Check Out Iphigenia aka Foie’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Iphigenia aka Foie.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been drawing all my life starting with horses and never really losing interest in them. The passion for drawing eventually became digital and I got lost in the world of KidPix in elementary school and choosing to stay in the computer lab at lunch instead of socializing. I was a very stressed out kid.

I enjoyed making comics and jokes with my friends. Making people laugh showing off my jokes online.

Art was always a place where I could pour the excess of my emotions into. I didn’t know how to talk to people or communicate how I really felt.

In high school, I started putting on shows with the local kids and took great joy in making fliers.

I ended up going to a magnet school for design and web design for a year.

I made my first logo when I was 17 for Panda Studios and got paid in T-shirts (which was completely fine with me at the time)

The pride that came with making something someone liked went to my head. It’s a really nice feeling like seeing your friend open a special gift on their birthday.

I joined Tumblr the same year and was bombarded with inspiration that molded my little mind.

I wanted to go to college for fashion design but my mother implored me to follow visual communications for its potential to make more money.

It was a public college and I was bad at it. I don’t feel like I learned as much as I wanted to from college. I learned a lot more about art and life from working for labels. I wanted to be shown how to wield my creativity. School was boring to me. It killed my passion for learning. I didn’t see a point behind most of the things I learned in class so I’d go home and watch hours upon hours of any photoshop tutorial that even remotely matched my interest. That helped a lot.

I was more interested in making memes to share on Tumblr and writing music.

I started my band Foie Gras when I was in college for the sole purpose of making album art. I didn’t know much about music at all I just knew I wanted it to look pretty. I don’t think it’s enough these days to be an interesting musician I think you need to have the visuals to back it up too.

I really look up to Psychic TV’s use of visuals.

Doing Foie Gras unfolded my life in many ways. It was the way-opener of miracles. I did all my own posters and observed what people noticed and what they didn’t. I tried hard to intuitively feel out my audience. I then started making posters for friends I made in music and it sort of took off from there.

I started Foie Graphics a couple of years ago when I realized that my art-self and my music-self outgrew each other and needed to be two different identities. I use Foie Graphics as somewhat of a public diary again. Somewhere to passively post what I learn and how I feel. When I keep all my feelings inside, I get sick. Psychosomatic symptoms of not making art so I end up posting a lot and creating a lot too.

Today, I hunger to work. I love taking fun commissions and working with other artists. I work with streetwear, astrologers, mystics, musicians, record labels, hair stylists… you name it! It keeps me going. I just love doing it.

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?
Getting my work stolen always gets me down. I remember seeing a stolen piece of mine on a sweater at an Urban Outfitters about 20 minutes after I asked my mom for money to get my shoes fixed. It was soul-crushing. I still have nightmares sometimes of corporations hiring a hitman to steal my iPad because to them, it’s cheaper than hiring me.

Trying to work with unmedicated ADHD is difficult. I feel like I’ve lost many lucrative jobs because my executive dysfunction was at an all-time high. I’ve even missed out on working with my favorite bands because my brain just couldn’t get it together. I make baby steps everyday into finding a structure that works for me but it’s been a slow process. I’m very vocal about my needs now. I have to be or else I fall behind.

Not having my own space has also cut into my creative time. I want a studio. A screen printing set up. I want a floor to sit on. A room to make a mess in and clean up. A clawfoot bath up. Framed Posters. A big window and at least 12 hours alone everyday to get my brain in the proper state to create. I’m an extrovert who needs time to think and I think a lot. I have a lot of fun with myself just daydreaming, learning new things and sketching but life gets in the way. To make up for my lack of space, I take a 5 mile walk everyday through the neighborhood just scheming my next steps and it helps but it’s not enough.

I wish I had enough wealth to support all the artists I love fairly. I hate that money is an issue but I have hope that it won’t be for long.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a graphic artist who heavily borrows visuals and experiences from the past to make modern pieces. I’m known for being a musician as well as a designer. I’m known for sexually explicit art and celebrations of femininity. I’m known for my 2014 GIRLS AGAINST CAT CALLING campaign aka NOT YOURS NEVER WAS that was featured on Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio and stolen by #girlboss brands across the world. I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I am proud I can look at something I made and really like it. I don’t think I’m much too different from other artists but some may say that I have a certain flair that makes my art unique to me.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I consider myself incredibly lucky. It sometimes like I’m made of rabbits feet. I just make the art and it takes me places. When I find a flow state (especially when I’m at peace with myself) I feel unstoppable. I feel like I’m just following my art to the next part of my life and seeing where it takes me.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@foiegraphics.com
• Website: foiegraphics.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/foiegraphics
• Facebook: facebook.com/foiegraphics
• Twitter: twitter.com/foie_graphics
• SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/foie