An Artist’s Journey: Finding Your Own Way in Life with Tobi Ewing

Tobi Ewing is an artist, maker, guide, and so much more. Her work flows between several mediums at the intersection of art, design, and wellbeing, including painting, textile and fiber art, interior design, storytelling, meditation, and body care. Tobi is personally inspired by the possibilities of divine beauty, imagination, and intentional care – and she uses her art to express a desire to rethink the wellness industry.

Growing up as the oldest of three, born to teenage parents, she had the unique experience of feeling like she grew up alongside her parents, while also feeling somewhat like a parent to her two younger siblings. Because her parents had her at such a young age, Tobi had to battle the stigma of being labeled as someone destined for failure from the beginning. She didn’t let outside voices sway her resolve.

Tobi was always creative, even at a young age. That interest first manifested itself through fashion and dance, but both were held as dreams that she never thought she could attain. Dance brought a connection to her body that she had never felt before. And despite never expecting to become a professional in either field, she ended up working at Ralph Lauren in her 20’s.

She opened her first solo gallery, The Reappearing Dream, in 2021, and is now at the helm of her own boutique contemporary studio, Frances Bernice Design Studio. She’s obsessed with the concept of “bringing the gallery home” – how we can interact with contemporary fine art outside of galleries or museums. Her dream is to make art more accessible and believes that exposure to art can change the trajectory of our lives.

It’s a colorful and inspiring conversation that I hope kickstarts your own creative mind into building, writing, painting – making something unique this week.

What Brett asks:

  • [00:35] Can you tell me about your upbringing and family dynamics?
  • [16:50] How did your life experience begin to shape who you are as a young adult?
  • [27:30] How did you get clear on what you wanted to create without judgment?
  • [35:45] How have you learned to make a career out of art?
  • [40:11] What does it mean to explore art beyond the gallery?

 

Lesson for intentional living:  1-2 important lessons from Brett’s POV

  • The assumptions we make about what makes people “bad” aren’t always accurate. Tobi’s parents were teenagers when she was born. This stigma heavily affected not only them, but Tobi as she grew up. But it was the stigma, more than the facts of her upbringing, that brought about those stresses and traumas growing up. As Tobi states, perception is everything. It’s important that we never stop working to gain and understand perspectives that don’t come naturally to us.

 

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