Conversations with Bethany Owens

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Owens.

Hi Bethany, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Ever since a child, I have been drawn to the idea of creating something no one else can. I embraced what is unique, “weird” and quirky about myself in a way to provoke others to do the same. My first art lesson consisted of sending a blank piece of paper with just one shape drawn on it to my Grandma Gladys in the mail.

She would color apart, write a sentence, send it back to me, and I would do the same and send it back to her. Through beautiful shapes, colors, and words we would create our own masterpiece. In college, I immersed myself in a 3-hour art class, shading some odd shapes one dot at a time. Art fascinates me. When most kids went to summer camp, I cherished spending weeks at a time with Grandma in her art room studying light, learning about brushes, paint, texture, figures, shading, and almost anything else you can think of.

Combine that with watching recorded figure skating tapes she would play for me, and it was the best vacation ever. Wherever she went, her expression of art went with her. Randomly she would say, “Look at the sky and tell me – how many colors do you see?” At first, it seemed easy, but she was really teaching me the eye for detail in the simplest or extravagant settings. Grandma taught me to cultivate confidence as an artist, embrace my individual creativity, remain grateful for the process, and, most importantly, believe in myself.

As I got older, the amount of time I spent with her lessened, but that didn’t stop us from talking almost every day. Before we would hang up she would always say, “Bethy, remember: If you think it, you create it, if you create it you become it, if you become it then that is who you are.” In 2011, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It was difficult to wrap my head around her not being able to remember me as she used to: those long phone calls, sending the art back and forth, receiving her mystery boxes full of treasures and trinkets to top it off, traveling was always difficult financially, so years would go by at a time without speaking or seeing her. However, the one thing that keeps me close to her is the love and passion we share for art.

While in my early adulthood, I remember walking into my old job and my boss, now best friend and current business partner, Tina Grabowski, jumped out in front of me and said, “you’re going to learn how to face paint today!” I worked with children, so I was used to new adventures, trying to figure out ways to engage with them, plus knowing her, she’s always coming up with some creative challenge to accomplish. It was a challenge alright, but I fell in love with it immediately. I started off with the most basic designs and perfected them until I could take on more levels of detail. Before I knew it I was painting for marketing events and was encouraged to apply for an independent contractor job with my former boss, Jandy Salguero owner of “Face Painting by Jandy.”

I remember that day, walking in for my interview. I was so nervous, and she smiled and looked and me and said, “Ok here’s your interview. Paint me a butterfly in under three minutes.” I wanted to pass out. Three minutes?! I looked at Tina with that “what did you get me into” face and without further ado, I did the best I could, and trust me, it was more like 15 minutes before I managed to pull it off. It was the most massive butterfly you’ve ever seen in your life. I’m pretty sure it took up the entire face of the model and thinking back it makes me laugh but also cringe at the same time! At least my “pinky on the nose” for line work got me some credit! With some more training, I was officially a part-time professional face painter!

I kept my part-time face painting work intertwined with working a full-time job. I loved keeping it a part of my work portfolio and the opportunity to use it on different platforms was very rewarding. I liked the ring of being a “professional artist” although I considered myself far from it. While working what I thought was a dream job of climbing the corporate ladder and doing what it takes to prove I deserve that next promotion or pay raise, I realized that I was way too creative to be in the position I was in. Every day, I would come in at 5:30 am prepping with my bestie Madison and would yell “I just want a job where all I do is create all day!” I’m not cooky crazy about speaking things into my existence but what happened next was a domino effect of the most adventurous three years of my life.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was around 9:00 pm. I was sitting on my sofa. I was so fed up with feeling suppressed, uncreative, and more importantly unhappy. So, after weeks of brainstorming a business name, I did the first practical step I could think of and created a Facebook page. Two hours later “Free Spirited Artistry” was created, I invited some friends and said, “Welp, I can’t take it back now, it’s out there. I guess this is it.”

A couple of weeks later, I got a message from my sweet friend Gabby Hicks, the Senior Marketing Director of the Chick-fil-a in the White Oak Shopping Center in Garner, NC, and landed my first contract! I hosted a recurring Family Night offering free face painting to the children every Tuesday evening from 5:00-8:00. I’ll never forget picking up my first check! It was a feeling of accomplishment that is indescribable and from that opportunity came bookings for birthday parties and corporate events.

