We were lucky to catch up with Aylea Burkes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Aylea, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Mental health has been a lifelong, up and down journey throughout my life for sure. There have been times, up until recently where the thought of just giving up on everything has crossed my mind. Thoughts that the internal struggles I suffer will forever have a stronghold on myself and the goals that I dream of accomplishing. But each time this thought pops up in my head, a contrasting thought pops up to challenge it-” What’s different now? ” When I stop to reflect, I realize that my life in the midst of all those sad times has consistently shifted. In the past I’d been sad because I had no friends, but today I have a wonderful community of them. I thought I’d never make it through school and fail out of it, I graduated. I felt that my career was stagnant and I’d never get it started, today I just started work on my 2nd children’s book. There are smaller accomplishments too, like being let go from a toxic job and being hired soon after by one that is much better in every way.
Stopping to acknowledge the growth I’ve been blessed to experience reminds me that even in the times I feel my lowest, there’s better to come along too. Life just comes in waves like that. Knowing this keeps me going despite the challenges. What has also helped is having loved ones I can go to for support, therapy, little things that bring me joy like a comfort show, watching a favorite musician, playing a game etc. My mental health, while still a struggle, is in a much better and more manageable place than it was even 5 years ago. Which is a win for me. When my mind lies and tells me things won’t get better, I just have to look back and remember that it already has, and it will continue to!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a graduate from the Columbus College of Art of Design with a BFA in Animation, an Ohio native and a budding Children’s book illustrator! I’ve been drawing for as long as I could hold a pen, and have always loved all things artistic & wonder-filled. I love to create characters & tell stories through my art that represent people like me & the world around me. I am very new to the world of Children’s book illustration; I just wrapped up work on my 1st project(yay!), and am beginning my second. And yet, it feels like it’s just a new outlet for what I’ve loved to do all my life. I find the stories I’m helping to bring to life very special because they narrate life experiences that can often go unspoken & unheard of. Without spoiling too much, one is about a girl learning to appreciate the love of family that is still there in the absence of a family member that is near & dear to her. This is something I struggled through, have a niece that is struggling through, and know many other children in the world might struggle with as well. It’s a true blessing and honor for me to be a part of telling a story that others could hopefully find solace & guidance in. The meaningful messages readers can gain for a lifetime is probably one of my favorite aspects of children’s media & I’m very excited to continue this journey of creating smiles, one book at a time! Our book is getting ready to release soon, so if anyone is interested in checking it out I’d suggest just staying posted on my Instagram and personal website. More is to come.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I feel passion, practice & patience have been 3 very key qualities in my journey; both in art & in life. It can be a hard road being an artist, at least in my experience. You start out with all this excitement and all these ideas, and none of the execution skills or know-how of how to get to where you’d like to be. But with maintaining those 3 qualities I think the sky’s the limit for what you can accomplish, really. My journey has been filled with a lot of starts & stops, disappointments & excitements, & it’s still ongoing. Times where I felt way behind my peers in terms of skill, frustrated because it seemed I was not getting any better with my art or accomplishing goals, and just plain burnt out. But each time, my passion is what has kept me coming back because I so deeply love art & want to accomplish whatever I’m meant to do through it. The support & reassurance of community as well…With practice, though I may not see the progression each day, when I look back at where I started as a child & even during college I’m proud. I’m drawing the way baby Aylea dreamed of, & that’s a huge accomplishment for me. I’m sure future Aylea will be proud when she looks back as well. And having the patience to let that progress happen is the most important, because without it I would’ve never stuck around to see what I could do! I want to say that practice via learning from those before you & around you is so fulfilling. It’s so exciting to learn a new tip or technique, put it into action and watch the way it can transform your work. Life is all about learning to me and I never get enough of it, ever.
So I guess my advice would be to keep those 3 p’s in mind too. That excitement & passion that first drew you to a pen & some paper, never forget it. The source of it could shift, but remember why you started & know that alone is reason enough to keep going if you want to. Keep practicing & learning from wherever you can, because you will see progress. Both in art & in the life you live outside of it. This may not be an everyday thing, either! It doesn’t have to be. The frequency of my efforts have not always been constant, but progress still went on. Sometimes taking that break, or having those frustrations/disappointments are what can make you progress even stronger when you get back to it. And please have patience! I used to have a set timeline for when I’d like to accomplish what, but I’ve learned you really can’t always control that. It’s important to be proud of the strides you’ve made for you, & not those set by anyone else’s measures. No one’s journey is exactly the same & that’s what makes each one special. I’m hoping one day my story will bring comfort & inspiration to someone who’s journey may look a bit like mine, and I believe yours will too. If that’s even just you & one other person, I’d say it’s worth it!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
100% my loved ones & God! Like I mentioned earlier, my family, partner & friends are my biggest supporters & I’m so blessed to have every one of them with me. Without them I would have given up looong ago, truly. God has showed me time & time again I have value & purpose for all the times I’ve believed or been told I didn’t & I’m so thankful to him for that as well…With this every challenge looks temporary to me & having them by my side, as well as that passion to get to what I’m meant to be doing in life helps me to get through them. I’d say the same for gaining skills, qualities & knowledge honestly. The gift of community & just experiencing life in general has garnered me a lot. I’m still learning everyday, of course.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ayleanburkes.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/lele_bees
- Twitter: twitter.com/lele_bees
