Davida Rogers on Grief, Gore, and the Joy of Creating
In this episode, we talk with Davida Rogers about the raw, vivid power of personal expression through art. Known for her bold use of color and fearless themes that blend beauty with gore, Davida shares how her work has become a way to process big emotions — from grief to joy — and to make sense of what’s hard to put into words. We also dive into the complicated relationship many creatives have with the label “artist,” especially when faced with outside pressure to monetize what they make. Davida opens up about the role of community, the influence of her Sierra Leonean roots, and how making art became a lifeline. This episode is an invitation to start where you are, trust your voice, and redefine what it means to create on your own terms.
Follow Davida on Instagram @khanya_sviesa
Mentioned in this episode:
Joe Bean Roasters
Joe Bean Coffee - Coffee that lifts everyone. https://shop.joebeanroasters.com
Mind of Magnus
Artist Magnus Champlin Interviews guests sharing the stories and life adventures with the goal of expanding minds.
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:Welcome back to the show for another episode of behind the Studio Door.
Speaker B:I'm your host, Molly Darling, along with my co host, Christian Rivera.
Speaker C:I'm in a very calm mood today, so I think I'm just going to talk like this the whole episode and maybe just try to make sure that you're relaxed, you know, sit back in your chair.
Speaker C:You're going to, you know, continue working on what you're working on, you know, enjoy your life.
Speaker C:Just think about being on the beach.
Speaker B:You've been cut off.
Speaker C:I'm done.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:I was gonna.
Speaker C:You're right.
Speaker C:You're right to do that.
Speaker C:I was gonna go on for a good 40 minutes.
Speaker B:And coming in clutch with the turning off the microphones, it's Chris Lindstrom.
Speaker D:I'm having fun with dials.
Speaker D:What a.
Speaker D:What a delight.
Speaker D:Who doesn't enjoy a good knob?
Speaker A:The button man.
Speaker C:The button man.
Speaker C:Mr.
Speaker C:Strawberry is here.
Speaker C:Mr.
Speaker C:Buttons.
Speaker B:I chose to have you both on the podcast.
Speaker C:You did choose this?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:You set yourself up for this madness.
Speaker B:We love it.
Speaker B:Also on the show today, which I'm really excited to have, Davita Rogers, an amazing artist from Sierra Leone and Rochester and all the places.
Speaker B:Thank you for coming on the show.
Speaker A:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker A:I requested brilliant sound effects.
Speaker B:Brilliant.
Speaker C:So she brought in specifically someone to be in the background to applaud to every single thing that she's going to say.
Speaker A:That is my partner.
Speaker C:So just so you know, that's what this episode's gonna be all about.
Speaker A:They do this.
Speaker B:This is what support truly sounds like.
Speaker B:Everybody.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Pay attention.
Speaker C:Maybe we'll reveal the mystery of who that is.
Speaker C:Later.
Speaker B:They'Ll have their own podcast and we'll have someone to come clap for them.
Speaker A:I will be here.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker C:Be like a pay it forward thing, like in the Starbucks line or something.
Speaker C:You pay someone's money, you clap for the next.
Speaker C:The next guest will come in and clap for the current guest.
Speaker B:I like that idea.
Speaker C:Let's keep that going.
Speaker B:So how are you today, Davida?
Speaker B:Tell me about your art and how you like to describe yourself in that way and.
Speaker B:Yeah, what's up?
Speaker A:I'm okay today.
Speaker A:I'm doing well.
Speaker A:A little bit bored, but I've been fed and I've had some mimosas, so I'm doing well.
Speaker C:Don't tell me you're bored because I'm gonna amp it up way too much.
Speaker A:Before I got here.
Speaker A:Now I'm kind of, you know, zen, I think, art wise.
Speaker A:I am kind of.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I don't I think I recently started not describing myself as an artist, but that's only because I am not as consistent as I think most people or most artists are.
Speaker A:I feel like my.
Speaker A:The frequency between work is kind of few, so maybe that's the reason why.
Speaker A:But other than that, the kind of art I make is just kind of dependent on how I'm feeling.
Speaker A:But I'm very into gore.
Speaker A:I really like colors.
Speaker A:I try to, like, bring those two things together.
Speaker A:And, yeah, that's.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's pretty much, like, the basis of, like, all of my art.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:How was it?
Speaker B:So how long were you in Sierra Leone?
Speaker B:Like, tell me about, like, I was.
Speaker A:Like, born and raised.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And how does that inform your practice?
Speaker B:Like, how are those things connected?
Speaker A:You know, that's really interesting because I feel like when you think someone from, like, Africa or West Africa making art, the art that I grew up seeing or, like, the art that I know people from my side of the world make, is very.
Speaker A:It's very like a call back to home.
Speaker A:It's very.
Speaker A:It's very African proud, which I really like.
Speaker A:But I don't make art like that.
Speaker A:I'm very much, like, deviated from that.
Speaker A:But I think that a lot of it is also informed by my experiences in Sierra Leone.
Speaker A:So I think, in essence, it is Sierra Leonean art because it's made by a Sierra Leonean, and it's made with my Sierra Leonean experiences in mind.
Speaker A:So I think it's just.
Speaker A:It just needs to find its place somewhere in there.
Speaker A:And I know for a fact that there are other African artists that make art just like mine, and I just need to find them.
Speaker A:I think I just need to find my people.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Is there a certain quality that makes your art from Sierra Leone like, that is through you, but also has some of that essence coming through, like, descriptive quality of it or some, you know, anything that's borrowed, perhaps a lot of.
Speaker A:My titles as well, is directly borrowed from, like, either something I experience while being in Sierra Leone, my Sierra Leone and upbringing, my Sierra Leonean parents.
Speaker A:I think that is, like, one aspect.
Speaker A:It might not be, like, directly correlated, but I think a lot of it is derived.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, that totally makes sense.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And you haven't been in Rochester for very long, right?
Speaker B:How long have you been in Rochester and what brought you here?
Speaker A:I've been here two and a half years.
