Today we’d like to introduce you to Feryal Ahmad.
Feryal, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always been artistically inclined since I was a child. When I was in college, I wanted to pursue a creative career, but felt that sticking to business would be more practical – that’s just what society expects of you right? So, I decided the happy middle ground of the creative world and business world would be pursuing a career in marketing. I went and earned a BA in Marketing and an MBA. I worked in Oil & Gas marketing for almost 10 years. I was a graphic designer, an event manager, a project manager, and had several corporate hats over the years.
When my kids were born, I realized juggling the hardships of the corporate world with two baby girls 11 months apart in age was not feasible for me anymore. I began to struggle to keep up and realized I didn’t want to hustle in the corporate world anymore.
I finally listened to my husband who had been suggesting to me for years to try a more family-centric career and become a teacher. Somehow, my mind wasn’t convinced that being a teacher was for me until I observed an elementary art teacher and fell in love with what I saw. I could not believe what he was doing was a “job.” Fast-forward a year later, I found myself in my very own classroom also as an elementary art teacher.
I discovered how much I enjoyed teaching children art, and how much I enjoyed being in an environment where I was allowed to let my creative juices flow with no restrictions.
Around the same time, I had moved into a new home and was on a mission to redecorate. I have always been pretty hands on and DIY with interior design and let my creative juices continue to flow in my own home decor! I discovered a painting by a local artist that I fell in love with and wanted for my own home, but I could not afford. I decided to try to make a painting for my home myself. I was successful and it was positively received by all who saw it. I was encouraged many times to make more and sell them. One painting after another, I noticed that there was something that people where appreciating about my paintings.
I began submerging myself into social media and followed several artists and watched their work. Inspired by several artists and dreaming up concepts in my sleep, I began to create paintings every weekend for clients and was booked for months at a time.
Today, it has been a little over a year that I have been doing custom paintings. I specialize in abstract art, alcohol inks, islamic art, and have now been created giant geodes. My style seems to be very ZGallerie and High Fashion Home inspired.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being a custom artist is fun by all means, but here’s the challenge – I am still a mom to two elementary school children. I still have a lot of responsibilities as a wife and mom, as a lot of people do. I also have a full-time job as an art teacher. While I enjoy doing all of the above, I do get worn out and sometimes just need to sit on the sofa with my legs up on the coffee table and unwind with my favorite pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream. Maybe one day, in the future, I may think about going full-time as an artist, but for now, I feel very blessed with life as it is. Not everybody gets the opportunity to do something that they truly love and I have learned that after 10 years of struggling through the demands of the corporate world, as cliche as it sounds, I finally feel like I have purpose in life and I am doing something meaningful that is making not only myself happy, but I am sharing art and my wisdom of the arts to the world and possibly molding little children to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. I truly believe when you are passionate about something you will find away to make it successful. Nothing in life is handed to you on a silver platter, you have to work for things that bring you meaning and value. “The struggle is real.”
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Art by Feryal – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
It’s only been a little over a year since I have been working as a custom artist, but I am proud to know my efforts in marketing myself have made me well-known in several art and decor communities. I think what sets me apart from others is my ability to be innovative. My corporate marketing background has taught me how to market myself as an artist and has taught me to use the tools of social media as my platform for growth in my business. My constant research in art trends and love for interior design allows me to combine various ideas together and create myself little niches in which I am one of few providing a product that may not be readily available in comparative markets. For example, my ability to combine my love for the alcohol inks and my appreciation for Islamic calligraphy allows me to be one of very few in the Islamic market who creates such artwork. I know, in the Houston market, I am the only one who has well marketed myself in this niche. Further, my new inspiration for creating large scale geodes is also something that I am currently working on tying in back to Islamic calligraphy and creating pieces that are unique to local competing markets. I try my best to make sure my pieces are statement pieces that will tie in with today’s home decor trends. I follow several gurus in the design industry and make sure to stay well informed on current trends, classics, and what my market of clients would be interested in purchasing.
Further, I am researching alternative revenue streams for my business and will be expanding to create workshops in the summertime in which I can teach adults and children how to create art. I definitely help to have the label of a certified Texas art teacher in that area!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I feel blessed to be serving the Houston market. It’s diverse, its open to different and new concepts, and the demographic that my clientele is made up off is quite design savvy and appreciates the arts. I am slowly expanding my business to the outside of Houston, as I receive several inquiries for commissioning pieces in other cities.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_by_feryal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyferyal/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