Needless to say, my confidence boosted, my schedule started to fill up, and I cut the cord to the corporate world and took the biggest leap of faith in my life to face-paint full time. I made a smooth exit from working at Chipotle in 2019, and I made my stamp on the face-painting scene. I got my Insta and email up and wiggled my way into any and every vendor marketing event I could find.

Businesses supported me more than I anticipated, and within a year had four employees, contracts with these wonderful establishments: Raleigh, Durham (and now Garner) Night Market, Paper Stars and Studios, MOFU Shoppe, The Great Raleigh Trolley, Downtown Garner, Coglins, Midtown Farmer’s Market, Best of North Hills Concert Series, attending vendor events with Triangle Pop-Up Markets, City Market, Gizmo Brewery and full body art opportunity with Inkspired. Wow!

To say things were looking up was an understatement. I was soaring high, catching the wind at the right time, and proving to myself I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I don’t know why I was so shocked. My siblings and I had a full-functioning business by the time I was 12 and I was always encouraged to create, think, and accomplish things on my own. It gave me the strength to cultivate a strong work ethic, basic business skills, and grit to succeed. Little did I know, one of my biggest tests was right around the corner.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My confidence took the biggest blow and it all kicked off on January 5th, 2020. I woke up, ready to meet Tina at a store to purchase a laptop. I was feeling on top of the world. I had meetings lined up in the next week to prepare my yearly schedule. I was thinking how blessed I was, how happy I was that somehow I missed the memo that I would total my car at 6:00 am.

My newly purchased Nissan Rouge was done for. (I was mentally prepared for something to go south at the beginning of the year because it usually does.) January-March is always really tough with something dramatic happening causing a major setback. So, I sucked up, bucked up, and manage to still attend every meeting I had planned the following days in my partner’s old truck, and kept my calendar alive. I’m pretty sure I did a happy dance with my cats at one point.

At the beginning of March, I remember seeing something on TV about the new flu and was following the developing story. At first, I thought it would blow over, go away. But on March 16th I rolled over in bed, grabbed my phone, checked my email, and woke up to every single gig I had planned – every birthday party, every contract, every concert – literally EVERYTHING canceled due to COVID-19. The pit in my stomach was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I looked down to make sure I didn’t have red shoes on to click three times to get me out of this nightmare. I pinched myself making sure I wasn’t dreaming. I turned the TV on and what has seemed like a really bad dream was actually happening. The world was completely shut down and for the first time in my life, I was not allowed to work. To top it off, my landlord informed me that the house we rented for seven years had sold and we needed to move.

Weeks turned into months, and I found myself struggling to make ends meet, couldn’t find a new house, had no clue how to keep my business alive, and to make things worse my relationship was taking a hard blow. I was so lost. I didn’t know what to do. All I did know was that I had to create. I just didn’t know what to produce. I scrambled for ideas, but every idea seemed so far-fetched, so not me, and difficult to start. Then Grandma’s words started to ring louder “if you think it, you create it, if you create it you become it, if you become it then that is what you are.”

I was shopping with my partner at Wal-Mart. I picked up a picture of flowers, looked at it, and said “Hmmm. I can paint this for less than this price.” Within minutes I gathered the materials I needed, got home, sketched it out, and “Santiago’s Lily’s” was born. An original piece named after Grandma’s maiden name and an idea to create original and custom tangible art was ignited.

I wrote up a story, created a DBA page of “Free Spirited Artistry – Art from the Heart” and began creating my own inspired pieces along with custom work for clients. “Santiago’s Lily” became the most requested piece for Mother’s Day gifts, and I received overflowing support and orders from my family, friends, and colleagues. It was a great bounce-back that was short-lived. I was still swimming in a sea of frustration with having to move and navigating through a pandemic. I couldn’t give up, but I also couldn’t go any further in the shape I was in, so I picked up the phone and made my first call to a counselor.

I didn’t think therapy was for me. I thought you had to be really of your hinges and the idea of opening to someone who didn’t even know me – like what? That’s a hard pass. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My first session was so weird, but by the fifth session, I knew I had made the best decision for self-help in my life and within a couple of months. I decided to stop drinking alcohol. Through therapy, I learned that I struggle with high functioning anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Through intense work, self-growth (mentally and physically), perspective, and building my faith up I realized that not only is art is my outlet it’s one of my forms of communication and a way that I connect with others.