Speaker A:I think August would probably make it three years.
Speaker A:Tiwa, my partner, got into grad school here, and I got a job And I just kind of, like, followed them here.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And now I'm also in grad school, so I guess that's why I'm here.
Speaker A:And we'll be here until that entire journey is over.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:What's it been like?
Speaker B:Because it's got to be a contrast, right, being in Rochester versus Sierra Leone?
Speaker A:Oh, it's such a contrast.
Speaker B:Are there things in this experience of being here that have informed your work?
Speaker B:Like, does your experience where you are inform your work also?
Speaker A:Um, my location definitely matters.
Speaker A:I, Like, I spent most of my years being in America once I came from Sierra Leone in Maryland, and then I moved here.
Speaker A:So, like, this is a totally new environment for me.
Speaker A:I think once I started showing work at the, Like, Rochester in the.
Speaker A:In the Rochester art spaces, then I started to think of Rochester in my work.
Speaker A:Specifically when I was doing Thought.
Speaker A:Like, the first time and the second time, I, like, have Rochester in mind.
Speaker A:And I feel like now being more involved in, like, the Rochester, like, art community, going to people's shows and seeing what they're doing and how, like, being from Rochester, like, Erica was just here.
Speaker A:She is a Rochesterian native.
Speaker A:It really changes, like, my perspective on, I guess, like, the location and, like, how it informs your art.
Speaker A:Because before then, I'm like, I make the same kind of art everywhere I go.
Speaker A:But now I'm, like, kind of seeing how if I do leave Rochester, I'm gonna look back on, like, those thought pieces and remember that I made that because of Rochester and because I was in Rochester.
Speaker B:Because you were surviving the longest.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:It's the worst ones that I've experienced.
Speaker C:The winter brings out the art and people.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:I was just looking up.
Speaker D:It seems like.
Speaker D:Seems like PG county outside of Baltimore actually has a pretty high amount of Sierra Leone population.
Speaker A:Clearly where I'm from.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So, I mean, I was just looking just to see, like, oh, is there an infrastructure?
Speaker D:Because what happens in New York State anyways is, you know, they'll have, like, you know, refugee groups, and they'll try to bring them all to one city.
Speaker D:So, like, Utica has a lot of Bosnian population.
Speaker D:Rochester has had a very quickly growing Nepalese population and Afghan population.
Speaker D:Buffalo has a lot of Burmese, and it's actually raised the population of the city of Buffalo because of the Burmese population coming in.
Speaker D:Yeah, Seems like that's.
Speaker D:You know, there's a big West African center outside of.
Speaker D:Outside of the D.C.
Speaker D:you know, Baltimore kind of area.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:Was that kind of a.
Speaker D:Did that help with the process when you came to The US for the first time, having a community around.
Speaker A:Yeah, my family, my mom was already in PG County.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker A:So we had family in the area.
Speaker A:We had family in Maryland in general.
Speaker A:We had family in Bowie, we had family in Laurel.
Speaker A:So we already had like, kind of our own close knit community in the greater, like, Sierra Leonean community.
Speaker A:It was like a Sierra Leonean church that my mom would go to as well.
Speaker A:So that was kind of.
Speaker A:The integration wasn't as rough, but outside of that, I had to go to school in PG County.
Speaker A:Like, I graduated from Duval High School.
Speaker A:And that was still very much like a culture shock to me.
Speaker A:I don't think having.
Speaker A:And even in my.
Speaker A:In my school, the people that I ended up making friends with were.
Speaker A:There were people from like, other West African countries and like the Caribbean.
Speaker A:I didn't have a ton of, like, Sierra Leonean friends.
Speaker A:So it was not the same as, like, what I had just come from.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:So even though the transition was pretty.
Speaker A:It was made easy by at least having like, my community outside of school.
Speaker A:It was still.
Speaker A:It was not all, you know.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's never.
Speaker D:It's not easy.
Speaker D:Yeah, it's never easy.
Speaker D:But, you know, at least having that support structure is.
Speaker D:Is valuable.
Speaker D:And I think that's, you know, having that, you know, for everybody coming in, that they have a community and a support system to find their comfort, find, you know, when the times are tough, finding that comfort.
Speaker D:And sometimes art is a part of that.
Speaker D:Finding, finding your voice in a different place.
Speaker C:So you mentioned gore and colors to make a hard pivot.
Speaker C:I'm curious about that relationship to gore and colors and if there are themes within that that are coming forward in your work.
Speaker C:Like, are you focused on particular subjects?
Speaker C:Visuals, angles, like, what's.
Speaker C:What are some common stuff coming through themes?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:You know, actually, when I first started, color was not like, I would only use red, like, a lot because that was the only thing I was kind of focused on because I was only doing, like, blacks and reds.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then I started to do more color and I saw that the figures that I was painting, they stood out way more.
Speaker A:When they look like how they look, they're screaming or they're, you know, their faces are, you know, kind of either just like completely scoured or, you know, they're in some type of way, but they have all these nice colors around them.
Speaker A:I thought that was a really great, like, contrast.
Speaker A:And so now I'm more focused on using as many colors as I can because I do enjoy it as well.
Speaker A:Like, I feel like, you know, using my pastels, like, they're the.
Speaker A:The only things I can actually do right now also, because it's the only thing I have, like, time to really do.
Speaker A:Yeah, it.
Speaker A:I think that's mostly like, where I'm.
Speaker A:I'm like, going.
Speaker A:So it's.
Speaker A:Once I pick up the pastels, I see the colors that I want to use, I immediately go into, like, what I'm feeling that day, or like, what I want to.
Speaker A:What I want to show.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Mm.
Speaker C:I mean, how.
Speaker C:How might some of the.
Speaker C:The gore imagery relate to some of how you're feeling?
Speaker C:Like, what stories are coming out from you into those pieces?
Speaker A:I think a lot of it is pain.
Speaker A:I mean, as simple as, like, it may sound.
