Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Jada and the Power of Art

Jada Powers is a 20 year old artist living in a small town called Peyton, Colorado about an hour and a half away from downtown Denver. While she has lived there, Jada has been pursuing her dream of becoming a character designer/ comic artist for teens and small children. Her art, while comic in style, is appreciated far beyond the ranks of just kids and teens. Jada's art embodies realistic human emotion while maintaining animated visuals that people of all ages can enjoy. When I first asked Jada why she dreams, I heard an answer that was music to my ears.

"I feel that maybe one day someone will look at my art and find something they like about it and find it fascinating. I want people to be inspired by my work in some way, shape or form." 

Inspiration, hope, and determination... This mission statement has it all, but most importantly it has one word that makes it perfect: maybe. Jada says "maybe one day". Why is this important you might ask? Because she is willing to pursue her dreams even though the end result only might be. Jada is taking risks, and for every risk she takes, either reward or failure is a possibility. I asked Jada why she draws what she draws, and what her creative inspiration is drawn from. Her response was again as strong as cast iron. She mentioned outward inspirations such as Casey Baugh, a portrait artist specializing in oil paintings, and Jeremy Mann, a fine arts painter who specializes in cityscapes. Jada draws using their work as a type of mentor to sharpen herself. (For those of you who don't know me, I am very "pro-mentor") However, this alone is not enough to satisfy her inward inspiration. Jada knows that the power of attitude affects how you inspire others, and as her goal of inspiration will be achieved through her art, she is careful to start a piece of art ONLY when she is in a good mood. She goes on to say that she tries to stay away from using art to vent, because using your art as a physical manifestation of your dissatisfaction will only lead others to see what you don't want them to see.

Jada believes the hardest thing when it comes to dreams is to keep going. You tell yourself over and over again, "Maybe this isn't what I want." or "I could never make a living doing this." When asked about her struggles to keep going, Jada's answer again struck a chord in my heart. Here is what she said.

"My single greatest struggle has been keeping my creative mind going to make more art. It has been awhile since I have made a final art piece that is complete. I have been sketching a lot more than creating full finished art pieces. It isn’t a bad thing but when I sketch, I find it hard for me to be satisfied with my work through what I want to create or see in my art. The past couple of years have been emotionally rough. That is why I have been sketching trying to get something on paper rather than leaving it blank." 

Pursuing a dream is a lifelong goal. Like a marathon, it has a beginning, middle, and end, but more importantly it has mile markers along the way to gauge progress. As an artist, Jada has always had a way to physically see her personal improvement, but how would she rate her business improvement? How could she rate her own worth? The answer is this: by setting mile marker goals. These goals may include getting into and graduating college, getting an internship or good job, developing a relationship with a mentor, or even buying expensive tools needed for completing the "marathon." For Jada, getting into an art academy was monumental. It showed her family, friends and herself that attaining her artistry dreams is completely possible. This has been a huge stepping stone for her as she continues to pursue her dreams today.

Jada works EVERY DAY towards her goal of becoming an artist. I asked if she prefers black and white or color, to which she responded: I need to get better, so both. I asked how she pursues her dreams passively. She said through her numerous online art pages that focus on the business side of her dreams. When I asked her how she pursues her dreams daily, she said, "I put on some music, and I go... even if its something small." If she doesn't have any "creative juices" flowing, she simply tries to learn a new technique from an artist or further expand on an existing one. Jada has numerous online sites where you can browse her art, leave comments, share with friends, or simply enjoy it for yourselves.

Please visit her sites and if you have some encouraging words for a dreamer, please message her.

Jada's Art:

Weebly
http://jada-raei.weebly.com

Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/JadaRaei.Art

DeviantArt
http://jada-raei.deviantart.com

Instagram
https://instagram.com/jada_raei/

Thank you so much for reading

Now... What should I write about next...?

~Matt~

Friday, March 13, 2015

Welcome to the People's Blog

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to your blog. What I hope to accomplish with the People's Blog is create a community of friends who enjoy the co-operative thought process of writing and discussion. I want to discuss our dreams and goals, mistakes and accidents, likes and dislikes, and of course bad decisions and embarrassing moments. I hope to span topics like music and sports, love and war, politics and religion, movies and TV shows, books and video games, famous and infamous people, celebrities and the homeless, and pretty much anything else we think of all the way down to boxers or briefs...

Why? Because I want this blog to be about you.

I want this blog to be about discussion, where we feel like we can get to know each other, and have a few laughs along the way.With the People's Blog, we can develop new friendships with people we never imagined we had anything in common, share heartwarming or nostalgic stories, and maybe even find a new confidant or mentor.

How? By posting ideas for discussion.

I will be selecting one to two topics a week that I will write a small essay on, after which I would hope to have all of you (the readers) discuss. After all, I will be writing about what YOU want me to! Hopefully with a little bit of work, and a lot of love, we can turn this idea into a thriving community where thoughtful discussion happens, where we feel the compassion, we laugh, we get guidance, and we build friendships. Please feel free to INVITE ANYONE who you think would enjoy reading or participating, and please feel encouraged to post your thoughts or questions. I would highly recommend anyone in college use this as a small outlet for taking study breaks.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Now...What should I write about next...?

~Matt~