Sell Out is a series by interdisciplinary artist Angela Fama (she/they), who co-creates conversations with individual artists across Vancouver. Questioning ideas of artistry, identity, “day jobs,” and how they intertwine, Fama settles in with each artist (at a local café of their choice) and asks the same series of questions. With one roll of medium format film, Fama captures portraits of the artist after their conversations.

Erin Green (she/her) is visual artist and art educator. Follow her on Instagram (@artbyeringreen), or visit her website at www.artbyeringreen.myportfolio.com.

Location: The Mighty Oak

What do you make/create?

I mostly make paintings and digital art. I also do the occasional mural. I do enjoy dabbling in other art forms and crafting. I like to curate, that runs through all different areas of my life—like my Instagram accounts, I have a few—just putting together random images to create collections. I do that in my home, with everything around me (because I’m a Virgo nerd).

What do you do to support that?

I cultivate a lot of free time. I live cheaply so I have time to create, but also time to find inspiration, go for walks, go swimming, do things that give my brain space to come up with new ideas. I think that’s what supports my art practice the most, just having the time and space for it. Having a daily practice supports it as well. I have friends that are very creative and we support each other, so that’s helpful.

I work, but I’ve built a business where I can work less. I don’t make a lot of money, but I make enough to get by on working a few hours, so I’m able to have time, and for me, time is the most valuable thing.

I’m an art teacher. I teach through my private practice, Children of the Craft, and I’ve been doing that for around 15 years. I instruct through Emily Carr University of Art and Design in the Continuing Studies department; I have several classes that I teach but I usually just teach two classes per semester. I very rarely sell art. Occasionally - lately I’ve been selling a little more than usual - but nothing substantial. 

Describe something about how your art practice and your “day job” interact.

They interact in so many ways. Sometimes they’re interchangeable because I’m teaching art; I’m constantly inspired by my students, especially when giving everyone the same article, or story, to illustrate from and seeing all these different ideas and concepts emerge around the same theme. That’s really inspiring.

Since starting at Emily Carr - I’ve been there for five years or six years now - I’ve noticed that I have to up my game in a lot of ways because I’m teaching my students to have a daily practice, to find their obsessions and really follow those obsessions to the end of the earth, to put in a lot of love. I’ve noticed myself following suit so I’m not just talking shit. I want to have integrity in my position as an instructor. That’s really affected my practice: I’m constantly researching topics, and being engaged, and active; learning about art history, but also about what’s happening now. I think if I wasn’t teaching, I wouldn’t be as “on it.” I might do some research for inspiration, but I think I’d be less inclined to learn about what’s going on in the art world, or what techniques people are using, or different processes. 

What’s a challenge you’re facing, or have faced, in relation to this and/or what’s a benefit?

One challenge is that because I’m teaching art, I feel obliged to share my own work with the students, but a lot of the work I share is old now. I’m always a little embarrassed sharing it. I realize I have to make new work so that I can start showing things that I feel are up to my current abilities, rather than what I could do five or six years ago. It’s a challenge because it’s like a reflection of me as an artist, and I’m going back to work that I normally wouldn’t be looking at anymore. That’s also a good thing because it pushes me. It shows me my trajectory, how I’ve improved, and it keeps me humble. It’s also nice to show students that we can get paid work even when we’re not at our best. That you don’t have to start off knowing your voice, or having your voice and knowing your style exactly, because that takes a really long time. 

Sometimes it can be a challenge to be in a constant collaborative situation, because I’m constantly seeing people's work and it can sometimes muddy up my own work a little bit. Sometimes I’ll have an idea and, at the same time, a student will be making something very similar - and I feel like I have to step back. I’m constantly seeing work, giving feedback, critiquing, so I have to be conscious not to bring that into my own work.

Have you made, or created, anything that was inspired by something from your day job? Please describe.

I recently left a job that I’d had for ten years, where I was an interpreter of astronomy at The Planetarium. I was talking to people about outer space all day. It was an amazing job; while I was working there, I was inspired constantly by what I was learning. Outer space is incredible, it’s beautiful and awe-inspiring. I would use the time I had in between shows to paint. I would paint planets, moons, nebula, the things I was talking about. I wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t been there, in that environment, constantly being inspired. I miss all that paid time to make art! I was called out a few times about it -on occasion, they’d come into the theatre and I’d be in the planetarium, in the dark, during a movie, sitting there painting because it was hard not to.

I just hosted a painting workshop and the participants asked to paint space, which was exciting because when we were painting the nebula, they wanted to know what a nebula was—it’s a star nursery—and I got to explain to them about how stars are born, and how they explode, releasing the atoms that we’re made of, how everything is connected, the fabric of space and time. I was able to blow their minds. It was fun. 

Angela Fama (she/they) is an artist, Death Conversation Game entrepreneur, photographer, musician, previous small-business server of many years (The Templeton, Slickity Jim’s etc.). They are a mixed European 2nd-generation settler currently working on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations.

Follow them at IG @angelafama IG @deathconversationgame or on their website www.angelafama.com