Speaker A:I think all I want to kind of portray is I kind of want to just let it all out, kind of take it all out, like, piece by piece, experience by experience.
Speaker A:I think once I.
Speaker A:Once I do it, like when I made the piece about learning that my father had passed away, I was able to, like, confront that feeling that day, because I don't talk about it, like, a lot.
Speaker A:It was so cold in Rochester.
Speaker A:It was like snowing like crazy.
Speaker A:And I came outside and I was like, waiting for my Uber and nobody was there, by the way.
Speaker A:It was so weird because, you know, people are outside even in.
Speaker A:In the snow.
Speaker A:And it was a school.
Speaker A:Like, I was working right at like, you know, I was working for a lab and we were in one of the schools and I came outside and like, nobody was outside.
Speaker A:There was no bus, were no children.
Speaker A:And quiet, just quiet.
Speaker A:And I was just standing there by myself, just waiting for my Uber.
Speaker A:And I'm like, I don't think I will ever be able to, like, express exactly what I was feeling in that moment when I was standing there until I made that piece.
Speaker A:And it looked exactly like how I looked it.
Speaker A:It didn't look like me, cuz it's this like, thing with like, big eyes and, you know, this face and it's just a head and it's crying blood and it's just a single tear because I didn't even have it in me to like, burst out and cry.
Speaker A:Like, I.
Speaker A:I waited until I.
Speaker A:The Uber dropped me off, I got home, I got in the house, and like, I broke down in that one moment.
Speaker A:That tear was the only thing I shed.
Speaker A:But how I was feeling inside, it was so large, it was indescribable.
Speaker A:And I was not able to, like, express that to anyone, not even, you know, my partner, because That I.
Speaker A:I tell them everything.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Was indescribable.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:I made that piece of art, and it looked exactly like it.
Speaker A:And I saw it and I understood.
Speaker A:And I'm like, yes, that's.
Speaker A:That is exactly what it was.
Speaker A:And I think that I'm able to, like, do that for, like, different things, you know, it's not all pain, I guess.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's confusion, sometimes it's regret.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's, you know, Sometimes it's.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's happy.
Speaker B:I did want to, like, draw attention to one of the things that you said, like, in passing, but it was really profound where you just described this whole.
Speaker B:All of these feelings and emotions that you felt in your body.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And you didn't have the words for them.
Speaker B:And then you said, I saw it and I knew, like, it's like the beauty of art being a way to express, like, squeeze out those feelings, put them somewhere where they're not in your body anymore, and then be able to look at it and be like, oh, that's what it is.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:And it's such.
Speaker B:And it's such a relief, too.
Speaker B:Is that how it feels for you when you're making?
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And I think that is one of the reasons why I do not, like, letting go of my stuff.
Speaker A:I don't think about, like.
Speaker A:Except when I'm, like, super broke.
Speaker A:I don't think about selling art at all.
Speaker A:Like, I think about if I am going to sell things, I will make prints of them.
Speaker A:Because I have a very hard time letting go of stuff because I.
Speaker A:I know that I'm making it for myself.
Speaker A:And when I see it, it's a very great reminder of exactly what it was.
Speaker A:Even if, like, I don't see.
Speaker A:I don't look at it for, like, months or whatever.
Speaker A:I go back and I see it, and I remember exactly what I was feeling when I made it and what I was feeling when I was experiencing the thing that made me make it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, when did you first discover that art could have that power?
Speaker B:Like, what was your first experience with that?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think maybe.
Speaker A:Maybe like a year or two before I moved to Rochester.
Speaker A:That was when I, like, reunited with a friend of mine from Baltimore.
Speaker A:And that was around the same time I also met Tiwa.
Speaker A:And he's an artist.
Speaker A:And I think once I started to, like, have more, like, I started to hang out with him a lot in his art studio, and we would have, like, conversations about his art and, like, his thought process, and I started to think about my own, like, life and my thought processes and how I used to, you know, make art here and there, but nothing too serious.
Speaker A:Nothing.
Speaker A:You know, like the.
Speaker A:The year before, I was in, like, a super horrible relationship, and I was, like, making little things here and there, painting here and there.
Speaker A:And he was also an artist, the person I was dating.
Speaker A:And I felt like I was doing it, like, in secret away so he wouldn't see it or judge it.
Speaker A:And I stopped completely until I met my friend.
Speaker A:His name is Wally.
Speaker A:And I started to kind of just be in, like, the presence of all of his work and, like, his art.
Speaker A:And then I started to think about my stuff again and how much I really do like doing that stuff.
Speaker A:And now I can do it out in the open.
Speaker A:I don't have to, like, hide anymore.
Speaker A:And that was when I.
Speaker A:I really started to, like, do things that, like, spoke to me.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's really beautiful.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, it's really interesting to me when, you know, we start out saying gore and color.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And it sounds so flippant.
Speaker C:It sounds so like, oh, you're just into horror movies and you just want to be extreme and you just whatever.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Or like, there's some weird hidden psychological thing that you don't want to talk about.
Speaker D:Hey, that's cool, too.
Speaker D:Come on.
Speaker C:Hey, by all means, that's still cool.
Speaker C:I'm not judging, but, you know, it's interesting to get a little bit further.
Speaker C:And really, it's like tapping into the pure.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:The pure weight of the human experience.
Speaker C:Like, there's just a depth of feeling that you.
Speaker C:You tag into, you get into that is like, you know, a grief that is your unique grief, given that specific story.
Speaker C:But, like, grief in general is like such a human emotion that someone can look at your work and feel it, find their path to that or find what they have experienced with that.
Speaker C:Or maybe they're turned off by it because they haven't touched it.
Speaker C:You know, they don't want to go there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:But there's a certain gift to that.
Speaker B:There's still a response to it, which is what makes it someone's.
Speaker B: something, art and your work: Speaker C:And you kind of briefly said in the beginning that, like, you don't make art very often.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Which sounds.
Speaker C:Tell me if I'm wrong or not, but it sounds like it's a little bit of an insecure point.
Speaker C:But it's also.
