Meet Elijah Glasper

We were lucky to catch up with Elijah Glasper recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elijah, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

I feel my optimism comes from the responsibility we all share to nurture the greatness in each other. We all deserve to be the best versions of ourselves and should do everything we can to bring that out of one another. This is something I am blessed to have continually poured into me, so how dare I not for others? How dare I not believe in the power of people and our amazing power to change? Not just ourselves but everyone and everything around us for good.

As an artist, I have the opportunity to create in ways that can move others and make a difference. For me to believe in the power of my pen someone had to believe in me enough to hand me a pen.

“Your time is coming bro” with an assuring head nod. This from an employee of my local Family Dollar, whom I had never seen before that day and have not seen since. I wish I knew their name, but I don’t. On a random unassuming day several years ago, I still think about it. The awkward teenager I was could only muster a stammered “Thank you” with no eye contact and didn’t think to add a “You too” but I hope somehow they knew it was mutual. The nature of his words, familial and sincere from someone I could never pick out in a crowd. He simply owed me change, certainly not reassurance about life but he gave it anyway. Them being someone I did not know somehow made those words stick with me even more after all this time. Could he have somehow known I was a young insecure artist struggling with the prospect? Impossible. Yet his words had been perfectly timed and perfectly out of place for the interaction. My optimism comes from the power we all have to uplift one another by believing in one another, we all build on the faith others place in us.

In a world that gives us millions of reasons not to hope and rely on one another, it is still the bravest thing in the world to hope.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a freelance artist and designer who specializes mostly in illustration, painting, photography, and graphic design. The primary focus of my work is politics and pop culture.

I enjoy collaborating with other freelancers and small businesses. I primarily do drawings, paintings, (traditional and digital), logos, posters, and clothing design.

Currently, I am trying my hand at comic book writing and illustration. My love for the medium sparked my initial interest in art at a young age. It is a lot of work but I am enjoying the process and will hopefully have a project out within the coming year (fingers crossed).

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Integrity, Hard work, & love.

I approach life with these qualities and it feels like a winning trio. Work with integrity, be someone people can trust and rely on. Work hard, with discipline in everything you can. Love yourself, and the people around you and life as much and as often as possible.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My own mind. The constant pressure to always be topping myself can often leave me paralyzed into making nothing at all. With the fear it will somehow be “worse” and show I am regressing someway. Reassurance from others can help take some of the pressure off me. Also understanding measures of success are arbitrary, especially in art. Everything I make doesn’t have to be earth-shattering to be valuable to myself and to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eliglasper.art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliglasper/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-glasper-287144207/

Image Credits

I own the rights to these images