Meet Julie Fazooli | Multi-Disciplinary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Fazooli and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what do you attribute your success to?
Community is EVERYTHING when it comes to the success of my brand – and it’s also the main motivator that pushes me to constantly keep creating as an artist. When I first started out as a multi-disciplinary creative, I had no idea what I was doing. It took many years of trial and error to figure out how I would have to go about to create a successful business model – and if it weren’t for the incredible support of the community around me, and the amazing connections I’ve made along the way that have encouraged, educated, nurtured, and enlightened me in the various facets of running a creative business, I don’t think I would have made it very far.

They say “it takes a village” – and they couldn’t be more accurate in that statement. Artists need an entire network of support to enable them to thrive in society – they can’t exist in an insulated environment and expect to be profitable. I tend to look to the people that surround me to inspire new ideas, help me get my work promoted in many different environments, teach me the ins and outs of running my business – what works, what doesn’t, and what is possible. To be able to remain open to learning and collaborating and letting go of full control over your creative business, and let people into your life to help enhance what you’re doing, is so integral to success as an artist. If you can’t immerse yourself into your community – and find that reciprocal balance that will help you grow, you’re dead in the water. I live by the love of community over competition – there’s so much room for everyone to evolve and succeed if we help lend a hand and pull each other up. Even if I work alone most of the time – together we are stronger.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I never thought I’d become an artist. I studied art quite a bit and drew extensively in my youth, but when high school ended, I pursued a career in Television & Film instead, and after a quite long and fruitful career, I found myself settled into adulthood with all of the expected goals ticked off – the house, the marriage, the stable job – and one day, a massive sweep of layoffs forced me to consider a new career path. I wasn’t overly stoked about learning to be a Graphic Designer at first – I felt like I had failed at my initial career, but quickly realized that I had left behind a really intensely stressful world that I just didn’t want to keep up with anymore. I dove headfirst into design, without too much consideration, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

The catalyst for my transformation as an artist, began in 2013 when I went through a catastrophic divorce. Everything in my life had completely blown apart – I lost my husband who had tragically fallen into substance abuse, the beautiful house, and I was laid off from my stable job. I felt like I had hit rock bottom. I didn’t know what to do, so I randomly changed my name on social media to “Julie Fazooli” to hide from my past self, and decided to take a few months off to regroup and learn to heal and find my true self again – the person I was before life had taken me off-track – I started writing the novel that I always wanted to get out of my head, I started my freelance graphic design business called Abominable Ink, that grew quite quickly and gave me the chance to work for myself for the first time. I started tinkering with art again, just casually, and created a night at my place where my friends could come and relax and we could work on our individual projects together, because I found it was more motivating to get things done with people around. The beautiful and unexpected outcome of these art nights, was the growth and support that we gave each other – we all started sharing our stories and ups and downs, we helped each other overcome obstacles, shared insights on creative ways to enhance each others’ work, teach each other new techniques and very quickly, all of us began to start selling our work, and finding ways to incorporate it into our lives as a regular practice. We grew and we healed together and we all found our individual voices.

As my artistic practice grew – and theirs as well – we all started growing in different directions with creative careers. My studio became so full of equipment and art supplies, and I got so busy with events and freelance work, that I couldn’t host art nights anymore. I was given the opportunity to run the first Punk Rock Flea Market in Canada, and started branching out from there, vending at different types of markets and festivals all over the place, getting my name out there. And that’s where it really all began – over the course of the next few years, the name “Fazooli” had turned into a brand. It hasn’t been easy – most of it has been a major struggle to get to where I am today – but the rollercoaster was necessary, and without all the tragedy, without all the little gains over time, I would never have had the fortitude or strength to push past my limits and evolve into the force of nature I know to be today.

Over the years I’ve really learned to tap into my intuition – there’s a lot of people out there who are super nice but want nothing more than to take advantage of you. I’ve learned to say “no” whenever there’s a shred of doubt – to walk away to anything that isn’t “f#$& yes” energy. To only take on the projects and events that I love, and leave behind those that are stressful or anxiety-inducing. If it doesn’t make me happy, and it’s not fun, I’m not doing it. And with every door I close, five more open that are far more profitable. So I follow my gut more often than not, and go with the ebb and flow of what I attract, instead of chasing. What is meant for me comes easily now – with a grateful heart and enormous love for my community, I’ve found my place finally, and really thrive in a reciprocal environment where love and support keeps me thriving.