Speaker C:I see it as something where, if you're going through such a depth process to pull out these intense emotions.
Speaker C:Of course it's gonna take a long time to get stuff out.
Speaker C:I mean, Molly, do you have some resonance with that?
Speaker B:Well, yeah, you were talking about it, and when you said, I just haven't made art in a long time, I was like, yeah, me too, girl.
Speaker B:Like, I also haven't made art in a long time.
Speaker B:And it's interesting, like, how we'll label ourselves.
Speaker B:Artists are not based on that because it's like, it doesn't matter how long you go between making something.
Speaker B:Like you are an artist.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I do resonate with that.
Speaker B:It's like sometimes you have these seasons where you're just like, I will literally go to the easel and look at the painting and be like, no, no, not today.
Speaker B:Still not.
Speaker C:Do some of the.
Speaker C:Do some of the more joyful emotions come through that same style?
Speaker A:Yes, actually, they.
Speaker A:They do.
Speaker A:I feel like it when I'm.
Speaker A:Except that when I'm joyful and I'm in that joyful mood, I want to share that with people.
Speaker A:And I'm not in solitary.
Speaker A:I want to be left alone and like, I have to busy myself or I.
Speaker A:I'm like, inspired to go and, like, do something.
Speaker A:So I think most of that is the.
Speaker A:The more rare part of, like, what I do.
Speaker A:So it's not as often because I don't find myself making.
Speaker A:Running to go make art when I'm like, happy.
Speaker A:When I'm happy, I'm thinking of like, hanging out with, like, with Tiwa or hanging out with my friends or like, whatever.
Speaker A:I'm not in the mood to sort of be alone with my self.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Versus when I'm feeling solemn and I do absolutely want to be alone.
Speaker A:And most.
Speaker A:Most of the time I don't even, you know, I.
Speaker A:I will busy myself.
Speaker A:I'll go to school, I'll go to lab or whatever, and it will be like 2am or 3am and then I'll get out of bed and I'll go and sit in the dressing room, and then I'm in there with my sketchbook and I'm doing the stuff by myself.
Speaker A:So I think it just.
Speaker A:There needs to be like a balance with me feeling happy and then going to do art as frequently as I feel solemn and going to do art.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So would you say that your artistic process is like a way for you to just process, like a medicine.
Speaker B:Medicine.
Speaker B:Medicinal process for you to help with your feelings?
Speaker A:Oh, 100%.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I feel like I.
Speaker B:Because it's the same for me.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:No I don't even.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I feel like for the longest time, I don't.
Speaker A:I don't even describe it like that because I'm like, that's like.
Speaker A:It's basically art therapy.
Speaker A:You know, you could.
Speaker A:But I just.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I think about it that way now because I know it's so.
Speaker A:So helpful.
Speaker A:It's the same kind of, like, feeling I have when I am able to, like, journal, like, multiple pages all at once.
Speaker A:And I'm like, I'm done with this.
Speaker A:I'm done getting out this emotion.
Speaker A:And then I don't journal for, like, six months.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's a vibe.
Speaker A:Y.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:100%.
Speaker A:And I'm like, this is.
Speaker A:Yeah, this is.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:This is how I see it.
Speaker A:And I'm.
Speaker A:I'm happy with, like.
Speaker A:I'm happy with this.
Speaker A:With this flow.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I'm really curious, too, about this juxtaposition a little bit between.
Speaker A:Let's get a sound.
Speaker A:Sound effect.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah, that was a lot.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Nice juxtaposition.
Speaker C:Yeah, that was.
Speaker B:Speaking of.
Speaker C:That's what happens when.
Speaker C:When thoughts leave my brain that sound.
Speaker D:Okay, well, I think I need to go journal for, like, 20 pages, and then we're going to get to Christian's question.
Speaker C:Yeah, let's do that.
Speaker D:When we get right back.
Speaker A:Oh, yay.
Speaker C:So I keep following this thread of gore and colors.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:Just the beautiful contrast of that is.
Speaker C:Is wonderful.
Speaker C:And the fact that where we spent a little bit of time talking about, you know, what we jokingly called this art therapy, sort of this depth work of.
Speaker C:Of.
Speaker C:Of grief and emotion and the heavier emotions that require you to be on your own to process.
Speaker C:And then there's this other side.
Speaker C:There's the colors side.
Speaker C:And I think I heard you say that some of it was about maybe making that more.
Speaker C:I don't know if accessible is the right word, but there's, like, a brightening up of it to make it healing, appealing, palatable, something that's just, like, you can take.
Speaker C:And I'm curious about this other side of, like, the joyful part we talked about a little bit, too.
Speaker C:But when you're feeling joyful, there's this, like, you want to be with your friends and your partner and out in the world.
Speaker C:Is there art that comes through that in terms of more of a collaborative opportunity?
Speaker C:Or have you thought about that or played with, perhaps, like, when you're dealing with the heavier emotions or needing to process, that stuff comes through alone when you're in your dressing room, sketching.
Speaker C:But when you're with other people and you're feeling that lightness and joy, are you still feeling compelled to make art?
Speaker C:And are you exploring what that looks like, the kind of.
Speaker C:The color side, for lack of a better way to put it?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think maybe not.
Speaker A:You know, my paintings or drawings type of art.
Speaker A:I think I.
Speaker A:I like to consider myself multifaceted, so I like clothes, and I do like putting things together.
Speaker B:I love your styling.
Speaker B:Talk about art.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Let's get into it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I.
Speaker A:When I'm in that mode, I.
Speaker A:So, you know, Tiwa is, like, my partner in everything.
Speaker A:Like, we get dressed together, and I feel like maybe in the beginning he, like, completely hated me because I'm always, like, giving my opinion that nobody asked for.
Speaker A:Like, okay, why.
Speaker A:Okay, why are you putting that together?
Speaker A:Why are you wearing that?
Speaker D:I don't know anything about that.
Speaker D:That's not how I live my entire life.
Speaker A:But I think now it's a bit, like, collaborative.
