Jeralyn Victoria shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Jeralyn, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Returning to Watercolor work with a lower pressure practice, with less emphasis on the outcome in the morning over coffee!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jeralyn Victoria and though my work commonly shape shifts between mediums depending on the project or goal in mind, I’m always interested in providing an element in home environments that feel safe, grounded and surrounded by textures that look hand made. So despite teaching Watercolor on and off for years, when I returned to it this time, I quickly had a vision within my ArtistMN Studio to create a new visually lighter wallpaper from the watercolor paintings as I have with my highly textured abstract earth work in my Primal Home Collection.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I recall painting with watercolors in a way that made time disappear since I was about 3 or 4 years old, and at one point I had a teacher named Miss Blue in elementary school took the time to tell me that my peers saw that my creativity is a unique skill and that they respected me for it. There was something about that… it was an observation on something that was about self expression not people pleasing and using the word ‘respect’ that changed the shape of my brain. I felt validated to lean into moments where I decided the vision and outcome. It made me feel valued for something that I had agency over and I felt very seen by her.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I think at the core of most of my work is actually alchemy and resilience. In college it became clear that working despite pain was actually more work and less authentic then directly incorporating it. No matter the medium, I’m interested in converting materials that are typically overlooked or embracing imperfection to represent looking inward and shadows. In this case, abstract moths in vibrant watercolor evoke a similar transformation metaphor as butterflies, but they are shadow workers. We think of moths navigating darkness and being drawn to light, so they have a special place in the spiritual realm. These are not scientific studies by any means, they are imperfect, sometimes whimsical, sometimes abstract and sometimes dressed up!
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I think as an introvert, my work IS the public version of me and it’s authentically me, I can protect my energy and peace still by speaking in visual metaphor with these sweet creatures in sacred geometry and repeat patterns. I hope the depth of my humanity is embedded in the ways that’s all connected and hope that pushes up against a system that wants us to self abandon and prioritize being entertained or afraid of each other.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I think I do have a unique ability to believe in my vision even when almost no one understands the big picture I hold in my mind. That might even go right back to what my teacher told me, to trust my instincts in my work and eventually it’ll be respected or valued, even if not right away. So much of this work is not only compassion but self compassion and rebuilding a childlike practice that at least for part of the process is about nothing but play and curiosity for only myself. And when it starts by being self-satisfied, the praise becomes only a mirror to me honoring myself, not some external dependency.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Artistmn.com
- Instagram: ArtistMN
Image Credits
Artistmn.com
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
