Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elo Manning. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Elo, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
Most of the time I do feel happy with being a artist because I enjoy what I do and have a deep connection to my gifts, especially when I use my creativity for healing and advocacy. However, sometimes I do think about a reality of me having a more conventional job due to the pressure of society and social norms to meet certain material expectations. Consider that as an artist I came to understand that I can’t live for the expectations of another but to love what I do and know that one day I will be where I want to be with hard work, patience, and love.
Elo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello, my name is Elo. I am 24 years old and non-binary. I moved from the Midwest around 3 years ago dropping out of college to continue to pursue my dream of art in California. During my educational career I was always involved in the performing & visuals arts. A lot of my background is surrounded around the studying and development skills of theater, musical theater, vocal music, and graphic design as I went to an art High school in Kansas City, Missouri then continued at Coe College in Cedar Rapid, Iowa. Furthermore, moving to California and eventually ending up homeless the utilizing of my talents became a huge of part of my foundation in order to not only heal but to get my feet off the ground. I started to use my talents for the healing of my trauma that had I experienced while being homeless but also from the past then using gifts to advocate for things such as homelessness, substance use,and social injustice. With that a new version of self was born and the way I viewed my gifts changed forever. To conclude, with my life experience and commitment to the development of my talents is what I think sets me apart from other upcoming artists.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Something I think non-creative would struggle to understand that being a creative actually takes hard work, dedication, and faith to be an artist and to refine your talents. Due to stigmas surroundings creatives its often seen as a career that isn’t realistic due competition or financial stability. However, art has always been apart of our society and without that what would our world be? The wound of scarcity was one of the first things I had to heal especially as a creative because if I’m not inspired and trusting the process, work won’t produce. Through my art and advocacy work I was able to do so and surrendering significant limiting beliefs.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
A particular goal that I feel is driving my creativity as of right now is the revival of History while also the storytelling of it. Due to my love of history and desire to understand things of the past I began to discover things of ancient civilizations specifically in regards to art that has allowed me to become more comfortable and develop a sense of value. In certain cultures such ancient Egypt, tribes in Africa, or even indigenous American art was more than how many streams you could get, how many tickets were sold, or if you can take over the whole world but it’s to record historical events, tell the stories of our ancestors, and to guide groups of people. So without the pictures in the caves or pyramids, the songs of nomadic tribes, and instruments built from remains of animals what would our world be?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elosdreams?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCEELsTahKt5fFkexwlf0_ww?si=0LzrrZq94J7z9-0g
Image Credits
DeLante McClain
Cyra Aysu
Ken
Coe College, Sheltered 2020