Speaker A:And he would, like, absolutely put things together, like, for me or, like, give me one thing that's going to, like, put together my everything.
Speaker A:And I like to think of the way I dress as, like, a form of, like, expression as well.
Speaker A:So I think that form of art, I.
Speaker A:It's kind of collaborative in that way.
Speaker A:Other than that, I would really love to, like, collaborate with, like, people and make things that I, you know, I see other people's artwork and I.
Speaker A:I see.
Speaker A:You know, I see them, like.
Speaker A:I see their essence in it, and they're happy and they're playful, and they're cheery, and they're beautiful.
Speaker A:And I want to be, like, a part of it as well.
Speaker A:Except I don't know how to do the collaboration thing, because I kind of think of my own art as, like, you know, this is, like, an expression, like, an extension of me.
Speaker A:And I don't know if you're going to be into that, but, you know, I would like to do that.
Speaker A:I would.
Speaker A:I would like to and, like, collaborate and make something that is actually really cool, but not, like, a downer.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:Like, we can collaborate.
Speaker B:Why don't we collaborate?
Speaker A:We could collaborate.
Speaker A:I would like to collab.
Speaker A:I feel like your art is, like, super explosive and colorful as well.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I just love layering.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like, yeah.
Speaker B:So I think.
Speaker B:And that's as easy as it can be sometimes it's just like, I don't know.
Speaker B:Your stuff's cool.
Speaker B:It's almost like being a little kid in the sandbox being like, I like your play.
Speaker B:You like my shovel.
Speaker B:Can we play together?
Speaker B:You know, like.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, we kind of touched on that a tiny bit in the Erica Bryant episode.
Speaker C:It's like, if you get a chance to go listen to that, you should.
Speaker C:It's about dreams, largely, but it's.
Speaker C:It's this idea of, like, sometimes we just don't have to overthink it.
Speaker C:Like, sometimes there is a lot of depth.
Speaker C:Sometimes there's a great meaning to take from the work that we do.
Speaker C:But sometimes it's just like, you just want to look cool, or you just want to make something that looks cool.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Or you just want to dance and move in a way that looks cool.
Speaker C:It doesn't always have to have some depth and intensity to it.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:And I'm kind of wondering.
Speaker D:So I know, like, when I started to pay attention to the way I dressed, I always like to have a, you know, a theme, and mine are fairly simple.
Speaker D:It's usually a lot of color coordination, but there's colors that make me feel, you know, if I'm feeling really happy that day.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker D:I'll end up wearing.
Speaker B:He wears his pink.
Speaker D:I'll wear hot pink.
Speaker A:Like, neon pink.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:It feels to me it's a very joyful color.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:It's.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:Oh, you don't see it.
Speaker D:No.
Speaker D:People like.
Speaker D:Oh, they're demonized from, you know, a toxic masculinity perspective.
Speaker D:But are there colors that are your joyful colors that you.
Speaker D:That you feel great either, you know, portraying through art or just like, hey, when I'm feeling good, I'm bringing this color.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:100%.
Speaker A:I love a yellow.
Speaker A:There's this particular shade of yellow.
Speaker A:I brought my sketchbook for you guys to see to, if you care.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But, my gosh.
Speaker A:You will see.
Speaker A:Like, I reach for that color every time I'm feeling like, you know what?
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I have a, you know, it look.
Speaker A:It doesn't look like, you know, I'm in a good mood making this, but I'm just gonna add this yellow just so people understand that this is not.
Speaker A:It's not like, they look distressed, but trust me, guys, the day is nice.
Speaker A:The blue is bluing.
Speaker A:Everything looks great for, like, clothing and stuff.
Speaker A:You know, I really love patterns, and so, like, I do everything.
Speaker A:Blues, florals, pinks, oranges.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I really do, and I.
Speaker A:This is coming from a person that is always wearing Black.
Speaker A:So I 100% get you.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker A:When I'm happy, I'm gonna throw on that scarf And I have, like, 36 different patterns on me.
Speaker A:And then when I don't want to be seen at all or, like, I'm feeling very laid back today, I'm gonna wear all black or whatever.
Speaker D:And also, what.
Speaker D:What a beautiful thing, right?
Speaker D:When you get those colors and, like, that contrast, especially, like, when you're wearing it, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:You get that beautiful contrast of those colors and patterns.
Speaker D:Like, what a delightful thing.
Speaker A:It is so delightful because you end up just smiling like that.
Speaker A:And it's like, I want to say hi to you, you know, Like, I want to know what your thought process is coming out the house looking like that today.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Because there's different motivations.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And, like, I don't know.
Speaker C:The other day, we've been moving offices for my job, and I knew it was going to be a day where I had to step up and I had to move a lot of stuff.
Speaker C:And most of the time, you think of, like, you know, I'm gonna wear something that's dirty and raggedy and just not bother.
Speaker C:But I was like, I'm gonna need a lot of motivation today, so I'm gonna, like, get dressed up.
Speaker B:You, like, dressed up?
Speaker C:I dressed up proper.
Speaker C:And, like, I was like, no, I'm gonna move stuff and look good doing it and feel good about it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And you did, you know, thank you for the app.
Speaker C:Applause break.
Speaker C:But, like, color has such an impact on how you feel or how something can be perceived.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, so, like, that.
Speaker C:That color, especially with the contrast, again with, like, the gore or something else that's like, you know, I mean, do you either.
Speaker C:And this is open to anyone, but, like, I will sometimes, when I'm having a bad mental health day, will also wear color to, like, fake it just a little bit.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Like, because I.
Speaker C:I'm kind of inviting someone at that point to come and compliment me or to greet me and say hello or just, like, to.
Speaker C:To cheer me up because I'm not doing it apparently enough for myself.
Speaker C:So I need some help, and I will lean into colors for that reason.
Speaker A:That's a great tactic.
Speaker B:Yeah, I will.
Speaker B:I dress up a lot for my job anyway.
Speaker B:I have to.
