We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carina Tenaglia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carina below.
Carina, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I’ve always been creative, and when I felt called to start my art business, I initially thought of it only as a means for me to create work and sell them to sustain my hobby. As time progressed, and with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I felt called to push myself to really think about the purpose of my art business. Call it an existential crisis, if you will. I thought about finding a way to tie in a philanthropic component to my work. In college, I took a class on social entrepreneurship which focused on ways that businesses could be structured to give back yet remain profitable. In my full time legal practice, I also do a lot of pro bono work. It felt like a natural fit to integrate this into my art practice.
Since spring 2020 I have donated thousands of dollars with each collection launch and through various fundraising initiatives. Each collection has a different theme and supports different non-profits aimed at promoting social justices causes or other humanitarian efforts. My work is meant to both be beautiful and fulfilling in its viewing, but also to achieve beauty and fulfillment through its secondhand efforts. It’s been an excellent way to also crowd source ideas from my online followers to see how we as a community can work together to promote causes we care about, together.
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?
I’m an artist that creates contemporary, often multi-layered, textured, abstract artwork. My work is inspired by social justice initiatives, current events, and many natural and artificial elements that surround us in everyday life. A portion of each of my collection sales are donated to nonprofits aimed at supporting humanitarian and social justice causes.
One of the most exciting things about my work is getting to experiment with different textures, ideas, and media. I try to tie in the themes of my collections and names of pieces with the philanthropic target for each collection, but I also get to jump in any which direction I choose. I also am always excited that everything I do and create is wholly my own — I can look back over the years and measure my progress, growth, and look at my creations without downplaying my role in all of it. I think that’s the really neat thing about being a solo artist entrepreneur!
I have a few art exhibits and pop-ups taking place in the DMV area the next few months. In particular, I’ll be sharing plenty of pop-ups and a new collection between now and the holiday season, as well as my biggest sale of the year (Small Business Saturday weekend). I will also be launching my holiday ornaments, including customizable options, by early November!
All updates are shared with subscribers. Interested parties can sign up for my emails at carinatenaglia.com via the pop-up.
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?
I think patience, flexibility, and discipline have been the three most important qualities for me. Artistic success does not come overnight, and it poses unique challenges. As an entrepreneur of any kind, it’s easy to feel defeated or give into imposter syndrome. I think artists in particular are working in a field that is deemed non-essential (though I would disagree!). It can be hard to find our ideal clients or spend as much time on actual creations as we want, when demands of marketing take up a lot of our time and bandwidth. There are also ever-changing marketing techniques, algorithms, and even pandemics that affect how we share our work with others. These often unanticipated circumstances require us to be adaptable and pivot so we can remain successful. And finally, discipline is critical. Creative block is a real thing. We are not always inspired to create. There are times where ideas don’t work out. It’s easy to throw in the towel or give into frustration. What’s critical is that we remain committed to our craft — even if we need to take a break or change our course a bit. Showing up day after day is what pushes us to grow and be better creatives at the end of the day.
My best advice to anyone looking to become an artist is to simply go for it. The fear that holds you back is exactly the thing that will ultimately push you to create your best work, once you can push past it. You will likely be your own biggest critic, which is just another reason to share your art with the world. Show up for yourself, think big about what you want to accomplish, try new things, experiment, and have faith in yourself. Remember that it will not be easy and there may be frustrating days. Create first and foremost for yourself, and everything else will fall into place.
How would you describe your ideal client?
An ideal client for me is someone who is understanding of my work, my process, and has an appreciation for the overall mission of my business, including my focus on giving back to social justice and humanitarian causes. I have worked with a variety of private collectors for residential and commercial projects, from the smallest to much larger projects. The best ones are always those who are communicative, flexible, and share their love of my work for exactly what it is.
In the last few years I have also worked with several interior design firms and corporate clients who have used my work in spaces such as hotels. I am actively exploring more opportunities like this, and feel like they have been a great fit for the type of work I offer!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carinatenaglia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carinatenagliaart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarinaTenagliaArt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carinatenaglia/
- Other: Pinterest: https://pl.pinterest.com/carinatenagliafineart/
Image Credits
Ian Michelman Carina Tenaglia
