Philosophy.
Teaching and making art is like perfecting a recipe.
Imagine your favorite homecooked meal that you've had since childhood. How many trials and errors were made in the process to perfect it, to bring it to the point where the moment you take the first bite, old memories come flooding back?
I view my arts practice with the same mindset. To say I can actually reach conventional perfection is arguable. However, one thing is true. I'm always aiming to bring a sense of my stories and identity into my work (and that to me is perfect enough).
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At my core, I have an undeniable passion for art that I want to share with everyone (and yes, I believe everyone can make art). I've found this love through discovering the boundless nature of art, of its power to bring about change and healing. In many ways, I have used my work to communicate topics where the messages are more effective visually than verbally.
Not everyone is "talented" in art, so I often hear people say they can't practice it. However, talent is one-dimensional and limited. You can't bring about change with talent. You can't communicate meaningfully with talent. It's perseverance and growth that brings art to life. So, to those who say "I suck/am not good at art"...let me first ask you this: What is your definition of "good" and "art"?
Statement.
How I make art is similar to how I approach AYCE.
I can be very diverse in what I explore and sometimes I can surprise myself by liking something I didn't think I would.
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Though I comfortably tend towards certain media, I still like exploring other types of artmaking and expanding my art-illery. I do so because being able to practice different modes of artmaking allows me to express stories and identities boundlessly. I love the rush of learning something new, of challenging myself to see if I really am capable of more growth.
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As you may have gathered, my art is about storytelling. I like capturing life in my art, such as the people I've met, the experiences I've had, and so on. Being able to recreate these moments through art just adds so much more color and life to them. I feel incredibly grateful and privileged that I'm able to do so. So, it goes without saying that, when I experience artblock, I like to reflect on past experiences or create new ones, talk to people, go out, or even simply listen to music to inspire myself and get those creative juices FLOWING.