Speaker B:But, like, I do it a little extra and try to add, like, punk rock edge to it to make myself happy.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm like.
Speaker B:And I always say the same thing, because I'm kind of.
Speaker B:I'm in a nonprofit corporate environment, so people can sometimes have a tendency to slide into, like, the beige kind of dressing.
Speaker B:I'll just wear slack blending the walls and A polo shirt.
Speaker B:And it's like, you guys are so boring.
Speaker B:Like, it's fine.
Speaker B:There's a place for it, but it's.
Speaker B:There's something about, like, colors and dressing and allowing yourself to really sink into that character.
Speaker B:Like, everything for me is, like, drag you in that way.
Speaker B:Like, it's just like, today, I am this corporate professional badass, and I'm wearing my nails, and I've got my doc boots, and that's the thing.
Speaker B:I'm wondering if your painting and pastel creations that you make ever intersect with, like, your fashion.
Speaker A:Oh, I don't think so.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I've never actually thought about that at all.
Speaker B:I feel like it's one thing you'd ever consider.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:You know, I think maybe I.
Speaker A:I should.
Speaker A:I should go back and, like, look at all of my.
Speaker A:The color or, like, the color combinations I work with and see if I can make that happen in, like, my fashion.
Speaker A:But, no, I think when I started getting into colors, that was because I was literally forcing myself to step out of, like, just my monotone black and sometimes red, you know, like, routine.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:To not be afraid of color, because I used to be, like, super afraid of, like, color, and I'd always, you know, just, like, stick to the basics and try to make it as interesting as I can.
Speaker A:But now I feel like I'm doing color and, like, just the.
Speaker A:In a very compartmentalized way.
Speaker A:Like, I still think about how I dress and how I want to look and how I can incorporate color in there, but with, like, art, I kind of just like, go crazy.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Which is.
Speaker B:And just let it be.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, just let it be.
Speaker A:Whatever.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:I'm fine with.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Do you choose colors?
Speaker B:Like, are you the type of person who has color palettes in mind for your work?
Speaker B:Or does it.
Speaker B:Is it, like.
Speaker B:Because for me, I'm like, that yellow looks really fucking good, and I'm just gonna grab it, and I'm just gonna put it.
Speaker B:Like, it's more impulse for me.
Speaker B:Do you have.
Speaker A:Same thing for me.
Speaker A:I want to get better with my color palette, like, choosing.
Speaker A:Because I.
Speaker A:You will obviously tell.
Speaker A:When you're working with acrylics, it's much different than, like, you're working with pastels or whatever, because when the colors mix and they don't go together, you will get an ugly shade of gray or whatever that you do not want.
Speaker A:And I feel like sometimes it works because, you know, you don't really have a theme or whatever in mind, and it can go.
Speaker A:But I Do want to get a better grasp of my.
Speaker A:My color palettes and be able to use colors that absolutely go together.
Speaker A:But with pastels, it's a lot easier for me, because if I don't want it to blend, I just don't blend it.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:You just leave it.
Speaker A:I just leave it as it is.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Acrylics are pretty finicky.
Speaker A:Very.
Speaker B:That way, it's like you can either make something really brilliant, or it's like, oh, I just pushed it right over the edge.
Speaker A:Just if you had stopped five seconds before.
Speaker B:It happens to at least 50% of my work, I will say at some point, this is why my acrylics have so many layers on them, is because I will push it too far, and then I will have a brilliant outcome, and then I'll just do a couple strokes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's like, oh, my God.
Speaker B:God damn it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that's one of the ones that ends up being in the corner that we don't make eye contact for a while.
Speaker B:I'm like, all right, I don't see you.
Speaker D:If you don't see me, revisit this another time.
Speaker C:I mean, art's interesting in that way.
Speaker C:It's this practice of, like, attachment and detachment in a lot of ways.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, you talked about letting go.
Speaker C:You talked about the challenge of.
Speaker C:Of selling your art.
Speaker C:I wouldn't say maybe it's a challenge or not, but it's like, you know, there's attachment to the work because of the personal attachment to the meaning behind it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it's tough to let that go, you know?
Speaker C:Do you feel that way?
Speaker C:Would you feel that way if it was, like, a piece that's just about colors and you're just, you know, maybe making a floral scene or something?
Speaker C:Not that you do that, but you know what I mean?
Speaker C:Like, do you feel like it would be easier to let go, or do you feel like there's a general attachment to, like, art?
Speaker C:I don't know if that makes sense.
Speaker A:I know it does.
Speaker A:And the general attachment, for me, comes with, like, when I consider a thing absolutely complete, like, it's done what I want it to do, or it's.
Speaker A:It's given me what I was expecting, you know, from it.
Speaker A:Other than that, I have a ton of uncomplete stuff, like.
Speaker A:Or incomplete stuff, and it's just, like, laying there.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Obviously, if somebody said, oh, my God, I like that.
Speaker A:That, you know?
Speaker A:Well, actually, it depends, but I would be fine with parting ways with it.
Speaker A:I'm not like, scared of, like, abandoning things.
Speaker A:I abandon things all the time.
Speaker A:I think it just happens to be a bit harder when I've considered a thing complete and I consider it a thing that I've put in my.
Speaker A:Everything into.
Speaker A:And I think that's.
Speaker A:That's when it gets hard to, like, let go of stuff.
Speaker A:Like when I sold my, like, very first piece that was at the Yards as well, I was so grateful that it was a print.
Speaker A:I remember that because I was like, oh, my God, I really love this piece.
Speaker A:And the original is in my sketchbook somewhere.
Speaker A:And I'm fine with, like, letting this go, but I would never be able to let go of this, like, thing that I've put in the actual paper.
Speaker B:That you put the actual marks on in that moment when you were feeling that.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:It, like, carries power and energy with it, for sure.
Speaker B:I feel like sometimes when I've sold things, I have hesitated to sell them or I've jumped at selling them based on the relationship I have with the person who's asking.
