Today we’d like to introduce you to Lizzie Disilvestro Hensley.
Hi Lizzie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
For as long as I can remember I’ve had a very strong sense of self and need to express that- the stories my mother tells are hilarious. Growing up in Kansas City I had access to some really incredible art programs through school that I took full advantage of, but when it came time to decide on the next stage of my life, I was definitely afraid of the instability of a career in art might bring. I decided to take my love of people and iron-clad stomach to the University of Tulsa, where I got my Bachelor’s in Nursing.
After finishing school, I was working nights in the Trauma and Neuro ICU, which meant I had to stay up the entire night before my shift. I used this free time to get back to creating, which has always been my source of decompression. I explored abstract painting for the first time and taught myself macrame, simple weaving, and other forms of fiber art. As I began sharing photos of my work, I was getting a lot of positive feedback and realized I had a chance to sell some of my work.
I approached a local interior designer who has a storefront in Tulsa about selling some of my small works and she agreed. A few days later they left a message asking me to call back about the pieces. I was so sure they weren’t doing well or something was wrong with the quality that I waited 4 days before getting the courage to call back. It turns out they had sold out already and were asking when they could get more! Since then, selling my work hasn’t always come as easily, but that was a huge validation for me and opened my eyes to the fact that making money doing something I love is not only super fulfilling but actually possible.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am incredibly fortunate to have maybe the most supportive family ever and a day job that has allowed me free time and flexibility to pursue my passions while still paying my rent and expenses. I say that first to acknowledge that while I’ve worked really hard to get to where I’m at, I am also privileged to have been dealt a lot in life that meant I felt comfortable putting myself out there and taking risks, a luxury a lot of people don’t have. Beyond that though, I’ve always been the one to get in my own way.
My dad talks about this streak of self-doubt that has been present my whole life, with no idea where it came from. Around adolescence and young adulthood, this became real anxiety and depression that I will always deal with on some level. In fact, my dad begged me to go to art school, saying, “You have your whole life to do what you have to do, do what you want right now”, and I just didn’t feel good enough to make it in that world. Artistically this continued with a lot of “imposter syndrome”, self-sabotage, and limiting self-talk. In addition to this, I had no idea how to market myself, the industry terminology, or the basics of business to take myself to the next level.
It might sound harsh to say, but once I acknowledged how not unique my ‘problems’ were, they became a lot easier to tackle. I taught myself everything I could about business finances, marketing, SEO, and being taken seriously as an artist. I started operating as if I’d been doing this successfully for five years already, and when I felt out of my depth, I would take on the persona of the most confident person I know and answer how I thought they would. Over time I realized very few things are actually the end of the world and I’ve become much more comfortable making myself vulnerable.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I create abstract mixed media paintings and bespoke fiber tapestries. I’ve always had a very process-driven practice, knowing that my best work is made when I tap into the mental health benefits of the motions of creation rather than the final physical appearance. Materials are also very meaningful to me. I often mix in different media that act as placeholders for sources of joy or tension, appeal to a different sense, or call to mind a certain memory. Examples of this are ripped denim, dried branches, wallpaper from my childhood home, and words or phrases that tend to ruminate in my mind. The use of these materials makes my work recognizable as my own and allows the viewer to have their own experience with various elements even though they were chosen for their personal connection to my story.
Over the past 2-3 years I’ve worked hard to narrow down my work to what feels most authentic, exciting, and unique to me. Creating these rules or guidelines for myself has helped me cultivate a more cohesive style and say no to opportunities that wouldn’t get me closer to my goals, even if they’d offered extra money at the time. It has also helped me take bigger risks investing in myself and my business, which have almost always paid off. I’m really proud of how I’ve been able to create a professional and recognizable brand while not taking myself too seriously or abandoning authenticity to my personality. I try to be down-to-earth and easy to work with while also operating with the knowledge that I bring value to the table, and I have a responsibility to myself and our family finances to respect that.
I’ve also accomplished a longtime goal of mine recently when I started teaching abstract workshops! For too long I listened to the voice that told me I have no business teaching anything, but preparing to bring a little human into the world made me realize I can and should do more hard things.
What was you like growing up?
Umm… sassy! And very headstrong! I have always known exactly what I wanted and how I was going to get it. My dad tells a story about when my older sister was a baby, he could make her laugh for hours doing the same thing over and over, but when he tried with me, I would laugh for a while until I lost interest and made it clear he was to move on to the next activity. My parents were so incredible at allowing me to express myself with my personal style, even if it meant wearing my bangs tied into 4 different colored scrunchies (my famous piano bangs) or requesting to be a steering wheel or dresser for Halloween. My mom used to say, “Lizzie is every gray hair in my head”, but she always found a way to validate my self-expression without allowing me to turn into a tiny tyrant. For example, my siblings and I went to Catholic school, which meant very strict uniform requirements, even down to haircuts and headbands, starting in the first grade. But while I was in kindergarten, I routinely made my sister late for school because I was spending so long picking out my outfit. After enough demerits, she had to serve detention, and you better believe my mom made my kindergarten self serve it with her. Despite the fact that I was always much smaller than kids my age, I have always taken up space and not apologized for it. Luckily thanks to growth hormone therapy in eighth grade I take up slightly more space now, but I continue to be unapologetic for it!
As far as my interests go there were a lot of starts and stops, like with many kids, as I tried to figure out who I was, but no matter what my latest passion as I was always 100% in. Absolutely anything creative has always sparked my interest to an obsessive degree. That tendency to hyper-focus hasn’t left me, but now I use it to drive an emerging art career that makes money to meet real-life adult needs. As I get ready to have our first child next month, a daughter, I’m pretty terrified of what my parents had to contend with. But I know as challenging as it will be at times, fostering that strong will instead of stomping it out will pay dividends for her sense of self down the road.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LDISILVESTROART.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ldisilvestroart
- Facebook: facebook.com/ldisilvestroart
- Other: https://www.saatchiart.com/ldisilvestro
Image Credits
Samantha Hathaway
