Life & Work with Jordan Owashi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Owashi.

Hi Jordan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
I’ve always had a creative side and looked for different ways to fulfill this part of me. Growing up, I tried everything from sewing to sand art to jewelry-making and beyond. I loved anything related to crafting and using my hands. Ironically, drawing and illustration were never something I gravitated toward. I always thought I was a horrible illustrator and told myself I couldn’t draw. 

After college, I started my career in costume design, working on The Five-Year Engagement with Emily Blunt and Jason Segel. Don’t get excited – the closest I got to any sort of celebrity was removing the waistband from boxers for Jason Segel (he only wore a specific brand, but the costume designer didn’t want that brand’s logo on film). From there, I worked at Baron Hats, where I was fortunate enough to learn about millinery from an incredible milliner, Sylvia Mejia. We did a lot of custom work for the studios, given our location in Burbank at the time, and I got to work on special projects, such as dyeing and specialty hatbands. 

After this, I took a break from the creative industry and worked in PR for luxury travel and health tech. I felt like I couldn’t “make it” in the arts and I was craving more stability. During this time, I rediscovered my love for watercolor and started to hone in on my illustration skills for fun, not for any sort of work. I used art as my creative outlet and a way to decompress after a long day at work. Currently, I work in marketing in addition to my art business. I still illustrate and have expanded to pressed flower art, embroidery, and more. Though I have a range of art styles, dogs are at the center of pretty much everything I do. It took me a while to get here, but I realized that I’m not the type of person that’s meant to do just one thing, whether that’s a job or an art style. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I would say my biggest struggle was trusting myself. I’ve always believed in myself, but trusting and taking the leap of faith to launch a business is a whole other thing. I still struggle with this all the time, and I have my partner to thank for being both my sounding board and voice of reason when I need it. 

I’ve also gone through several bouts of burnout where I just couldn’t be creative or needed to take a step back. I don’t think it’ll ever be smooth sailing, but that’s what makes life interesting. Currently, I’m trying to focus on finding balance – it’s so important! 

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?
Overall, I think most people know me as a dog artist. I love creating different types of dog portraits. I started with illustrated dog portraits, and those are still some of my favorite to create. I love the freedom illustration gives you to create something that represents the dog so perfectly when no one photo can do so. I also love my more abstract forms, such as my custom-pressed flower portraits. I’ve found the silhouette is so important for these in order to capture the essence of the dog since the rest of the art piece is so abstract. Most recently I’ve decided to explore custom embroidery. This is still a work in progress, but I’m exploring different styles of line art for these and hope to embroider on hats and apparel. This will be the first time I’m taking my art to something other than paper, so I’m very excited about this new venture! 

I think I’m most proud of myself for continuing to explore new mediums. It’s hard to get started in something new, so I call it a big win when I have a new idea and actually execute it (even if it’s a fail!). 

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
If I could choose a second life for myself, I’d be an aerialist. I recently started taking Lyra classes, and as a kid, I always wanted to be in Cirque du Soleil. While now I’m a little too far past my prime to pursue a career as an acrobat of this caliber, I still hold onto this aspiration to one day perform somewhere as an aerialist. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jordandawnowashi.etsy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanowashidesign/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-owashi-89839330/