We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Olivia Sawai . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Olivia below.
Olivia , thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
As a young child, I wasn’t much of a risk taker; however I always kept my curiosity in my back pocket and used it as a guide. And as I got older, my curiosity allowed me to embrace taking risks which has served me well as an artist.
I got to exercise this trait to the fullest extent when I decided to leave the education field and teaching career to become a full time artist and muralist in 2020. Being first generation Laotian and Khmer American, it was mandatory to take little risks, stay safe in decisions, and to choose a conventional American path in life to prevent hardships like my family faced during the Khmer Rouge. As much as I respected their protection, I always knew my purpose was bigger than me. I know that my presence here is not supposed to be safe and conventional as a Lao and Khmer woman. My purpose is to represent my culture, my ancestors and my family to the absolute fullest.
Before walking away from my teaching career, I had already began my art career. I had completed big projects and had a solo art show, but just kept it as a hobby. I assumed an art career wasn’t going to be something I could dive into and live off of. However, to be fully transparent, the amount of high stressors that came with being a teacher really started to get to me. I started to question my career, was it fulfilling? Was it going to allow me to grow or even have autonomy? Now, everyone’s journey is different but for me, I couldn’t accept the box I had put myself in at that point. I started to outgrow my environment. Of course, my students were like my children, however I felt like I was robbing them by not enjoying my time there as their teacher.
I had sleepless nights, and the uncertainty of the world didn’t make it better. Overthinking about what would happen financially to me if I quit teaching crippled me, but also liberated me at that same time. I was so conflicted. A daunting feeling of regret started to sit in my body and that was the moment I decided to walk away, take the risk and bet on myself. Taking that leap of faith liberated me. The moment I started to create and share my work with the world, I was growing in ways I had been longing for.
All those moments I took risks and bet on myself, they came with lessons but I never loss. It taught me how to redirect self doubt in growing moments like this. As an artist and woman of color, it’s very important for me to set the tone for the youth. I want to continue to set the example for the youth of my community by just simply being myself and knowing my worth.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a self taught artist and a muralist. My work consists of digital and large scale murals. I have always had a creative side, however I did not start pursuing my art career until 2018. I initially went to school for teaching, but ended up loving the arts and art history.
My work has evolved in various ways. I began as a painter working with acrylic and my work was heavily inspired by Spanish architecture. I played with bold, bright colors in which I still do to this day with my work. Within a year, I had show cased my work in a couple of public spaces and painted my first large scale mural with Starbucks. I was relentlessly creating to keep my hand open and to explore my style. In 2019, I entered the digital world of art and that was when everything changed for me. I began to play with bold color combinations as well as creating and sharing messages within my healing journey. My digital work was well received and helped many people that were simultaneously going through tough times. I’m so honored to be able to help people feel seen and heard.
Right now, I am focused on expanding my work into the community and making genuine connections with people. I have spent a lot of time alone in my art journey and now I feel that it is time to collaborate and continue to build my legacy.
The most exciting thing about what I do is that I get to create with no boundaries. I am really heavy on autonomy and staying authentic to myself. What has been so special about the experience of creating my work is to see how people resonate with it because I have learned that everyone is on their own unique journey and it’s amazing to witness where they are in that moment of connection.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities and skills that are still most impactful in my journey include resilience, consistency and being able to pivot when things don’t work out that way we planned or envisioned. In the creative world, I have learned that things can change so quickly and I’ve had to pivot/think on my feet most times. I honestly do think that’s where the magic happens though. Resilience is such an important quality for me because there will be times of turbulence in your journey, but you have to keep going. I’ve learned that the journey doesn’t get easier when you choose to grow, but you become more experienced that certain situations that would trigger you before, don’t have that much of an effect on you now. And lastly, consistency is extremely important; all the small baby steps matter because they compound over time which leads to big accomplishments.
The advice I have for those early in their journey is to first, have fun. If it isn’t fun, there’s no point in creating. Second, don’t be afraid to bet on yourself, this will support being consistent in your process and journey. Nothing ever passes you when you bet on yourself and choose yourself. Take time to get to know yourself through each process in your journey, there are special moments,
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
The biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months is learning how to love myself in this new chapter in my life. Self love is ever changing and growing if we choose it to be. I think that it’s such a fundamental concept to practice even in your career because we then can elevate ourselves in every aspect even when faced with difficulty.
I have learned that we must love ourselves in different stages of our lives, not only when things are going great in life, but also when we’re facing struggle whether that be externally or internally. Embracing and accepting my flaws allows me to stop being so self critical and to be kind to myself because I am doing my best. When I am not where I intended to be in life, career wise, mentally, physically or emotionally, I have to remind myself that I’m on my way there and good things take time.
Some activities that have helped me lean into self love are journaling, being out in nature and spending time with loved ones who truly support you.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://Sawai.shop
- Instagram: Sawai.co
Image Credits
Photo by @filmdotorg (the one where I’m sitting in the white button up and blue corset)
