Serena Standley, Creative Artist, Serendipity Art Eire
Hello! I'm Serena, the creative artist behind Serendipity Art Eire. I originally came to Ireland to study voice and music, then I met the love of my life and found myself truly at home here in Cork. I've been here for fifteen years now, and I continue to be in love with the people, the culture, and the music and art! As a trained musician and choir conductor, I spend my days immersed in music. When Covid hit and the first lockdown was imposed, I found my primary form of self-expression, music, had been temporarily suspended by the events unfolding in the world. Going from singing every day, directing multiple choirs, directing musicals, and constantly performing to not singing or directing or performing at all was a huge adjustment for me. I've always loved art, and I decided to try a painting class online. I loved it, and it brought back great memories of creating visual art, which I used to do a lot of when I was younger.
Better yet, those around me loved my art too, and it brought them joy! Gasp! Lightbulb! I had found a way to express myself, creating and doing something I love using bright, bold colours, all while bringing others joy too through sharing the finished art online. People's reactions blew me away. And then I started getting queries about buying my artwork and would I make prints… and suddenly I realized that my visual art had become a huge, important part of my self-expression and my way of connecting with others. Serendipity, a happy accident. And so, I created Serendipity Art Eire to share the joy I've found in my art with everyone around the world! Each piece of art is handmade with love by me and is completely unique (one of a kind). Serendipity Art Eire is unique, joyful art that will bring a pop of colour to your life!
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Instagram and Facebook have to be my favourite social media platforms as they are the ones I am on most frequently (posting daily) and that I know how to use fairly well! Social Media is a fabulous way to connect with people from all over the world.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
As a music teacher, choir director, and vocalist, I found it quite difficult to adjust to life without performance when the lockdowns began due to the pandemic. I struggled with the lack of interaction and expression. The lack of connection with people. Through my art, I found I was able to not only express myself but also connect with people. It truly was a life-changing discovery for me. Through creating bright, colourful paintings and sharing them online, I found that I was connecting not only with people in my community here in Cork but with people all over Ireland, and then, I found myself connecting with people all over the world!
It was truly feeding my heart and soul, hearing how much people found joy and inspiration in my art. Sending my art off in the mail, knowing that it would be the highlight of someone's day when they received it in the post, was actually quite magical. It felt like I was playing Santa! The process of creating new pieces and exploring new mediums has been a wonderful adventure for me over these past few months, and I'm very excited to be continuing my journey creating new art full time now through my shop Serendipity Art Eire with Crafters of Ireland! My husband helped build me a little art studio space so I can work away happily at home, and it is one of my absolute favourite spots to spend my time! I love being creative.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I love being creative with no boundaries, no rules, and no limitations placed on me. With art, you can literally make whatever is in your mind. There is no off-switch, nothing that can't become, so long as you put paint to canvas or pencil to paper, whatever comes out of you is an expression of what's inside you. I love that. I feel completely free when I make my art.
At the moment, I love watercolours (I adore the shimmery and neon ones), and I really love creating with pastels too. I find the exploration of different mediums very exciting. Art really is limitless both in its concept and creation. It brings me great joy (and the best part is that the finished creation will bring that joy into someone else's life when they hang it on their wall or give it as a gift to someone special)!
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I have ever received is to just 'go for it!' My parents always told me as a small child and all throughout my life that if I could dream it, I could do it, and I should always just 'Go for it!' When I met my husband, he said the same thing, 'honey, just go for it!' So, that's what I have always done in my life. If I am passionate about something, I'll just put my head down, pour my heart into whatever it is, and just go for it!
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
My biggest inspiration is my family and my friends. They have always been my support through thick and thin, and they have always believed in me no matter what it was I was trying to accomplish. I find great inspiration in my parents and their amazing relationship; they have always shown me what it means to really love. My motivation is to always bring happiness and joy to others. I try to do this through my art, through my music, through my teaching, and I find it to be the most satisfying thing I can do with my time. I love to see those around me happy and content, growing and learning, and trying to make the world a better place in whatever small way we can.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I am very proud of my accomplishments as a music teacher and business owner, having opened my own music studio recently, as well as being a musical director of two amazing choirs. My students and choirs have won multiple awards throughout the years, and I have always been very grateful for the journey I have gotten to take with them; each student and choir member's progress and success is a win for me.
I have absolutely loved seeing my students and chorus members growth over the years. I really love being an educator and have enjoyed developing and teaching my special MusicArtly Painting Club sessions online to art students of all ages. I have combined my two loves, music and art, and have developed these classes where we learn about and get inspired by musical work and then create a piece of art based on it.
Creating Serendipity Art Eire has been a big highlight of my life as I have been so blown away by the support I have received and the lovely compliments of people wanting my creations in their homes! I am also very proud to be a Gold Medal National Champion Vocalist, having won the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers Mixed Quartet Competition with my Quartet Guys & Dolls three times and our International Bronze Medal win with the Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Nothing beats meeting people in person and having a good chat, but I suppose many things have had to change with the way we socialize now due to covid restrictions in place. I have found Instagram and Facebook to be incredible resources for networking, meeting other artists and like-minded individuals from all over Ireland and beyond via social media. Zoom has also been an incredible resource, as I am able to take and deliver classes online, have meetings, or just stay in touch with my wonderful family all the way in California!
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
My parents gave me great confidence as a kid, and that has really helped me in this life. I have never been too afraid to pretty much throw myself into whatever and give it a go. I am grateful that growing up, my family always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, so I never allowed anyone to stop me from trying as I knew I always had the support of my family behind me.
