On Oct. 17, Olivia Rodrigo surprised fans when she announced a new line of Halloween merch featuring limited-edition prints created by an artist known as Metskiie. Mette Moman, the face behind Metskiie, is a 20-year-old college student at the University of Calgary who’s using the power of social media to showcase her creativity. Moman, who started posting her art online as “an escape from school,” has grown a substantial online presence now that she’s gained the attention of stars like Rodrigo and Emma Chamberlain.
Moman has been posting her creations on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube over the past year and a half. She’s since built quite the following of people who are fans of her art, which she describes as “very melancholic.” She says, “It can be kind of sad, sometimes. But it can also be kind of warm.” Moman’s signature element? A young, female adult. “[My art] does focus on the emotional side of life, and of being a young girl.”
Putting female characters at the forefront of her artwork is what helped Moman catch the attention of Rodrigo. After Moman was featured in Chamberlain Coffee’s Artist Series in June 2023, “it all happened,” she says. “I saw the Livies HQ account in my DMs, which isn’t [Rodrigo’s] account directly, but it’s her headquarters account. They reached out to me so randomly and were just like, ‘How can we email you?’ I thought it was a fan account. So I didn’t know who they were.”
Since Moman wasn’t sure if the DM was from the “Drivers License” singer’s team, she didn’t want to get her hopes up in case the opportunity turned out to be a scam. “I didn’t want to think it was [Rodrigo]. Because if it wasn’t, I would have been so disappointed,” Moman shares. But “they emailed and said, ‘Olivia saw your art, and she loves it so much, and we were wondering if we could do a commission.’”
It wasn’t until Moman received a screenshot of her artwork Rodrigo had sent to her team that she knew this opportunity was the real deal. “I saw a photo that they sent me that [Rodrigo] liked. It was the art piece of the three girls. She screenshotted that off her account, and just sent it to her agent.”
Though the original plan was for Rodrigo’s team to commission her drawings, they eventually asked Moman to create limited-edition art prints. The artwork was available for purchase on the singer’s website on Oct. 17, but sold out instantly. “I didn’t realize it was going to sell out,” she says. “This is something I never, ever imagined could happen,” Moman said on TikTok about the collab.
With her artwork receiving Rodrigo’s stamp of approval, Moman plans to continue creating and sharing it online. But she’s still a student, and she’s in the process of finishing her finance degree (she also has a minor in English) at the University of Calgary. After graduation, Moman hopes to get her CPA in accounting and start her own business as an artist — among other endeavors. “I want to write a graphic novel,” she says. She also wants “to keep growing my Instagram account and try and make that side hustle more relevant in my life after I graduate.”
Being recognized by one of the biggest pop stars in the world is no small feat for a 20-year-old, though. While she admits to being overcome with imposter syndrome at times, she encourages aspiring artists not to “limit themselves.”
“Instagram artists can really do anything [they] want. People will follow you and find joy in your art if you have joy creating it. If you don’t have joy creating it, then it’s not going to be a sustainable option,” Moman says. “Don’t limit yourself [by] comparing other artists to your own art because all art is valuable. And as we’ve seen, people value art differently, so even if it’s not a Picasso masterpiece, it can still have worth and be beautiful.”