COVID continued to be an obstacle and I had thought to myself that face painting was over for me. I began to dive into other adventures, business ideas and explore other ways to express myself. I couldn’t cope with the idea of working for someone else. The environment was too abnormal and there had to be a way that I could stand on my own two feet. Going back to the corporate world was just not an option. I had to make it. Then that idea that had been repeating itself vaguely began to come to light and “Sequoia” was born. Inspired art from fallen nature that is designed to encourage us to remain unapologetically authentic. I made the Facebook page, got one sale, and did my best to keep it alive, but once again it was short-lived.

For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why every idea I was coming up with wouldn’t stick. I began to get angry with God. Real angry. Why would He let me start a business just to see it fail? Why would He allow me to get in another car accident? I was just trying to work on my credit! Why would He allow me to line up SUCH a great year just to see it all get canceled? I’m strong enough; why keep testing me? I would yell this at Him time after time again. I kept getting advice to go left, go right, go upside down. Bend this way, turn that way. Do this. Do that. No sense of direction, no sense of purpose, and the only thing I felt I was meant to do was considered not important, not relevant, and not a necessity. I felt shunned, shut out, abandoned, rejected, and alone.

Everywhere I looked all I saw was half-faced covered people, no smile, no light. Many businesses turned their lights out and locked up, while other businesses were taking off with blazing success. Fights over every single thing, hatred filled the air, hurt and pain around the world were at an all-time high. There were moments I wanted to just tap out. I realized in that dark moment, that if I think it, I can create it, if I can create it, I’ll become it and if I become it, then that is who I am. I picked myself up, learned to show myself grace, and got back to work. I decided that no one gets to define me. That is up to me. No one gets to tell me not to create; it’s who I am. I squared things up with God, put 100% of trust in Him and I realized He was preparing me for something so much better than I could even imagine.

Exactly a year later, on March 16th, 2021, I released a new logo for Free-Spirited Artistry, found safe routes to offer my Face Painting and Fairy Hair services, and on April 22nd received my first birthday party booking. I couldn’t believe it! I was nervous, but I was back! June quickly approached and I found myself reconnecting with all my partners including making some new friends at Lunasol Med Spa, Bowstring Pizza and Brewery, Zen Health and Wellness, Braid Babes, Rabbit Hole Productions, and Artsplosure.

Oh – and not to mention the overwhelming amount of support from my private clients. I have found myself incredibly blessed to share my story on this platform with “Voyage Raleigh Magazine” as well as on CBS 17 “My Carolina” show with Carly Bragg and Joanna Heims.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Through the rebirth of Free-Spirited Artistry, I have cultivated a strong desire to encourage a unique experience of art through the perspective of personal connection. I used to be the artist who would persuade you to only get something done that I was good at but now I’ve learned that my work is designed to enhance each client’s radiant and unique individuality while spreading a message of acceptance and the celebration of expression.

My business is a homage to my Grandma, Gladys Santiago Pennington. I want my story to be a testament to perseverance and the power of creativity. Through my different platforms of creative artistry, I want others to know there is a path for you to explore and embrace who you are with true authenticity. I am dedicated to giving back to my community by offering my services for free at any vendor event I attend and reaching as many hearts as possible. My goal – and hope – is that one day I will reach yours.

I am uber excited for what the future brings for Free-Spirited Artistry. I am also preparing to elevate my skill set through my new adventure “One More Time Designs” with my business partner. We are excited to offer recycled and upcycled useful pieces that can help make recycling an easy, accessible, and beautiful part of life.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I’d like to thank God for being constantly there for me; my partner for his unwavering support and love; my mom and siblings for keeping me grounded; my besties (you know who you are). Y’all are rock stars! To all my kind friends, business partners who constantly show their support and to each and every person that has allowed me into your hearts. I am so grateful, Thank you!

In the words of Albert Einstein: “Creativity is contagious. Spread it.”

Contact Info:

• Email: freespiritedartistry@gmail.com
• Instagram: @free.spirited.artistry
• Facebook: facebook.com/freespiritedartistry