Creating art has always been my main means of self expression and exploration. Growing up, I noticed it felt quite difficult for me to express myself through words or other means like sports or academics. Sure, I could do pretty well in different areas academically, but I rarely felt extreme passion or a deep calling to a specific subject. However, I always enjoyed creating things whether that meant drawing, painting or even collaging my own magazines and posters. My family is also a group of very creative people, on both my mother and father’s sides. Whether it be through music, theatre, film, etc. everyone is involved in something. My adoration for art was especially nurtured due to my mom’s shared love of art museums and graffiti, we would spend hours driving around Kansas City looking at murals and exploring the great selections of museums we would come across. Although art was something I enjoyed and was often told I was good at, I had always envisioned myself working in a different position, like a language teacher or veterinarian (haha). In school, I was just making it by being pretty average at most things. However once I graduated, I was eager to discover what I was really passionate about. A few years pass and I’m still questioning this about myself, around the age of 20 or 21. I really did not want to end up somewhere I would be unhappy. Sure I could study business and work a 9-5 in a copy and paste office somewhere in the city, but I just couldn’t do that to myself. So, I decided to pray about it, for my passion to be revealed to me, what is meant to take up my time everyday. And not soon after at all, I rediscovered my love for visual arts. By creating art, not only am I able to process and understand my own emotions and thoughts through a physical medium, but it is also my way of expressing my thoughts and values on the world without having to speak a word. I do not always feel confident using my voice to express myself, however bold marks of ink and acrylic paint never fail to make me feel understood.
What do I mean by “I’m able to express my thoughts and emotions better”? Well, creating art does not only force me to sit down and put my hands to work but it allows me to quiet my mind and reflect on my thoughts, feelings, who I am as a person, and the world in general. When communicating with another human being, I don’t always leave the conversation feeling understood by the other party, however a finished piece always helps me to feel resolved and satisfied.
I’ve certainly learned a broad amount of skills as an artist. I find it easier to create a piece that I’m proud of when I include multiple different mediums and combine them all into one. As for subject matter that I often like to include, it can vary on a multitude of things. A symbol to represent my culture or world cultures, a portrait of a family member or friend, something I find funny, anything that evokes emotion and feeling within me, etc. For example, I often incorporate flowers and butterflies in my work, due to their significant symbolism of change, transformation and beauty. It’s also quite nice to create from a real life reference, like the space I’m sitting in at the moment or a still life image that evokes inspiration in me. It’s fun to play with the zoom and angle of the composition. I feel more satisfied when my work is meaningful to me but also intriguing and aesthetic to look at. To create work that is meaningful and reflective of me and my moral beliefs, my relationship with and understanding of God, my culture and roots as a black woman, etc. really allows me to feel seen and understood not just as an artist, but as a human.
It is fun to incorporate color in my works, however for me the real excitement is in the seemingly limitless contrast between the deepest dark shades and the lightest ones, so black ink is typically a route I like to take. Jumping between thick, bold lines and whimsical, thin squiggly ones is exciting yet meaningful to me. Although I’m not completely sure why it’s an art method I like, I've been told that my work can be unpredictable (due to the marks made) and I’m sure that my personality can be that way as well. The final semester of college has really inspired and pushed me out of my comfort zone, expanding my limits as an artist. I have gotten the opportunity to expand as far as what I can create, through which mediums would it be the most successful and a general understanding of what I enjoy to create. Although I can’t label my art style or put it in a box, I can certainly say that my art could be compared to a mess turned into a gem. I tend to take the creation process day by day, moment by moment, because although things can look messy and difficult from the outside, it is very important to trust the process. I could very easily be inspired by something, a little whisper from God, that will help me on what to do along the way of my creation to really bring it together. Although I still have a lot of growth to do as an artist and human being, I am beginning to trust my process as an artist and as the woman I am becoming. I am ever changing and ever growing in every aspect, but I will always stay true to myself and my foundation, which I feel is a very prominent theme in my art.