We recently connected with Wytessa O’Neal and have shared our conversation below.
Wytessa, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I think a better way to answer this would be to express that creativity is being kept alive in me, independent of myself. The creativity I explore and express is a gift from God. I look at this gift as my tool-belt because its attached to my purpose in life, to help me fulfill it. Creativity comes out in my talking, perceiving, understanding, in what I do, things I’m interested in, my frame of reference, and etc. I could say creativity is an attribute of me, or even regard it as a characteristic or hobby, but all these would be horrendous understatements. Creativity is an expression of a characteristic of God in me.. because He is THE Creator of ALL things. I think if I ever tried to turn it off (impossible), that would be the only way it wouldn’t be alive. I think it’s kept alive effortlessly on my part – He designed it that way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
In my younger years, if someone were to ask me what I do, I’d probably unloose the scroll and read off a list of every single thing I engage in. However in my now years, I’m getting to a place where I’m understanding how to effectively emphasize on meaning instead of “titles”. What I do is like the baby birthed by who I am.. Sooooo, what does that encompass? to make it easy, EVERYTHING! Now, obviously I’m kind of figuratively speaking here, but on a more serious note, I’m not restricted to any kind of confines that this world would desire to have me ensnared. I live a life I don’t deserve, telling/showing others about the Goodness of The Lord who made it such for His Glory. The ONE who laid down His Life to share it with me, forgiving me my sins so I can not only embrace the fullness of TRUE existence but also be forever reconciled to Him… Jesus… The bearer of LIFE that started the moment I believed it. How Precious the name of Jesus! With this life, I stay primarily and majority focused in the arena of art. I’m so drawn to art that we experience as opposed to art we can only see – like the art of culture, entertainment, conversation, human to human exchange. The work I produce dabbles into these capacities. Recently in addition to commissioned work for businesses, I ventured into residential murals which have a more intimate and heartfelt engagement than a business mural would. For instance, standing in a business you’re in an environment of capitalism, economics, and monetary transactions among other things. Seeing a mural in this environment will appeal to the market, the customer, and cater to the brand/idea one is expected to “buy” into. It’s to create or set the tone of a temporal involvement indicative to that business alone. However on the other hand, with residential murals the tone of a room is already set. For example, you don’t feel the same way in your kitchen that you do in your bedroom. Since the tone is already set due to the type of room you’re in, a mural there starts from a place of comfort, habitation. The home mural then adds to what makes home feel like home, like that favorite rug or couch, or wooden plaque on the kitchen wall that reads “Love starts here”. It becomes a part of your zone, unlike a business mural which stays like a topical idea, a residential mural is inward substance. Though my painting journey has began to sprawl out, so has an extension of my creativity. For over a year now, I’ve been a home baker who also specializes in sugar-free, dairy-free, artificial sweetener-free and gluten-free baked goods! Being a home based bakery is a little weird when it comes to popularity. In a building, even if you’ve never heard of the establishment, you can at least drive by and see it… but in my home, you won’t know what I have to offer unless I tell you. Therefore, one of the highlights that come with customer service is my one day a week pop-ups – I take it to the streets. I have a designated spot(s) where I pitch my canopy and let the baked goods decorate my serving table. I really enjoy the pop-up because of the drive up convenience and the personal interaction. Though it’s a pop-up, I also display artwork and merchandise which I sell upon request.. if not, it just adds to the decor!
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’d say one of the key ingredients that has been most impactful for me in this journey has been coming to God. He has been my source of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Those three things are a major skill set to have to navigate through any type of journey one may be embarking or endeavoring. When trodding wisdom, we have to make sure we have a proper understanding of knowledge. Wisdom is the Righteous application of True Knowledge. In so many words, Wisdom should always yield unto life. Since The Lord is the source of all such, when we utilize His Wisdom, we are fruitful (bearing life). Hence the tree of life in the garden of Eden. Though there was also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, eating from it came with a punishment.. why? It’s knowledge right? Absolutely, but it was to show us that we can live our lives attaining all the knowledge we want, and still never be attain Life because its an entirely different tree – Jesus is that tree. Eating the fruir of His tree is the Righteous application of True Knowledge. Start your journey choosing which tree you will eat from.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I see our strengths as our comfort zones and our weaknesses as our uncomfortable zones. Sure, it’s easy to do virtually anything you feel confident about doing, but confidence doesn’t have anything to do with ability. Let’s use art for an example. There are certain styles I may shy away from because I’m insecure about the way it may come out, though I still have the ability to do it. I think its very necessary to “work” on our less strong areas because they can propel us to forwardness. If I stick to what I’m good at, complacency will be an unshakable plateau – never being multicolored, just monochrome. What we consider weaknesses are actually areas of potential growth (if we be willing to endure the discomfort). They challenge us in such a way that is specifically tailored to what we need/need to do, and could possibly help someone else later on along the way. Perhaps that weakness is there to make way for the strength on the other side of it? What if the weakness is there to keep us grounded so that we don’t go overboard in our strengths and be overcome with pride? What if the weakness is just as significant as the strength? If we never give attention to those less favorable areas, how will we ever know? Spiritual growth is something that stays at the forefront of my mind in my life’s pursuit of Christ. I have insecure areas, doubtful areas, and areas of misappropriated identity – all of which could be major weaknesses and stumbling blocks if I allow them to. The Good News is that I don’t have to attempt to overcome these places, and can rely on Christ to do all the work – I just yield to Him, and that’s all the “work” I have to do. Romans 8:28
Contact Info:
- Website: tessa-oh.blogspot.com/?m=0
Image Credits
My darling husband Jahid O’Neal <3
