Life University Staff Council Newsletter Volume 8 Isssue 4 | Page 5

Last quarter, we requested
staff who are also artists to
volunteer to be featured in
this issue of the newsletter.
Three very talented and
very different artists
responded, and here’s
what they had to say. They
submitted photos of their
artwork as well.
LIFE STAFF
Simone Stanley | FELT PORTRAITS
STAFF NEWSLETTER: Please share about your
artwork.
SIMONE STANLEY: I create 3-D portraits made
entirely out of felt material that I call “feltraits,”
a combination of the words felt and portrait. My
company name is called Face 2 Felt Originals. I
came up with this idea in high school when I was
searching for a unique gift to give a graduating
friend. I happened to have some felt lying around
and had the thought to try to shape her face out of
it. That’s where the idea was born. I picked it back
up about six or seven years ago and have been
honing it ever since.
SN: What is your earliest memory of your artistic
expression? What inspired you to create it?
take commission work. I work from photos, or
if someone has a general idea, I’m willing to
brainstorm with them to help bring it to life. I’m
currently working on a commission piece right
now. I have an upcoming show on December 1
called Pancakes and Booze at the Georgia Freight
Depot.
SN: Do you have a website?
SS: Yes, I do. www.face2felt.com
SN: Can we find your art on social media? Handles?
SS: Yes, I do. You can find my art on my Instagram,
which has my newer work and collections,
@face2felt and I also have a FB fan page,
Face 2 Felt Originals.
SN: Do you ever publicly share your art? Where/
SS: My earliest memory of artistic expression When?
was not necessarily mine but my mom’s. She
always tells me the story of how I was two or three
years old, and I drew a vase that was perfectly
symmetrical, one far advanced for a child my age.
As a child in elementary school, I always remember
doodling and writing stories. I originally wanted to
be an author and illustrator of children’s books, but
art won out. I still enjoy writing though. SS: Yes. I share my art when and wherever I get a
SN: What other inspirations have you incorporated
into your artwork as time has gone on?
SS: My inspirations for my feltraits come from
many things. My earlier ones came from
pop culture icons, etc.; I started doing a lot of
recognizable faces so that people could see that I
could achieve their likeness in felt as well. I moved
to some conceptual pieces in the last couple years,
and lately I have been inspired by nature, so I
am doing a lot of bird portraits, roses, etc. in my
newest collections.
SN: Do you sell your art?
SS: I do sell my art. I participate in local shows and
art markets downtown and around the city (some
outside the city and hopefully internationally
one day *fingers crossed*), and I also sell
online via my website and social media. I also
chance. I always say you have to be your biggest
promoter. No one else will share your work like
you will or discuss your work with the amount
of passion that you have. I’m not afraid of the
shameless plug; it’s something you have to do
if you want to be successful as an artist. I have
even gone as far as to share it with the producers
of the hit TV show Shark Tank, which I auditioned
for when they came into town at the Fox Theater
a couple years ago. I didn’t make it on the show,
but I did make it on the evening news when
they highlighted the auditions and some of the
entrepreneurs that stood out. It was a very proud
moment for me. I have the clip under the “Media”
link on my website.
SN: Is there anything else you would like to share
about your art?
SS: My art is definitely my passion and something
I love to share with others. I feel blessed to know
what it is I want to do in life, to have people invest
and spend their hard-earned money on my work
and most of all, to have the encouragement and
support of my friends, family and people I’ve just
met to go after it full force. I’ll leave you with two
of my favorite quotes, ‘When I stand before God
Continued on page 6
LIFE AT LIFE VOL 8. Issue 4
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