Often, those who tread off the beaten path are misunderstood or mischaracterized and so we asked folks from the community to reflect and tell us about the times they’ve been misunderstood or mischaracterized.

Monica Valadez

I’m happy this is a topic! It hasn’t been directed at me, but I have heard some feedback on my double stacked Styrofoam cup and resin pieces, and that it’s supporting the abuse of prescription medicine aka that syrup! My page is called, “That’s so Htown! and it’s about celebrating the Houston culture, growing up in the area in the 90’s and all of the sights and sounds that come along with it. The cups are made into 1 piece and coated in resin, and the purple spill/drips and ice cubes are resin. Read more>>

Tiffani Moseley

It’s very hard being “sexy”. It was easier when I wasn’t smaller. You get judged a lot because of how you look. But then again, when I was 330 pounds, I also got judged. So, I’m saying no matter what state you’re in, you will always be judged and misunderstood. Read more>>

Brittany Schloss

Purpose? We all have purpose. My purpose is to create, uplift, and bring joy. My secret love is creative writing. However, one would never know when crossing my path. Seemingly girly hairstylist and very much so, a avid gym rat. My outer appearance to the close minded eye would never know.. You know the saying “Looks can be deceiving,” try that via creativity. Art in all forms fascinate me. I find the beauty in art, is imperfection. I myself am perfectly imperfect. Read more>>

Micaela El Fattal

When I was in 7th grade, I was failing history. After avoiding my teacher as much as possible, he finally pulled me aside and told me the news, I may have to be held back in school due to my bad grade. He sat me down and gave me a new box of colored pens. He told me that although the daily homework assignment was to write paragraphs in our notebook about what we learned, from now on, he wanted me to doodle, color, and do whatever it was I needed to show I was still learning and understanding the assignment. Read more>>

Max Kerwien

With standup comedy you have to tread a fine line. You need to be self-aware. You should have a general idea of how audiences perceive you, sometimes even before you get to the microphone on your way on stage. How you dress, your ethnicity, your voice, the way you hold yourself, audiences see all of this and subconsciously make assessments about you (it’s human nature). Even if you may feel one way about yourself inside, comedians have to reconcile that with what they look like. Read more>>

Elyse House

In my line of work, it makes sense to have tattoos all over my body, even on my face, but out in the “normal world,” people can make their judgements and assumptions about you, and until recently has it become more of a balance between society believing tattoos are cool, and alternatively that tattoos mean you are a criminal. I’ve heard some crazy things myself, especially considering that I’m a woman. Read more>>

Ewa Romaszewicz

It seems as though people like to attach strict labels to others, whereas it is my belief that many people are multidimensional. When I was a biochemist, it was hard for some people to believe that I could also be a good artist. Most often people thought that I just dabbled in art. When I became a full-time artist, people sometimes assumed that even though I studied biochemistry, I’d never actually been involved in the field, I was in fact quite involved as a researcher and I was good at it! Read more>>

Anthony Burks Sr

Over the last 5 years I have been blessed with some amazing opportunities. I have been awarded the first round of The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County Artist Innovation Fellowship, received multiple grants, had several art acquisitions in both public and private collections including two in the Canopy by Hilton West Palm Beach Downtown’s Acquisition of Art in Permanent Collection and two at the Norton Museum Acquisition of Art in the R. H. Norton Permanent collection, and most recently having five of my works on a television series. Read more>>

Jamaal Eversley

Since grade school I was teased and made fun of for looking like Steve Urkel. 8 years of braces (proud of my gap tooth smile today), big bifocal glasses with the string attached (not much here has changed except cutting ties with the string) and high water jeans paired with a big fuzzy deep plum colored sweater from GAP (oh how I miss that sweater). A quintessential nerd. That was me throughout my youth into late adolescence and some would argue still now. Read more>>

Betty Soldi

‘You can do anything but not everything’ they say…but what if everything creative flows through you in many multifaceted, Renaissance-like ways?! The limitations of self-expression are not my own, they are within other people who cannot fathom that one is not only capable but NEEDS to express their creativity in many forms….Therefore the frustration is that you are misunderstood or defined as only one thing, because that is easier for people to characterise you within a social/cultural structure that runs on ‘Hi, nice to meet you, what do you do?’ Read more>>

Ashley Moore

In the face of being misunderstood and mischaracterized due to my socioeconomic background, I encountered a transformative experience last year. While immersing myself in a diverse circle, I discovered the challenges of navigating misconceptions based on differences. Despite facing mistreatment within my own community, my commitment to uplifting others remained unwavering. Read more>>

Céline Dondénaz

To cut to the chase, I consider myself an innate creative, specifically a natural storyteller. Secluded and serene in my bedroom, I’ve been sketching since I could first grasp a pencil. As a child, I focused on drawing faces, characters, and landscapes, eventually evolving to craft stories that sprang to life with each stroke of my pencil. At the age of 9-10, I expressed my desire to become a comic strip artist, but my parents dismissed it, apprehensive about the idea of me pursuing an artistic career. Read more>>