Meet Maliyah Clark

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maliyah Clark. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maliyah below.

Maliyah, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

The best way I keep my creativity alive is by having hobbies outside my creative practice. For me, this includes reading, cafe hopping, and playing video games. These hobbies keep me creative by helping me learn or think of things in a new way. Oftentimes, it sparks inspiration for a new artwork.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Maliyah Clark is a Black, queer artist from Northeast Ohio. Clark has a lifelong love for creating and sharing art. She followed her passions to Detroit, Michigan, and received a BFA with a major in illustration from the College for Creative Studies. This passion has also led to an internship with Whitney Museum of American Art. Clark creates artwork that centers on people of color, along with bridging the gap between fantasy illustration and the representation of Black people being depicted in the genre. She utilizes a range of traditional mixed media and digital techniques to create inviting scenery and meditative fugitive illustrations. She believes in the importance of sharing her artwork in many forms: murals, cover art, editorial illustrations, art prints, and comics.

Maliyah currently sells art prints, stickers, and other creative goods with her twin sister, Makaylah Clark. The clark twins sell their work under the shared name Blackstar. The twins often sell their work at pop-up markets, online, and in person at Northside Marketplace in Akron, Ohio, and Heights Arts in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I believe the most important skills for a creative’s career journey are receptiveness to feedback, collaboration, and flexibility. The best way to improve these skills is by surrounding yourself with a creative community. This way, you have the chance to work collaboratively and receive feedback from other creatives. As well as having the chance to work with real people who can think vastly differently from yourself. Allowing you to learn how to be flexible when you face unexpected challenges.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal client would be someone with a clear vision and who can trust the artistic process. These attributes would give me the ability to help me, help the client create the best artwork I can for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mvclarkstudios.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mvclarkstudios/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mvclarkstudios
• Other: TikTok:
  

  @mvclarkstudios

  Website where you can buy my art from:
  https://blackstarcore.square.site/