I think that has been an essential quality, self-confidence. Especially in the creative world, I have immersed myself in. With music and art, not everyone will like what you do, how you sound, what your painting looks like, but you just have to do it anyway. You have to keep creating and keep putting yourself and your work out there because not everyone will like it, and that's ok. Believing in yourself is really the only thing you can control once your work is out there, so you just have to be confident in what you put forward. I am grateful that my husband and my family are very supportive, as that really helps me to be confident in what I do.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I wish I had known not to say yes to everything that came my way. Then you start out in any creative field, be it music or art, when jobs or projects or really anything comes your way; you take it because you aren't sure when or if the next thing will come your way. I wish I had known at the start of my career that it's ok to say no to things. It's only been very recently that I have started doing that, and I am so much happier. Stress is not conducive to creativity, and I have found that in saying no to certain things, I have freed up not just time but also headspace to be better at the things I am doing and the things I want to do.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
I love the limitlessness of the art and music world. Just when you think you have seen it all, you realize that there is something new to see and hear! I love that people all over the world are constantly creating and that there will always be new and exciting art to see and music to hear because people really are limitless in what they are capable of. I am very fond of the camaraderie I have felt in the Irish Art and Craft community. I have felt so welcomed by my fellow artists, and it has been wonderful to 'meet' so many via social media platforms. I am really looking forward to meeting them all in real life soon at art and craft fairs, hopefully!
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Outside of art and music, I really love spending time with my husband, family, and friends. Going for walks, visiting the cinema, shopping, one of my favourite things is hosting board game nights (scrabble anyone?), and of course food, food, food! I am a passionate veggie, and I adore everything having to do with food. Looking up recipes, reading cookbooks, shopping for ingredients, cooking it, we are big foodies! I also love gardening, especially organic veg, herbs, and edible flowers. I could spend hours in the garden fussing over my little plants. Reading is my other love, and I have a huge stack of books right next to the bed, so I can always be sure I've got something to read each night!
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
It is awful what has happened around the world to so many people, so many lives lost, and so many businesses ruined. I have missed my parents and family back in California so very much as I have not been able to see them for two an half years now. But I know that in so many ways, I have been extremely lucky. The pandemic allowed me to slow down. The lockdowns forced me to stop and rethink my life, the path I was heading down.
I was working so many long hours prior to the pandemic, literally working myself to hospitalization at points. The first lockdown stopped everything, and in doing so, gave me time to stop and re-evaluate my goals for this one life I get to live. The pandemic allowed my husband and I to have real, quality time together, just the two of us and gave us an opportunity to think about the future.
I was very lucky that I had built my own studio for teaching music prior to the pandemic, and I was able to teach online from it during the lockdowns, thank goodness. Once I started teaching from my own little studio and working from home, I realized it was something I could do. It was a huge eye-opener. I feel very lucky that I can be self-employed, running both my Music Studio and my Art Studio from home going forward.
I am grateful to have the support of my students and customers, who have been so wonderful throughout this whole pandemic. I know that I am very lucky to be coming out of this pandemic with a clear goal and with the possibility for my small business to grow, and for that, I am so grateful.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I have been really lucky to have had many amazing teachers throughout the different stages of my life whom I would consider my mentors, Michelle Brown, Traci Tornquist, Barbara Solbalvarro, Susan Stuart, and Mary MacSweeney, have all been great sources of inspiration to me throughout my life, always encouraging me to be creative, push myself, stay true to myself, and to never give up. I feel that I do my very best to give my own music and art students the encouragement and skills that my own teachers gave to me.
I have many very special students, all of whom I adore and who I am very lucky to teach, but I must give a mention to Amelia O'Halloran, one of my most dedicated and truly gifted students. She reminds me so much of myself, her love of the creative process, practising her songs and exploring her art, wanting to get everything just right, even at her age (she is thirteen now), she understands that talent can only take you so far, that you have to work hard too (and she works so hard).
I have been her teacher (and friend) for many years now, and she always exceeds my expectations at every turn. I can see that the world is very clearly, her oyster, and I am excited to see what she does in the future, delighted that I'll be there each step of the way!
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Just go for it! Don't hold yourself back. If you truly love what you do, then you'll never work a day in your life. And life is just too short to waste it. Do some research, get some guidance and training in whatever it is you want to do, and then go for it. Believe in yourself.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
I think that sometimes our biggest enemy is ourselves. The little voice in our head that says we can't do something needs to just shut up, really. If you tried really hard and you still failed, at least you know you went for it. There is no shame in failing if you really did try your best.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I have to give a shout out to Crafters of Ireland. They really have the artist and crafter at the heart of what they do. Bernie has been a wonderful resource for me as an artist just starting out, and I have found the website extremely helpful for bringing customers to my new online store. I am delighted to be a member of such a select group of creative people from all over Ireland, and it has been a fantastic way to get word of my art out there and my business growing.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
To me, success is loving what I do, feeling content at the end of each day, while also being able to pay my bills at the same time! I have always been a creative person, and I knew growing up that I would have to make my living doing something in the creative field. It is no surprise to anyone who knew me as a child that I now spend my days making music (be it teaching or performing) and making art!
Creating things and performance have always been my passion, and I am so happy to spend my time being truly authentically myself. I love that every day is different from the last. The biggest lesson I have learned in my life is that you must stay true to who you are no matter what, and you have to surround yourself with people who love you, for you. I am so lucky to have a supportive husband and family who believe in me and who have not only supported me in my creative endeavours but encouraged me to pursue them.