My Creative Inspiration-She Illustrates

  Now, I don’t claim to be a feminist, BUT as a women I can’t ignore how recent events have affected me emotionally. As a U.S. citizen, you go to school and learn about all of the events that shaped this country. One being a Supreme Court case labeled Roe vs. Wade. If you’re unfamiliar, in 1970 Jane Roe (Norma McCorvey) went up against prosecutor Henry Wade (the district attorney of Texas) to maintain the absolute rights of women to terminate a pregnancy at any time without any interference from state regulations. What started in 1970, “ended” in 1973 with the following outcome, taken from Britannica.com : “Roe v. Wade, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1973, ruled (7–2) that unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. In a majority opinion written by Justice Harry A. Blackmun, the court held that a set of Texas statutes criminalizing abortion in most instances violated a woman’s constitutional right of privacy, which it found to be implicit in the liberty guarantee of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (“…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”).” Regardless of how this case reads, and what you may take from it, NO ONE has the right to tell you what to do with your body.   MIND YOUR BUSINESS, NOT MY BODY.

Recently, someone slid in my DM’s asking if this was a black-owned business, I LOL’d and had to go back to my feed to see what would give the impression that it wasn’t. Apparently, using my sometimes manicured hand in photos isn’t enough. But, I get it. Being black is the new black and EVERYONE wants a piece of it.   This made me face one of my biggest struggles. Grasping the fact that I have to put myself in front of my business. Like most artist, I’d rather be behind the camera, locked up inside creating my work. Being an introvert is stressful. I don’t crave the limelight and I never have. BUT, authenticity doesn’t really work when you’re hiding behind art and pin posts. Who’d believe you without a little bit of transparency? Ayanna T-Shirt  So yes, She’s black…. She’s a woman….She owns this. Enjoy your weekend!

    Now… I have no problem admitting that I was not the biggest Beyonce fan. I respected Destiny’s Child and bopped along to ‘Get Me Bodied’ and ‘Love on Top’, but I wasn’t committed and I still don’t know why. Lemonade was an amazing piece of work and inspired this 'Hot Sauce' pin, but still, I was good. Until……. Coachella 2018, better known as Beychella. Sis came out STUNTING!    photos courtesy of beyonce.com Beyonce was the first black woman to headline Coachella in its 19-year history. She gave us all the full-blown HBCU experience that had me missing my days at Hampton University. Her performance was an ode to a piece of black culture. A culture that some will never experience, yet all of us are proud of. It was this performance that had me flying to Houston for the OTR II tour.  So guess what……Now I’m a fan and now I’m inspired. For this art piece, I went back and forth between Procreate for Ipad and Adobe Illustrator. Procreate, using the Apple Pen, allows you to draw directly onto the screen. As you can see, this is what I used for her hair. I'm still trying to get used to this technique. I was never really into digital drawing pads, but you can make some adjustments to mimic the feeling of an actual pencil.      With Illustrator being vector based, you'll have more control over creating lines, shapes, and colors.   And because you can save whatever you do in Procreate as a Photoshop (.psd) file, transferring your hand-drawn artwork into Illustrator is a breeze.  A documentary about Beyonce's Coachella performance is now airing on Netflix so you better sign up for that free trial or get on someone’s family plan. And prepare yourself, this documentary is a whole ass 2 hours and 17 minutes.  Also, comment below to let me know if I should keep this mug on the site.  

  What a year 2018 has been! Usually, when the new year hits, we all start out with great intentions aka a list of things that we want to change, new habits that we want to develop, and those unwanted pounds that we want to lose. Personally, I try not to make promises to myself that I know I can't keep, but at the beginning of 2018, I chose to set a goal: Grow my business. Did I fully know how to do that or how to go about it? Yes and no. I understood some aspects of the business side of things when it came to marketing, but what I didn’t realize was how hard it would be to remain consistent and to be more engaging with my audience. The aspect of putting myself out there and to stop hiding in the shadows was terrifying and still is. I’m an artist, and I’m sensitive about my shit, lol. But being this way can cause fear and doubt, and this is something that I can no longer afford. This year, I began focusing on creating and improving my skills. I wanted to show you guys that there is an actual black woman behind the creativity that you see. I told myself that I wanted to quit my job to focus on She Illustrates (mission accomplished). I tried to grow my following. And I wanted to see if being authentic can work in the space of redundancy. For me, this all started in the spring. We all saw the craze that Black Panther created and like everyone, I was mesmerized and most importantly, INSPIRED. I saw Okoye and all of the intricate details she had and got to work. To be honest with you guys, I was scared after I created her because she was gray. At that moment, I was doubting myself and kept asking, “Will they get it.” But, I didn’t care. I also had a few people ask me, “Why is she gray?” And my response was and will always be, “Because I wanted her to be.” I had to trust myself, and just like that, Okoye sold out. I created the ‘Wakanda Forever’ pin and that one sold out, as well. And then the Shuri pin came and went. It was all in 3 weeks that I finally understood and realized that I can do this. If I didn’t before, I fully believe in myself now.      As the year progressed, I continued to create more and more, and you guys responded in such a positive way it overwhelmed me.   Sometimes we all do need a little push from others to know that our work matters and that our talents are real. And as I sit here, writing this, my heart fills with joy because I’m grateful. I am thankful to have you guys continue to support my work. I’m grateful for the feedback you give, all of the tags and reposting that you do. Thank you for inspiring me on a daily basis and thank you for supporting and sharing my work. This year my faith has carried me more than it ever has and I’ve learned that God has my back as long as I meet him halfway.   Is there anything new that you’ve learned or noticed about yourself this year? Please let me know!  

There are days when I'm inspired and then there are days when I am not. Today was that day! It's no secret that, aside from everyday experiences, I use instagram for inspiration.

Recently, I've been struggling with trying to figure out what it is I wanted to do with She Illustrates. I currently love the direction that my business is going in, but I am also aware that staying in the same lane and going in the same direction will get me nowhere.