved me countless times and has always been my loudest voice. I couldn’t imagine ever doing anything else, nor would I want to. And although there have been times where I was forced to take on other roles in life, I have never given up on my Art. There was never a doubt in my mind “if” I should pursue an artistic or creative career. Instead, it’s just been a variety of adventures that always bring me back to the moment I stood in front of that easel in Nursery School.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am proud to call myself a Multidisciplinary Freelance Artist…which I love to explain is just a fancy way to say “I’m trained to make a lot of different kinds of Art in a variety of mediums”.

I was always chastised during my college days by a particular professor who said that I wouldn’t ever “make it” as “a real artist” because I was unable to commit to a single style or medium. That no one would ever recognize my work because there was nothing uniquely “me” about it, and that I was “all over the place”. It wasn’t easy to hear such negativity from someone who I thought was supposed to be rooting me on, however, I didn’t let it slow me down. I knew why I was “all over the place”, and I was secure in trusting my creative ideas telling ME how they should be brought to life and in what medium or style. I’ve always felt that, although my art is wide in range, there is always something for everyone along that spectrum. That has not only created more opportunities and experiences for me, but has also inadvertently helped me to be successful as a business woman.

I am most proud of how far I have come as an artist and for having stayed true to keeping up with the multidisciplinary process. It has been an asset to be able to jump from one medium to another if something isn’t working out, or if I am feeling “burnout” from a particular discipline. In fact, during the Covid Lockdown, I had lost every job that I had at the time, and I needed to very quickly figure out how I would be supporting myself. My apartment was full of Art that had not yet sold, and so to save space and create something that might bring in a little income, I started to cut the paintings up and turn them into jewelry. It wasn’t something that I had ever done before, but with a multidisciplinary background, it worked out very well for me and I found myself financially back on track.

I am always excited about new opportunities and experiences (especially those that include travel), the “creative epiphanies” that pop into my head from time to time, and for recently achieving my own work space where sketches, notes, ideas, and emotions can finally be brought to life in the form of physical art!

Getting to where I am professionally today has been a journey of peaks and valleys for sure! I was trained in photography (film) and illustration (in a variety of mediums) with a background in Art History. By the time that I graduated college, technology had advanced so quickly that digital photography and graphic design were now starting to take over in areas where I had been trained by hand. It was a difficult adjustment to transition to this new way of creating art, and I’ll admit that I was very reluctant at first. I didn’t want to let go of the creative ways that I was so used to, but I also understood that if I didn’t paddle out quickly, I’d be forever sitting on my board waiting for the “perfect wave” that would never come. I promised myself that I would never lose the skills that I had spent years cultivating and refining, and that this new technology was just another set of mediums to add to that “multidisciplinary” title that I was so proud of holding.

I’m sure that I faced a lot of the same challenges that other artists have faced. such as: finding physical space to work, keeping up with the pace of ever changing trends and culture , financial snags over supply prices, competition in the field in general, and sometimes having to take on additional jobs in order to stay afloat in the ebb and flow of the market and economical tides. I didn’t know anyone in the field when I first started, and most of how I overcame the obstacles that I was faced with was through a lot of trial and error. Mostly error. I have always prided myself on being a very “go with the flow” type of person, so I took every challenge as it came and did the best that I could, which is not to say I wasn’t completely frustrated at times, I’ve had plenty of ranting sessions by myself in my workspace, but I think all artists have their highs and lows as they push to achieve their dreams.

I’ve learned so many valuable life lessons along the way that spanned all directions and certainly went much deeper than I could have ever imagined. One of the most important keys to opening any door in the halls of life is networking. When I was starting out, social media was not as prevalent as it is now. If you didn’t really know anyone, as was the case with me, you had to just TALK to people. Talk to someone, anyone, everyone, in your field or not, face to face and truly LISTEN to them. I am so thankful to have had the confidence and curiosity to meet and get to know people from all walks of life. You can learn so much and find that one small thing can lead to another, then to another, and another until you find yourself somewhere you were hoping to be creatively. And if it doesn’t work out that way, in the end, you’ve always got an interesting story to tell!

Being an artist, especially a freelancer, means that you have to wear many hats. To be honest, you have to wear ALL of the hats, and you need to be driven enough to do that. There are parts of freelancing and being a business owner that are not as fun as others, but you learn to do what you have to do if you really want to achieve a goal. Anyone who has known me along the way and even up to this very day has most likely heard me say, “I’ll figure it out. I always do”. That’s my default phrase and it keeps me on track.

I have also learned that more often than not, you have got to be your OWN “cheerleader”, and that if working in the arts is what your heart and soul truly want out of this life, you’ve got to block out the noise from anyone who tries to put doubts in front of you or aims to hold you back. It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone will see the world as you do, so it may be difficult for others to understand where you are coming from and from what your dreams are made. And that’s ok. Your life is yours alone as theirs is their own as well.

What I’d like the world to know about my brand and story is probably just as complex to explain and “all over the place” as my style of Art. I am at my best when I’m expressing myself through a wide variety of media. My experiences in life, the vivid dreams that I’ve had, emotions that need to be freed, and words that I haven’t been able to physically say, are all part of the art that I create. My “all over the place” style stems mainly from my mental illness and all of the intricacies therein.

It has always been important to me to be able to capture moments in time, and hold them still so that they can be shared with the world, paying close attention to the details that make life so unique for everyone to experience in their own way. I am fascinated by how we connect to each other, even in the smallest of ways, and the imprints that we make in the sands of someone else’s life.

The commercial side of my freelancing career revolves around the goal of using my creative talents to bring the ideas of others to life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have always loved to travel and experience new people, places, cultures, and food. If I could have a week long trip with a friend, I would absolutely create a road trip for us that would take us as far as we could go with as many stops as we could make in that time frame. On a budget, cross country would be an ideal trip as the US is very diverse. I’d love to sample local cuisine, learn about the culture of each place we visited, the little details of a place’s history, take everything in with an emphasis on nature and architecture, and of course, I’d love to people watch…with my camera of course! I’ve had so much fun on road trips in the past with my younger sister driving up the West coast, visiting a variety of places and experiencing so many beautiful things from beaches to mountains, to hiking and camping in the thick of the Oregon forest. If money wasn’t an issue, I’d love to travel further, be it traversing across Europe and Asia, island hopping around, returning to complete my exploration of the Nordic regions, or sliding all the way down the globe to Australasia…with my camera of course! Living in the moment but capturing it to share with others.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Uncle Eddie: For always taking the time to “talk shop” with me for HOURS, encouraging me to keep moving forward no matter what anyone else said, and for always being brutally honest when pointing out both my talents and areas that needed improvement.

My Grandma and Papa Molee: For always taking the time to look at the Art that I made as a kid, and for repeatedly sharing their belief that God had given me a talent that should never be wasted.

My Friend Kat Germosen: For being not just a friend with incredible creative talent and vision, but an inspiration and example of what a strong business woman can and should be.

Website: https://www.TheArtofSyPhelan.com

Instagram: @TheArtofSyPhelan

Image Credits
All image credits belong to me: ©The Art of Sy Phelan