Liberian born felt artist Simone F. Stanley has an intriguing backstory. At the age of five, Simone was forced to flee her homeland because of an erupting civil war! Like a lot of artists, her mother was the first person to recognize Simone's artistic gifts. Even during the midst of an abrupt upheaval, Stanley's mother gave the fertile soil of her young daughter's creative mind plenty of water and sunlight. After a lot of moving around and other challenges associated with crash landing in a new CONTINENT, Simone finds herself in 2017 at the razor edge of the Atlanta art scene!
Simone describes her process this way: "It all begins with a simple snapshot… I examine the pictures of my subject, really taking note of the prominent and least prominent features. I start out with a one-dimensional drawing and transfer it to the felt. The 3-D aspect of my work is what brings my “feltraits” to life, so it’s important to me to make those core features pop by using several layers of felt. After this, it’s time to refine. A little snip at the nose because the nostril is too big or maybe even cutting a new one because it’s too small, widening the eyelids, or even moving up the mouth if only by a fraction of a centimeter. These tiny things make all the difference. I then paint and shade. A lot of times these things are done after everything is glued, shaded and I “think” I’m finished. Honestly, I rarely ever get it right the first time. I rework it as many times as I need to to get it perfect, obsessively comparing what I’ve created to the picture I’m working from. It’s not as easy as going back and just erasing or painting over. Because of my medium, it’s a lot more involved and truly time and labor intensive."
On a beautiful afternoon in Atlanta GA, Simone took some time to talk about literature, her process, and the challenges involved with being a young talent.
TNE: What's the last great book you read?
Simone Stanley: The last great book I read, hmm, I’ve read some great books this year, but one that stood out would be "The Five Second Rule" by Mel Robbins. This book basically explains how whenever we have an inclination to do something, whether it’s a task to complete on a goal, or maybe an impulse to talk to someone we just encountered, our brains our designed to kill it within five seconds by making the task seem so much bigger than it is because our brains our designed to keep us comfortable. Anytime we want to do something that takes us out of our comfort zone, our brain will send out signals, warning to “abort mission” but if we use the five-second rule. We can beat this by ACTING before our brain does it by counting backward from 5. The act of counting puts us in action and then counting backward gets us to focus. Once you hit the number one, just do it, don’t think about it just do it. The book breaks down the actual science and gives so many scenarios and situations which this rule can be used in. The author used it to fight her anxiety which she’d been on medication for twenty years and get out of a slump, and she gives many other testimonies of people who have used this rule and found success in just about every area of their life. I got it on Audible as an audiobook and was finished in 3 days.
TNE: Sounds incredibly interesting. I always love to learn new things about the mechanics of consciousness. Creativity is another aspect of humanity that has daunted thinkers since antiquity. What does “being creative” mean to you?
Simone Stanley: Being creative to me means going off feeling and impulse more than thinking hard about it. Don’t get me wrong, I have to think of my art when it comes to layering and how I want it to look, but I try and just go with my gut more on what should pop out, what should be in the background, background color scheme, etc. We use our brains for everything else in life, but I think when it comes time to making art, whether it be visual, music, theater, going more with your flow will benefit you more as well what you are creating. And it’s just easier to let go and do what comes naturally.
TNE: Your style is unique and visually engaging. The layers and texture in your work have a way of seducing the viewer. Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?
Simone Stanley: I’d like to explore using Resin. I’ve watched process videos of other artists creating works, and the result is always amazing, plus the process looks pretty cool too. Hot but cool. Lol
TNE: What’s the worst advice you have ever received about how to be an artist?
Simone Stanley: I can’t really recall any horrible advice I’ve received. Everyone I’ve ever asked or received advice from has always meant well, so even if I haven’t quite taken it because it may not have been for me I always appreciated it.
TNE: Oh I am sure there was some bad advice somewhere along the line. I can dig being positive though - it's a beautiful day out. I will give you a pass on that one. Where do you generate your ideas for new compositions? What is the most challenging aspect of your process?
Simone Stanley: I generate ideas from everywhere. When I first started out, I did a lot of celebrities and pop culture icons to show people that I could achieve their likeness in feeling. I’ve moved to more conceptual stuff, but lately, I’ve been capturing my love for nature in my pieces with my bird and flower series. The most challenging aspect of my process is just the amount of detail and time that it needs because I’m actually drawing my subject matter, then cutting it out of the felt, shaping it, layering it, gluing it, making it 3d, being accurate with the form, THEN, painting it as opposed to just drawing and painting. And in addition, mounting it. For my big pieces, that includes an electric drill, canvas boards to make it pop out of the frame and screws.
TNE: What's your art-world pet peeve?
Simone Stanley: My art world pet peeve would probably be something every artist experiences; when someone inquires about pricing, you write a long paragraph about price points, sizes, etc. and then nothing back. I understand people are on a budget, and sometimes your prices just don’t fit, but I think people should give the courtesy of actually responding back with thanks, but I’m not able to move forward or something to that effect. We’ll understand.
TNE: Yeah I am a creative too, and pricing is probably one of the more difficult functions involved with being an artist. We will get you out of here on this one. If you were given unlimited resources and could work on an art project you could dream up - what would you do?
Simone Stanley: I feel like what I do now is already pretty innovative, but I can think of where I do it. I would use those resources to purchase studio space in the city with a massive amount of lighting. Right now all the “magic” happens in the living room of my one bedroom apartment. I think I could be inspired even more if I didn’t have to worry about tidying up or staining my hard wooded floors with paint every five seconds lol.
TNE: Thanks for sharing with us Simone
Find out more about Simone Stanley below:
Website: face2felt.com Facebook: face2felt IG: face2felt