Project: Growth

 This collection didn't get the attention, nor the promo that I feel it truly deserved. Truth is, what happened to it, is the same thing that happens to ALL my artwork that I create in my most vulnerable moments. I consider it an accomplishment that I got it out and put it into a visual piece, share it on social media and then move on to the next. I discard pieces of my soul so easily. That's essentially what my art is... Pieces of my soul.

But I don't want to do that anymore. I'm no longer hiding these works and keeping them to myself. If you don't tell your story, how will history know you were here? -💓KS

'Til Death Do Us Part

'Til Death was inspired by a watercolor painting that I saw on Pinterest. It was so beautiful but it was very haunting at the same time.

I took my time thinking about how I wanted to recreate it in my way, telling my own story. Here, I wanted to tell the story of my relationship with art.

The paintbrush piercing my vocal chords, is meant to be a visual representation of how I allow my art to speak for itself. How I allow it to speak for ME. I'm not much of a talker, and art speaks a language that I understand. The visible tear, is a representation of my emotions and passion that I pour into my work and how I go about creating said work. I put blood sweat and tears into all that I create.

This is honestly one of the first drawings I had done in a long time that I was truly proud of. I feel as though I earned the right to be able to say I had so much pride in this piece. I went on quite the journey during the process of creating 'Til Death. A lot of self-awareness, acknowledgement, and realization took place here. 

Tethered

Tethered is my personal favorite from this collection for many reasons. One main reason is the hands. I struggle with drawing/painting hands so much, I usually look for clever ways to conceal them, just so I won't have to bother with them. These, however, turned out way better than I expected them to.

I'm very proud of myself for sticking with it and working on them until I was satisfied with the results. Tethered is a visual of my connection to art using The Red String Theory. I think it's such a cool concept and it gives me the feeling that my talent, my goals, my passion, everything; it's all connected to me by way of my invisible and unbreakable red string. It might get tangled every now and then, but it'll never break. I was inspired by a photo of BTS's Kim  Namjoon 💜 to work the string throughout my fingers. Yet again, another way at challenging and pushing myself. 

Silent Battles

Silent Battles is the most vulnerable of this entire collection. My nerves were so bad when I was working on this one. It almost brought this collection to a complete stop. It is no secret that I battle with anxiety and depression. I make it known and I am not ashamed of it. If I don't speak on it or bring attention to the fact that it's real and not something trendy, it will continue to be just that, something that people find trendy or popular to have for the moment. Silent Battles is the piece that shows the internal conflict of having to deal with a storm while keeping a calm outer appearance. Many times I've had to do just that. Keep a smile on my face or remain cool and level headed, all the while, internally, I'm sinking into an abyss and fighting desperately to claw my way out of it. I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness. If I can use my artwork to help bring even more awareness to it, then maybe I can be a part of the solution to get control of it. I don't have to be at the forefront of the movement, but I pray that my work at the very least, sparks the fire in the ones who will be. 

I Eat Those

Meant to be a continuation of Silent Battles, I Eat Those is the other side of the storm. Not only did I recover from the previous battle wounds, but I also acquired more and wiped them away as if they were nothing. Like I said before, life has hands, and they work! But I have hands too, and  I will ALWAYS fight back. 

My hope for this collection is to motivate any and all who come across it. I hope that it makes you want to fight your adversities. I hope that it makes you look at your obstacles and laugh at them because you know what you possess and the power that you hold. I hope that it makes you dare to dream and then go after them full force!

-💓KS
 

Finding the Silver Lining

 Finding the Silver Lining

It's been quite some time since I've blogged. A lot has changed, and social media has most definitely changed since my last post. New platforms have emerged, social climates have changed and now AI has entered the chat. What a time! Something that I have come to realize, is that though there have been new developments, a lot has remained the same. With everyone posting the wins, the highs, and the success stories, the struggles and hard times we often go through, seem to be omitted from what we choose to share. That doesn't seem realistic to me. Definitely not relatable; and if anything else, I always want to be genuine and relatable to my audience. 

With that being said, I have a bit of a struggle story that I would like to share. I hope that it inspires someone to see themselves in this story and know that they can have better, be better, and do better in their own respects. 

I used to live in a thriving art city a few years ago back in upstate New York. At the height of my career, I was in school, doing independent projects (solo and group), I was doing TV interviews, showcasing in museums/galleries, you name it. I was active. Life has a way of showing you that it has hands. And they work. VERY WELL. However; it was also at this height of my career that everything changed for me. My husband and I packed up the kids and moved to Ohio. Suddenly, all that activity went away. Not by choice, might I add. We moved and were here for about 2 weeks before Covid shut the world down and quarantines went into effect. Not that it needed to be said, but Covid did way more harm than good. Being isolated from the outside world and having to find a new form of branching out in a new city was damn near impossible. 

Have you ever heard the saying, "Go where you're celebrated, not tolerated."? Well let's just say I'm in an area where I'm barely tolerated, and my current style of art stands ZERO chance at being accepted here. When it comes to art and my love for it, I am by no means a quitter. I may get knocked down a few times, but I always fight back. Me and art have a forever kind of thing going on. So I've made multiple attempts at reaching out to people in the local art scene here. I've attempted to showcase in juried art shows hosted by local museums, contacted the local arts council, etc.. NOTHING!

One instance in particular, was the time i reached out to a local thrift store and offered my services to create a mural for their store to help draw more attention to their place, beautify the area all while getting my name and my work out there for people to see. MARKETING!!! I was told that they needed to discuss it with the owner, and that upon their approval, we could move forward from there. Fast-forward to about a year and a half later, (they completely ghosted me by the way) and that same place is currently prepping their outside wall for a new mural. To say that I was angry when I saw that would be an extreme understatement. 

I was upset because it was like a slap in the face. I wasn't even given the professional courtesy of being turned down. I was just outright ignored. When I talked to my husband about it, I came to the conclusion that, that mural was not MY blessing. It wasn't meant to be the project that would introduce myself to this current art scene. But to say those words, especially when you're in the heart of those feelings, is REALLY hard to do. Because even though I said the words out loud, I didn't believe them in the moment.

The point of the story is, it's okay to feel disappointment. To feel anger, pain etc. You're human and entitled to your feelings. Even the bad ones. It is perfectly okay to feel these things, especially when those feelings are valid. Just be sure to find the silver lining so you can have peace of mind. I know that my time will come when it's meant to. It may not be right now. It may not even happen for me in this area. But that doesn't mean that it's never going to happen for me. In the meantime, I will keep creating new works of art,  I will keep promoting myself to whomever is interested and I will continue to grow. 

That realization has taught me that it has nothing to do with my lack of talent, knowledge or skill; just that I'm in a place where I am tolerated instead of being celebrated. In spite of that, I plan to succeed no matter what. I hope that this encourages you to push through. To persevere and shine brighter than you ever have before. We all have stories to tell. I'm just trying to share mine with the people who truly need and want to hear them.

Keep Creating,

💓-Kareemah S.