Speaker B:Like, someone will come into my studio and, like, have a connection to a painting and realize that they also went through a divorce or whatever that's directly correlated to that emotion.
Speaker B:I'm like, okay, you're gonna be a good steward of this piece.
Speaker B:Like, you're gonna appreciate it.
Speaker B:But if not, it's harder to very much.
Speaker A:I think it's harder with, like, complete strangers as well.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You don't know where it's going.
Speaker B:You're gonna treat this baby right.
Speaker A:You're gonna put it in the light, in that it deserves to be in frame, it, whatever.
Speaker B:Have you.
Speaker C:Oh, that's so interesting.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:I've.
Speaker C:You know, there's.
Speaker C:We kind of talked about.
Speaker C:There's a little bit of this smuggle throughout this episode.
Speaker C:I feel like, where it's a little bit about the belief of whether or not we're an artist.
Speaker C:I mean, I've struggled with that.
Speaker C:I've.
Speaker C:With calling myself an artist.
Speaker C:We've talked about it numerous times, Molly and I, and I guess I want to ask bluntly, like, why don't you think you're an artist?
Speaker C:Why don't you call yourself an artist?
Speaker A:I think I said sometimes, or maybe I do feel sometimes like I don't consider myself that because of, like, what I explained, like, the consistency.
Speaker A:I see people who do this full time, like, as a career.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker A:As career artists.
Speaker A:Of course.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I don't think that people who don't do this, you know, for money or, like, don't you know, do this full time are not artists.
Speaker A:Because I know plenty people who I would consider an artist who also have the same sentiments.
Speaker A:Like, I'm not an artist.
Speaker A:I think the title just for me sometimes carries like a responsibility to be an artist.
Speaker A:You have to sort of like live like an artist, like authentically all the time.
Speaker A:And sometimes when I'm out living my regular life in school or whatever, I don't necessarily see myself as that.
Speaker A:I think maybe that's where that disconnect is.
Speaker A:Like, I don't see myself as an artist all the time because I know I have a thing that I'm doing full time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I resonate with that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Being like in a position where I am at now as the training specialist at of Monroe and I'm like doing staff training and it's.
Speaker B:I'm suddenly in this brand new world where I'm like, oh, I'm a corporate professional.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And like not doing art full time, which is a relief to me in a lot of ways, honestly.
Speaker B:Because sometimes putting monetary pressure on your art success is hard to do well.
Speaker D:And also I think it's.
Speaker D:The other thing is when art is the thing that you do and that is, you know, the focus and you need it to survive, you're also sometimes struggling to go out and do the things that allow you to make the art.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:To live the life that makes you an interesting, you know, person who has experiences that you can go off of.
Speaker D:And it's not just the internal or outside things acting on you.
Speaker D:It's.
Speaker D:You're living a life that offers up opportunities to observe things, to have other people interact with you and find something that you wouldn't have found otherwise.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:Because it's, you know, it is the endless compromise of.
Speaker D:It's nice to have a day job that allows you to do the other things.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker D:And be comfortable.
Speaker D:But it then allows you to have life experiences to do the next thing.
Speaker A:I totally agree.
Speaker A:I do.
Speaker A:I don't wish that I was doing art like full time at all, like.
Speaker A:Like as a way for me to survive because I think that would ruin like a lot of my kind of attachment or, you know, how I feel towards my art.
Speaker A:I don't think I would like it at all.
Speaker B:Yeah, it kind of did that for me.
Speaker B:And it's weird because Instagram makes it look otherwise because it's just like the highlight reel.
Speaker B:But for me, I got to a place where I was just so sick of it and it wasn't fun for me anymore.
Speaker B:It's like If I do anything that's supposed to be a fun creative passion project, like this podcast or like whatever art that I'm making, I want it to be something that I'm excited about.
Speaker B:And it's gotta be exciting and interesting and dense enough for me at this point in time, working 40 hours a week and like, it's gotta be worth my while, you know, so it's like nice to not have that pressure.
Speaker B:Cause then, you know, you do all this other badass stuff, right?
Speaker B:Like you work in a lab and you're a grad student.
Speaker B:Like you don't have a whole lot of time on your hands, right?
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it's.
Speaker A:And it's only gonna get harder from, from now on, but when I do that, I think of like, I give myself time limits with that too.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't like to go.
Speaker A:And you know, if I have to stay in, if I don't have to be in school today, I will not go to school today if I don't have your priorities very much so.
Speaker A:I'm very strict about that.
Speaker A:I do think I need to, you know, maybe like ramp it up a little bit, spend more time.
Speaker A:Especially once I like, you know, settle in a lab, in a thesis lab.
Speaker A:I obviously would want to work towards that so I can be able to graduate and leave when I want to.
Speaker A:But other than that, I, I do not like to overextend myself in that way at all.
Speaker A:Because I like to come back to my real life, as I like to call it.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, if there's like a, an emerging theme with all of this, it feels just like the, the human part of expression and creativity.
Speaker C:Because I mean, I'm a, I've been a creative service person for 20 plus years now doing like graphic design and video production and all this stuff.
Speaker C:And that's the.
Speaker C:I, that's the other direction I came from, from the capital a artist thing is that I am being paid to create and I have been doing that for a long time, but I'm not as much of an expressive artists.
Speaker C:I've become that more and more over time.
Speaker C:I have a lot of writing and, and have done some drawings and things like that.
Speaker C:But this, hearing all of this and hearing your relationship to art directly is a, is a beautiful thing.
Speaker C:And you know, Molly's resonance with this too has been really great to hear.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm happy to hear that because I do consider you like a career artist as well.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:I still do too, I think.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But it's interesting going, going back into that world.
Speaker B:I know what you're talking about, like having a full time job, that's your day job, quote unquote, that you might still find a lot of purpose in.
Speaker B:Like I find a lot of purpose in my job, but also being like, okay, well then what does that look like if I'm not just writing a blog and shipping work and making art content and painting every day, you know, like, I went like three weeks without painting.
Speaker B:Today was the first time I painted in like almost a month.
