ART BACKGROUND
Me and my sister were blessed with artistic talent from our dad. He's the best artist I know and is the reason I love it so much. I remember, in the mornings before school, he'd draw pictures on our brown bag lunches. I'd show up to school and show it off like it was the fanciest thing money could buy. I think those kinds of moments are what really made me love art. From a young age I always got recognition for my skills. It's the only thing I felt good at and actually liked. I took a couple classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art when I was really young but cried to my parents and stopped going because I just wanted to make what I wanted to make (common trend). I had the privilege of going to private school which had tremendous art programs. I took art from 1st grade to 8th grade there and I was excited to start taking it seriously when I got to high school. After my first year, however, the teacher failed me which meant I couldn't move on. It was the darkest time of my life because I was lost. The only escape I had was not good enough. For a while I stopped creating. I let his criticism get to me and only hurt myself by avoiding what I loved out of angst. Fast forward to now, and I use those "failures" to inspire me. Because you should never stop doing what you love based off someone else's opinion.
MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL
I've lived two lives for about 22 years. One was a facade I put up to fit in with people in a different tax bracket than my family. This facade has a decent resume. Went to private school his whole life, lived in a big house with his mom, and was fortunate enough to get a college degree. Seems like a sweet deal. So why was I miserable? Because I was constantly hiding the other side of my life.
Me and my sister were raised in Baltimore, but we were constantly moving between our parents' homes. We'd bounce from house to house until my mom eventually remarried. While my mom's house matched that of my private school friends, my dad's was a 3 bedroom row home sleeping 7.
I developed more of a connection with my dad in that small home, allowing my art to develop. Addiction runs rampant in my family tree, and while that's been a challenge in itself, it's allowed me to foster a deeper sense of empathy to others. There is a thread through all of my work that centers around advocating for the greater good of society.
The panic attack I had at 14 decided it wanted to change my perspective some more. Ever since then I've been in a constant state of dissociation. That's why I need art. To express how I perceive reality and to show others with my condition that they can find happiness. All you have to do is be yourself. If you'd like to learn more about my story, I leave a description under each of my personal pieces that tells how it came to be.
