Riley Sheehey
Riley Sheehey is a prolific multimedia artist and textile designer based in Northern Virginia. Her work spills with enthusiasm and a childlike joy, and she is as passionate about her work as she is in sharing her best practices to those trying to do the same. A full time artist since 2017, we spoke with Riley about her creative journey from school teacher to professional artist, her strategies for tackling a client brief, and how lucky she feels for getting her foot in the door on social media.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN ART? WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALIZE YOU WERE AN ARTIST?
Yes! I have loved art for as long as I can remember, and spent a lot of my childhood drawing and making things.
“I credit my mom for making me believe very early on that I was an artist, long before it was my full–time job!”
She has always loved art, and ran a Famous Artist program with the PTA at my school from the time I was in school to the time that my sister, who is ten years younger than I am, was in school – she taught me about different artists, mediums, and processes, and taught me to most importantly always be curious.
HOW DID YOU START THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TEACHER TO FULL TIME ARTIST?
I had a wonderfully supportive principal who helped me transition my teaching schedule from full-time to part-time, which gave me a few months to see what my day–to–day would look like as a full time artist. My (now)–husband and parents helped me look at my finances to make sure that I could make enough to pay my bills, and once I had six months of pay saved up and saw I could make it work, I spoke with my principal again, finished out the school year, and went full–time in June 2017!
HOW HAS YOUR CRAFT CHANGED AND EVOLVED?
It has changed so much! When I first started out working professionally as an artist, I worked almost only in watercolor, and most of my workload was comprised of personal commissions and wedding work. Over time, I’ve branched out a lot into different mediums, and have slowly but surely been able to build more and more time into my practice to create more personal work and design textiles.
“While I no longer offer custom work, I am so grateful for the opportunity that doing so allowed me to really hone in on my watercolor skills and practice, practice, practice!”
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MEDIUM TO WORK WITH?
It changes so often!
“While watercolor will probably always be my number one, I have so enjoyed experimenting with block printing over the past year, and have even started trying out oil painting just for fun.”
There is so much out there, and I feel like I’m just now breaking through the surface!
WALK US THROUGH YOUR OFFICE SET UP! WHAT SORT OF ENVIRONMENT DO YOU LIKE TO WORK IN?
I am actually finally redoing my office set–up, something that has been long overdue since I moved into my house five years ago (I work out of my home!). My ideal working environment has a lot of light, a space for all my art books/knick knacks, and a space with (somewhat) organized archives and projects I am working on. I love working out of my home because I’m able to work whenever I can fit it in, which is more and more important as my daughter grows!
YOU’VE GROWN A DEDICATED SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING. WAS THERE A BIG MOMENT THAT HELPED BOOST YOUR AWARENESS OR DID YOU BUILD YOUR FOLLOWING SLOWLY OVER TIME?
I think it was very slowly overtime, but I also think I had a real advantage.
“I started posting my artwork to Instagram in 2014, and back then, I was able to use things like hashtags and tags that really helped with visibility.”
I feel like it’s gotten much more difficult to boost awareness through social media alone, as platforms like Instagram have grown and changed so much over the past decade. I honestly feel like I just barely got my foot in the door, and I feel very lucky that I did!
HOW HAS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?
“I have loved connecting with art lovers and collectors via social media. It’s fun to see what resonates with people, and often, it really surprises me!”
I have especially loved connecting with different artists over social media. While I only have one actual co-worker, my studio manager, I’ve been able to make virtual–ish co–workers through “meeting” other artists. It can be a very supportive community, and I’m really grateful to have found the people I have!
Tabletop capsule collection designed by Riley Sheehey in collaboration with Moda Operandi
YOU’VE PARTNERED WITH MANY BRANDS FROM DANTE TO MODA OPERANDI. HOW DO YOU APPROACH ECAH NEW PARTNERSHIP TO ENSURE IT FEELS UNIQUE TO THAT BRAND?
This is such a great question, and I feel like it really hits the nail on the head re: partnerships!
“For me, the most important thing is to make sure that I have a really good understanding of the brand.”
And, that comes with connecting with the people behind that brand, and asking as many questions as I can to find out more about what they do, and why they do it. I also think it’s super important to make sure that each party is bringing something valuable to the table – and it’s really important for the partnership to make sense! If I love the brand and the people behind it, and we get along really well, and we can both bring something to the partnership that’s unique and special, then it’s going to be a good one!
DO YOU HAVE A CREATIVE PROCESS OR ARE YOU LED BY INTUITION?
A little of both!
“I love lists, note-taking, moodboards, etc., and jot down any ideas I have almost compulsively, but sometimes if an idea strikes randomly, I like to just dive right in!”
Mirror collaboration designed by Riley Sheehey in collaboration with Fleur Home
ARE THERE ANY ARTISTS OR CREATIVE MINDS THAT INSPIRE YOU AND YOUR WORK?
My goodness, so many!! Lately, I’ve been saving a ton of posts by @moore.christopher , @petri_prints, @parvumopus , @maison_flaneur and @torimellott.
YOU HAVE AN ADORABLE YOUNG DAUGHTER. HOW HAS BECOMING A MOTHER INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?
Thank you so very much!! She is the best (I know all mothers think that about their children, but I really do feel so darn lucky).
“Watching my daughter play, learn, and be curious has taught me to do the same as an artist.”
And I know it probably sounds cliche, but as a business owner, being a mother has taught me to not sweat the small stuff. The most important thing is my family, and they’re doing okay, everything else is going to be okay, too.
Hand–painted floral alphabet created for a Courtland and Co.’s embroidered linens
YOUR WORK IS SO COLORFUL AND JOYFUL. HOW DO YOU STAY INSPIRED DURING THE COLD WINTER MONTHS?
Thank you so much!! Honestly, a lot of books!
“I have been buying so many art books lately, and have enjoyed getting lost in them when I’m feeling a little blah.”
I love Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration, but am always trying to remember that anything that I’m seeing on there, a lot of other people are seeing too, and so collecting and reading as many art books as I can has been really helpful.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS? IF YES, WHAT ARE SOME RESOLUTIONS THAT YOU’VE MADE OVER THE YEARS THAT HAVE HELPED REFOCUS YOUR WORK?
I absolutely believe in New Year resolutions – which I know is kind of an unpopular opinion, ha! I jot them down in the notes section of my phone, and usually don’t share them (because I don’t want to feel like a failure when I inevitably don’t follow through with half of them!).
“Overall, I just want to approach things this year slowly and intentionally.”
As someone who typically tries to handle new beginnings with a “hit the ground running” approach, I’ve learned more and more over the past year that the best things take time, and that there’s no need to rush.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
I am really excited for the coming year! I am about to start working on my first original artwork collection for 2023, “Tapestry”– it’s a bit of a continuation of a series I launched this past September, and it’s going to be a lot of fun, I think. We also are planning a sample/archive sale in March – my studio manager, Catherine, has taken the lead on putting together a ton (I think maybe almost 100?) pieces of artwork from 2014 through today that will be available, and I hope that people are really excited about it!
