Meet Marielle Orr

We were lucky to catch up with Marielle Orr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marielle, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I don’t think that imposter syndrome is something that you truly get over. It’s always lurking in the back of your mind. I have learned to quiet the overwhelming thoughts that come with it by learning to take a step back whenever I have big decisions to make or new projects launching to remember how far I have come already. I take a look at all the things I have accomplished and even take a look at the failures I have endured to remind myself that life is full of ups and downs and this is just another one of them.

I think it is also really important to remember that everyone is kind of going through the same thing, we’re all feeling some sort of unsureness and insecurtiy. Especially when we’re taking that step and putting ourselves and our work out there.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I like to think of myself as a mixed media abstract expressionist, but I do enjoy working with a number of other styles and mediums. I went to university for visual arts and education and have been practising art outside of school for six years. I recently went full time with my art, highly focusing on experimentation and process development. A lot of my work is inspired by the world and my experiences around me. Having grown up in a small town surrounded by nature in Northwestern Ontario my work takes a heavy focus on the natural world and how we as humans interact with it.

I am always working on new paintings and projects to take my work to the next level. As stated above, right now I’m focusing on development and experimentation. I’m diving deeper into how I approach my process and bringing in some new elements to my work. I have a hard time working on one thing at a time so I do have many projects in the works at the moment and am very excited to share them, when the time is right.

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?

When I started selling my art, I never thought I would ever be doing it full time. I always just considered it as somewhat of a side hustle, but here we are. It has definitely taught me a lot about myself and has been a process of trial and error. A lot of failures and projects that didn’t work out, but also many successes and moments to celebrate. Three skills or qualities I would say are the most important that I learned on my self employment journey are; patience, flexibility and of course, good time management.

In attempting to grow my business there were so many times when I wanted things to take off immediately or go viral so I could feel a sense of accomplishment. We live in a society where that instant gratification is craved, but having patience is so important. It helped me to slow down and see the areas where improvement was needed. Slow progress is still better than no progress at all. Not everything needs to be an overnight success, especially when it’s something you care about.

Flexibility kind of goes hand in hand with patience as it taught me the art of pivoting. Failures are not a bad thing, in fact I would not know what I know now, or feel like I know my art the way I do without my failures. I would rather have tried something and have it not worked out than to sit around waiting for the right moment and the right opportunity to come along. You’ll generally be waiting your whole life if you do that. Being able to take those things that didn’t work out, learning from them and being flexible about it, is such an important skill to have.

Time management is one of those things that I did not always have. I was always someone who did things very last minute, “the queen of procrastinating” if you would. I learned pretty quickly, especially when I was working a full time job and running my art business, that I needed to properly manage my time. It makes life so much easier when you make a plan and follow it. Of course there will be times when things don’t always work out but in general having good time management will save your butt a lot.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I don’t think that there is any one person in particular that has helped me overcome challenges or helped me with skill development along my journey. There have been so many inspiring people and also some not inspiring people in my life that have helped get me to where I am today. It really does take a village, and I think that surrounding yourself with good supportive people who are in your corner really helps. There are so many ups and downs in building your business, so I truly do think that having people that can fill different roles makes the journey a lot smoother.

That being said there are definitely some really important people that I think are worth mentioning. My amazing husband who has been there for me for it all. Through the big decisions to all the little things that help make my day easier, he really is a super star. My parents and my family who helped raise me to go after my dreams and to be there for me when things get hard. And of course all my amazing friends that I have made throughout the years. The ones who support and celebrate me without competition.

I have also had some pretty amazing mentors in my life that have taught me some really valuable skills in business, life and art. Some pretty amazing people in the arts and as business owners who I have had the pleasure to work with and learn from.

So, like I said it really isn’t just one person, and it also isn’t just the people who have had positive impacts on my life. I truly have learned from the ‘not so nice’ people as well. It’s all about learning from everyone and every experience you encounter and continuing to grow and learn and be better every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://marielleartaf.com
• Instagram: marielle.v.studios
• Facebook: Art.AF

Image Credits

Lucas Augustyn – Personal Photo Photographer