My art is a reflection of myself – as it should be with any artist – and I have a really eclectic style that kind of embodies some of my favourite things. I mainly focus on two styles of art – typographical humour, and hand-drawn graphite illustration that is composed in a digitally painted collage. It’s a beautiful balance between the tactile feel of pencil on paper, then scanned into a digital world of photographical textures and effects, mainly using Photoshop to assemble and bring them to life in full colour.

I love animals and people’s stories so very much – so I combine them to create what I call “Humanimals”. They’re anthropomorphized versions of people in my community – animal heads on people’s bodies, accompanied with a back story for each one, depicting who they are. I try to take elements from people around me and create composite characters with really compelling stories that anyone can identify with. Animals are always better than humans – and these are the people I come across and am the best of friends with.

I also am a huge fan of both tattoo art and food – most of my friends are chefs or work in hospitality, and I have a bunch of friends who are tattoo artists, so I bridge the gap by creating “Foodie Flash” – flash tattoos of my favourite foods. These are always super fun and I get to make a lot of food puns with them – I love to see people’s faces light up and hear the laughter when they read what’s written on them. Making people laugh is probably one of my favourite things in the world that makes my heart go SQUEEE!

I sometimes draw animal skulls – skulls and bones have always been fascinating to me, and incorporate a lot of natural elements like flowers and feathers and stones to weave a bit of visual alchemy and an ethereal witchy vibe. There’s something really primordial about wanting to bind these elements together, and I often wonder if there’s something innately inside of me that was passed down by my elders that brings this need to create visual magic to the forefront of this work.

Weirdly enough – and I never expected this – but my typographical greeting cards are what’s hot right now out of my studio. I like to fill in the gaps where Hallmark and Carlton fails us – using witty remarks and unexpected greetings to help kickstart awkward conversations or just make someone howl out loud and feel loved (or hated – take your pick, we don’t always have to play nice). The idea of bringing people together through enabling ease of conversation through humour is where my psychology background strongly shines. Open dialogue is important to growth and connectivity between people.

All of these subjects are things that I feel I need to express – and over the years have evolved to help me find my sense of identity and my place in my community. I still continue to work freelance as a graphic designer, a DJ, an event coordinator, a photographer, and I still work in television and film when I feel like it and the project is fun. I feel a strong sense of purpose and direction now, even though I’m still floating on the wind, seeing where it takes me from day to day, and now I just trust that those winds will take me where I need to go, without knowing the direction, a trust in myself which I’ve never had before. And it’s all thanks to this journey.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For me, it’s all about life by the water. The ocean air and sand at my feet is literally the best thing for my spirit. I would spend a day at Mushroom Beach with a picnic and listen to the waves crashing. Maybe an evening walk along Waterfront Park when it’s all lit up, or a visit to Coronado Beach to sit by the fire pits with friends, or a visit to the Secret Swings in La Jolla Cove and check out the Open Aire Farmer’s Market. The Encinitas Street Fair or Liberty Public Markets would also be super fun. I’d go check out some of the local skate shops like Pacific Drive, Soul Grind and Slappy’s. Maybe go eat at Las Cuatro Milpas or Lola 55 Tacos & Cocktails. I love to dance, so anywhere that has great house music or hip hop is key for a great time on a trip – Parq, Spin, Bang Bang, Nova are all on the list. Balboa Park, the San Diego Comic Art Gallery, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art are all definitely places to get inspired.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to extend a big shout out to my multitude of friends who’ve always loved and supported every thing I do. I am also eternally grateful for my freelance graphic design clients, who place their brands in my capable hands and trust me to help elevate their businesses as best I can – who challenge me every day to learn new things and keep me on my toes. Without the love of my immediate community, I wouldn’t be where I am today – I am so grateful for the people who come out to all of my events, DJ gigs, and recommend me to others so I can keep being motivated to create, and make fun happen for everyone.

I’ve got a lot of gratitude towards those that employ me in the TV and Film industry – allowing me to be a part of something bigger than myself, in a wide variety of positions that help me evolve as a creator, has been instrumental in helping me develop the many many skills it takes to be a working creative in any format that I choose from day-to-day, and run my own businesses.

Most of all – I would love to shout out to my parents, who fostered the importance of being myself and who opened the door for me to chase my dreams, as crazy as they may seem sometimes – I’ll never take their love and support for granted.

Website: www.fazooli.com

Instagram: @abominableink

Facebook: @FazooliArt

Other: Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/ca/shop/AbominableInkShop

Image Credits
Portrait of myself was taken by: L.A. West