Speaker B:But it's just like giving yourself the permission slip to just do it on your schedule and do it the way that you like it, you know?
Speaker B:Well.
Speaker C:And there's something in your approach, Molly, to art that I've heard over time.
Speaker C:Like having been together for seven, eight years now.
Speaker C:Like your relationship to art.
Speaker B:You must really love me by living in Rochester this whole time.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I'm trying to make otherwise happen.
Speaker B:He was in San Diego before.
Speaker C:Don't remind me.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker C:But, but your relationship to art is interesting in that you, your relationship as an artist isn't necessarily about you being a consistent, persistent, professional artist.
Speaker C:Being paid for all of your work, though you've wrestled with that.
Speaker C:What you communicate to me often is how you're going to be perceived after you're gone.
Speaker C:Like, what is your life going to be perceived as?
Speaker C:What is your contribution to existence?
Speaker C:In a lot of ways.
Speaker C:And that when you talk in those terms, that's when the artist part of you really comes through.
Speaker C:You reference Georgia o' Keeffe a lot.
Speaker C:You reference artists that are, like, you've told me, like, my life is art.
Speaker B:My whole life is art.
Speaker C:And that's in a way that what I'm trying to get to is like the expressiveness of like, like being alive, being a person, being a life is a creative, expressive experience.
Speaker C:And through that you talk actively about, like when you're working in your journals, like you said, you know, maybe one day somebody will find these journals and they'll try to interpret what my experience was like.
Speaker C:And they'll, they'll, you know, I'm sure they'll come up with their own stories about what my life was like or, or whatever.
Speaker C:But like, you hope that it's as accurate as possible to your story.
Speaker C:But, but I mean, can you just kind of briefly speak to that feeling?
Speaker B:I hope that people have all kinds of wrong ideas about it.
Speaker A:Actually.
Speaker C:You want them to come up with a whole grand myth about you now.
Speaker D:It's so much more fun.
Speaker B:I Think I'm more of a performance artist in that way, actually, where I'm just like.
Speaker B:Because my journals are not complete documentation at all.
Speaker B:It's just like.
Speaker B:And that's why I love reading through them, because it's like, what.
Speaker A:I love reading through my own too.
Speaker A:It's like a statement for me.
Speaker A:Like, what happened between there and there.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:See?
Speaker C:So much fodder for speculation.
Speaker D:Well, I gotta say, like.
Speaker D:Like I'm.
Speaker D:I'm the opposite, right?
Speaker D:I deleted almost all of my old emails and all the stuff that I like.
Speaker D:The history of me talking to, you know, editors and me talking about the stuff that I was doing at the time.
Speaker D:I deleted all of it recently because it didn't feel like me anymore.
Speaker D:It didn't feel like the me I am now.
Speaker D:And I'm like, why am I keeping this?
Speaker D:This isn't relevant to me anymore.
Speaker D:Which is why I also love being around creative people because, you know, my wife's a creative.
Speaker D:Being around more creative people offers those different perspectives to me as like, hey, I'm telling a story.
Speaker D:I hope people misunderstand later.
Speaker D:That's awesome.
Speaker D:That's fun.
Speaker B:And I think your story also reminded me of the point that, like, I feel like, to.
Speaker B:The real test for me if you're an artist is if it doesn't matter how often you make the work, it's.
Speaker B:You can't help it.
Speaker B:It's the fact that you can't help it.
Speaker B:It's like you just.
Speaker B:You gotta make something with something at some point.
Speaker B:Whether there's like months or years that go between those things.
Speaker B:There's always this, like, bubbling up of energy that comes, oh, I gotta make this thing that just dropped in my head, you know, so if you.
Speaker B:As we're, like, wrapping up this beautiful conversation that we've had.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for coming on the show.
Speaker A:It was really, really good.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:If you could give the listeners out there some sort of permission slip, what would you tell them?
Speaker A:Oh, you know, the thing that you're, like, super afraid of doing for, like, whatever reason, you're scared it's not going to work, or you're scared people are not going to like it, it or whatever.
Speaker A:Just, like, start it today.
Speaker A:Like, do one thing today that is going to be in, like, this entire, you know, this giant bubble, like this giant thing that you want to do.
Speaker A:Just do, like, just do one thing today that's gonna be a part of it.
Speaker A:And so you remember that you started it, like, now instead of later, because you keep pushing it you keep pushing it.
Speaker A:You keep pushing it.
Speaker A:Not now.
Speaker A:Now is not the time.
Speaker A:It's coming.
Speaker A:It's coming.
Speaker A:I'm gonna do it later.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:You will regret not starting it now.
Speaker A:And I'm speaking, like, from experience as well.
Speaker A:Just start it now.
Speaker A:Just do it.
Speaker A:Just.
Speaker A:Just do it.
Speaker A:You know, they really had it right with that one.
Speaker B:Just start.
Speaker B:Okay, you win this one.
Speaker C:You win this one, Nike.
Speaker C:But you can't take everything.
Speaker A:Prestige.
Speaker C:Super grateful for you being on the show.
Speaker C:Just grateful for your perspective and willingness to share the depth of that experience and to play back and forth with us around, like, the artist identity and expression and all of that.
Speaker C:Because I just think of sometimes there are young artists listening, sometimes there are peers and people that are making.
Speaker C:And I always say we're talking to creators, not customers.
Speaker C:And it just feels like this was a great opportunity to bring you to them.
Speaker C:So thanks for sharing yourself.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:Thank you, guys.
Speaker B:Thanks, davita.
Speaker D:This has been a presentation of the.
Speaker C:Lunchroom or podcast network.
Speaker D:Just wanted to shout out an artist that's on the walls here in the studio.
Speaker D:Studio.
Speaker D:If you see videos, you'll see this sign in the background from no Fun Zone, shout out to Susie no Fun Zone Arts and junk.
Speaker D:A R, T, Z N Junk.
Speaker D:Check them out.
Speaker D:They're doing really cool work around Rochester.
Speaker D:Thanks for listening.
