We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Fuselier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.
Sarah, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Being quite honest, resilience came to me after repetitive events trying to knock me down, combined with pushes of support from those close to me. I grew up moving every few years because my father is a naval officer. We started travelling when I was only five years old, and each time we moved to a new place it was difficult for a different reason. Leaving friends and community behind is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever experienced. I believe there is research supporting the idea that moving away from community is one of the more painful emotional experiences people can go through, so to be able to say that I’ve done it over six times… it’s definitely a lot! On top of that, restarting your life over and over again as you grow up and try to figure out who you are creates a weird social gap for young kids. I started to keep to myself once I reached my junior year of high school, I moved to North Carolina in late March and was prepping for graduation and college, I reached a point where I didn’t care to make strong bonds. I spent a year in the baking and pastry program at Johnson and Wales CLT after that, which is where I was when the COVID-19 pandemic began. We were asked to move back home within days, and suddenly my childhood gave me this advantage to pack up and move out in a matter of hours. I realized then, how good I was at hellos and goodbyes, as well as learning who people are really quickly. Once the pandemic was in full force and I got an offer to transfer to SCAD, I was able to determine if that was a good choice for me really quickly because of this development. I noticed how easy it felt to make that space for myself in the art world, and how I was capable of switching gears if it doesn’t work for me, which, given my anxiety disorder, lifted lots of weight off my shoulders to just let myself move forward. At my time at SCAD I experienced a wide variety of people, from the very good to the very bad. In those very good people, I found the other half of what I needed: community. Having the right people around you to support you and love you really makes a huge difference in how much you can handle. I had a rough emotional experience growing up due to mental health issues and a lack of familial support at the time, and having now found people who actively choose me everyday (and vice versa!) it’s a world of difference.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Hi y’all! My name is Sarah Fuselier, I’m an explorer who loves to capture and create experiences through art and design. I love nature and animals and exploring the imagination, so I call myself an enthusiast of slow living. I love to enjoy those moments that make people feel connected to each other and the Earth, whether that’s the breeze at the beach or a huge wedding! I believe the big moments are built by the small ones, which empowers me as a designer to create thoughtful, fun, and whimsical projects and patterns to implement on everyday belongings.
At my core, I’m an illustrator. I make paintings and designs to print onto anything physical. T-shirts, books, rugs, bedding, packaging, you name it! I love just making things and being able to hold them and give them to people. I think there’s a lot of pessimistic perspective in the world in the last few years, and one way to lift that is to surround ourselves with things that bring us joy. I tinker with food and nature elements in my work, but in a whimsical way to empower the joy!
I started as a traditional artist, with graphite pencil, then watercolor, acrylic, oil, and gouache paint, then digital art! I love exploring mediums but gouache paint truly has my heart. I originally didn’t think art was a career option so I spent a year in Johnson and Wales’ BPA program, then transitioned to food illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design. Now I’m a full freelance designer who’s looking to join a company as a pattern or product designer so I can expand my impact. My main goal is to make people enjoy life a little bit more often!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Patience is number one! I will spend weeks researching new techniques and then be so frustrated I’m not perfect on the first try. I eventually figured out that learning new skills is a four stage experience. 1- you’re bad at it and you don’t know it, 2- you’re bad at it and you do know it, 3- you’re good at it and you don’t know it, 4- you’re good at it and you do know it. This sounds like a never end cycle but if you think about it, it’s more of a spiral because your skills are growing constantly! Be patient with yourself and eventually your technique will grow into what your artistic tastes are, and then you’ll grow your tastes again and just keep becoming better and better!
In addition to that, I would add the ability to roll with the punches. Pivoting is such a crucial skill as an artist, you need to be fluid and flexible to what a client wants, or to adapt to any changes or setbacks on a project or life in general. A stubborn mindset about what you want to happen or how a project should or should not go is detrimental to the fast-paced nature of this line of work. I’ve spent my life learning to be fluid to rapidly changing life situations and the best way to tackle art is to take that new information and ask yourself “How can I build off of this?” “How can I create a new point to jump off with?” or “How can I make this situation suit my work best?” Anyone who has worked with paint knows the infamous Bob Ross quote – “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents!”
Finally, make sure to make every moment count. Again, I’m a slow life enthusiast. I love to stop and smell the roses. In my free time I restore vintage furniture and DIY clothing. It’s so important to take in the little details of life, the sound of the windchimes, the smell of the kitchen while baking bread, and especially how those things make you feel. One of my favorite ways to cherish these is by documenting them in a sketchbook. I highly recommend taking a moment to draw one thing everyday that made you feel good! I also recommend expelling negative emotions through artistic means so as to not bottle them up, but also to remind yourself that life has good and bad moments, and they’re all here to make us feel human.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I feel particularly inclined to answer this because of my ongoing experiences with ADHD and anxiety. I know the feeling of overwhelm swallows you up in such a way sometimes it feels endless. My first advice would be to put everything down and walk away for a short while, if you’re able to and separate yourself from the overwhelming things. Find something to clear your head. I like to go outside and focus on the sounds of the birds, trees, and water. Problems don’t get solved by burning your retinas into your computer screen. Then, depending on your situation, either a. find a way to log or expel your feelings, or b. take your mind off the situation completely. You can cook or bake something, draw in a different sketchbook, or work on a different project. Make sure to eat or drink something small to ensure what you’re experiencing isn’t due to an external factor. Once you’re confident the feelings have subdued and cleared your head, find something to control, ideally something small in the project that isn’t as impactful, and work your way up to the important parts. Go slow and don’t overthink your choices. For most things, you can always go back and edit again later. Usually I find that returning to the situation with a refreshed mind allows me to see the project in a more helpful light. Overall, just take care of yourself and the rest will follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fuselierillustration.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuselier.doodles/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fuselierdoodles/
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