my love for art explained ♥

My earliest memories of anything artistic were of the bright and colorful pieces of artwork sold by machann (pronounced măh-shŭn; street vendors in English) in Haiti. I remember, as a child, being pulled in by these pieces and the warm feelings that each color invoked in my spirit. I also remember the smoothness of the mahogany sculpture that sat close to the TV at my grandmother’s house and wondered how a person could turn a block of wood into a detailed art piece with lots of curves.

In elementary school, I learned about Van Gogh for the first time and the importance of not leaving paintbrushes in water. During middle school, heavily influenced by anime, I began to draw cartoons in my academic planner and on random pieces of paper. I didn’t think that I was “good at art” until my teachers took notice and also winning art competitions in and outside of school.

Feeling pressure to constantly create and developing the idea that art was just for children, my excitement for the arts gradually dissipated by the end of high school. During college, I didn’t make any art and just focused on my education. I felt a large void and became unhappy throughout this time because I didn't have an outlet to express my thoughts. These feelings helped me to realize how important and essential art was to me.

In 2015, I slowly began to immerse myself in the arts again by visiting local art museums and reconnecting with my love for drawing. In 2017, I started learning about photography after purchasing my first digital camera. Since then, I’ve been exploring other art media - ceramics, watercolor, gouache, knitting, sewing, jewelry making, and film photography, while developing my lifelong art practice.