Meet Rosemary Feit Covey

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rosemary Feit Covey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rosemary , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

Confidence for many of us, certainly for me, was something I earned. It was not a sense of worth I carried from a happy childhood. My childhood was filled with discord and every family member suffered to varying degrees from my mothers borderline personality disorder and her inability to regulate her emotions. I had undiagnosed dyslexia. Despite getting into an ivy league university, my parents thought I was mentally and socially inept.

It took years to develop a sense of self and find my strength. In my twenties I felt like I had a black hole in my center, no sense of who I was and how I could fit in the world, I was a mouse! But, the great reward of developing confidence, comes like most things, through hard knocks and then successes. I have always been driven as an artist. I knew my purpose and I worked unrelentingly to pursue my artistic vision. It was a lodestone and has provided me with many rewards that go beyond anything on a resume. The depth of my work ethic provided me with a clarity of mission and a sense of meaning. I have also received outside recognition that has added to this sense of worth. I was widowed at a youngish age and suddenly all decisions were mine. I started with some trepidation but as I made clear and thoughtful choices and they worked out well, more and more confidence was possible. I also found a technique, wood engraving, were the ability to reverse words and shapes made the dyslexia into a positive attribute, rather than I liability.

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 am a printmaker. Trained traditionally I now push the medium into the experimental and visionary. Creating large installations and more nature driven smaller works, that hang in institutional and personal collections. My work is housed in the collections of over forty museums and libraries worldwide. Including the permanent collections of Columbia University, Yale University, Georgetown University and the Papyrus Institute in Cairo, Egypt. I have had art residencies in Finland, Italy and throughout the United States.

Currently, I have been working on a large scale installation called Red Handed.
The work changes meaning depending on context and location and has been displayed in multiple non gallery situations, including Wesley Seminary, the Chautauqua Institute and at Culture Summit 2017 in Abu Dhabi. This summer the art work was reconfigured, to bring awareness to the tragic situation in Sudan. I am also working with a book designer on a letterpress version, of the famed folk tale, The Fisherman’s Wife.

I make my living as an artist, through maintaining a studio at the world famous Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. I have spent most of my life advocating for the artists in this amazing space. I also show more experimental work at Morton Fine Art in Washington, DC. The collaboration with Amy Morton the gallerist has been one of the richest experiences an artist could imagine. She provides artistic support and truly is as passionate as her artist partners.

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?

Passion- Always following ones mission, what drives one to excel, finding a profession that provides personal meaning. Which allows one to endure the inevitable disappointments and failures that are attached to any endeavor worth doing.

Practicality- There is no point in starting anything one cannot sustain because of its lack of viability . It is important to view the world as it is, rather than be embittered because whatever we want to do is not appreciated. Look at life with clear eyes. Do not get a degree in art, incurring debt unless you have family wealth. Or in my case are so driven there is no other way. There are many other means to this end.

Skills – If you still move forward in an impractical field despite the odds, I did!
Then get the skills to make it work. Many artists find ways to be artists that are not traditional but it requires creativity with how one runs ones life, not just creativity making the work.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am always looking for younger people to collaborate with. I have few computer skills and cannot use photoshop. I tried at one time to do a stop animation film using my wood cuts with a student at Maryland Institute. I truly loved the project but the art student did not complete her end of the deal. I stilll would try again. What comes to mind for you? I am picky but love working with others especially scientists. I have also worked with composors dancers and book designers. So looking for those who have talent, skills and ideas of how we could work together and create something beyond our wildest imagining.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rosemaryfeitcovey.com
• Instagram: rosemary covey
• Facebook: rosemary feit covey
• Youtube: rosemary feit covey
• Other: Numerous books and articles check google for links

Image Credits

image credits. Main photo – Chattman Photography . Both other pictures with me in them were photographed by Val Proudki. The photographs of my work are mine.