We were lucky to catch up with Femi Okediji recently and have shared our conversation below.
Femi, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
To me, Art is a living part of me and I try as much as possible to nurture it everyday. I create new ideas and concept through the happenings around me. The situations and things happening in my environment inspires me to always create, which is my way of communicating my thoughts, feelings, emotions and ideas to my audience and this keeps my creativity alive
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a multidisciplinary Artist from Nigeria, who specializes on sculpture. I tell stories through my Art because I want to be a voice to the voiceless who don’t know how to express themselves. The name of my studio is OKEDIJI FEMI ART STUDIO here in Nigeria and I’ve been practicing for quite a while now. I create luxury Art and sculptural furnitures.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Consistency: I have been consistent throughout my Art journey, always eager and ready to create new things everyday. Even when life seems challenging, I still want to create with the little I have.
Creativity: over the years, my creativity has been evolving and I love that part of me. I want to create something different from what I created yesterday which has drives me into different mediums, materials and techniques. Experimentation has opened my eyes to another way of seeing art, thereby moving From the known to the unknown.
Dedication: I give a lot of my time and resources into my art which the final result is evident of this fact. I spend more time to paying attention to every details of my art piece and not ready to rush any stage of my creative process.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was the fact that they gave all their support to my dream of becoming an Artist. In this part of the world, art has less value which most parents won’t give their children the opportunity to study art, but my parent supported me and they’re very proud of what I create now.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phemcookediji?igsh=MTljMDJ6b2Y1a2p4aw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1hFsbSH6CjhuagU7/?mibextid=UalRPS
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/okediji-femi-art-studio-5a47aa222_work-in-progress-activity-7163964583991349249-7teT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
