We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Arris’ Cohen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Arris’ below.

Arris’, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents always let me see their authentic selves. They were deeply in love and married young, but they divorced when I was 7. Although they are different, they love my brother and I so much, that they showed us unconditional love. My Dad showed me how to be strong willed and how to stay positive even in strife. My Mom nurtured us and took care of us. She showed me what a strong does, and how important its is to focus on one’s responsibilities and they both taught me to work hard.
Their tutelage has molded me into the man I am today. In following my dream, I have faced many uncertainties, struggles, and setbacks. I watched my parents go through many tough times and they persevered. They always kept me close to them through these times, helping me see what it takes to overcome adversity. I love them forever and always reflect my gratitude for their continued support in my endeavors.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Art has always been a part of my life. Both sides of my family are creative. My mother’s father was a carpenter and always had wood scraps that my aunt would have me make sculptures from with wood glue and cardboard. We would then paint them together. My father and his father could draw really well. I would always watch my grandfather draw. He would sit with me and give me paper and pencil. He was turned away from a drawing competition in the 40’s because he was black with a jewish last name. He told me to pursue my dream and to never let someone tell me I cant be an artist. I attended the Cleveland School of Arts from 1996-2003. Upon graduating and picking a college major, my guidance counselors told me that art is not a lucrative career to pursue. I let them get in my head against my grandfather’s wish, and pursued architecture as a result. That choice was the beginning of a series of detrimental life choices I made during my early college years. By 2008, I was academically dismissed from OSU, and I entered the workforce in order to handle my responsibilities. The workforce was unfulfilling, and by 2018, I’d started working in a boutique hotel where I eventually moved up to manager. The pandemic changed everything. The hotel industry took a hit, and I was laid off in the beginning of 2021.

At that point, I shifted my focus back to following my dream. With the help of my family, especially my wife, I took the risk and made the decision to start my business as a full-time artist. I gauged interest from a piece I created, sold prints to friends and family, and used stimulus funds and unemployment funds to launch myself into this lifelong endeavor. I had my first solo art exhibition just one year later, and since then, I have had much success beyond the setbacks I have previously mentioned. Throughout all of the no’s I’ve received, and all of the hurdles I’ve faced, I have been able to see increased revenue each of the past 3 years I have been working professionally. To sustain myself in the low periods of financial growth, I have been working as an art teacher at Franklinton High School in Columbus, Ohio. It is a privilege to be able to teach and pay it forward to the youth, who need consistent encouragement to be creative and follow their dreams. I am thankful to an artist that works primarily in the community with focus on uplifting underserved youth.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The goal of my creative journey is to live and thrive in my identity as an artist, to provide for and care for all of my children, and to show them that they can succeed even through failure. I want them to see that the way you get up is more important than the way you fall. My mission overall is to remind us all that we are more alike than we are different, and that art is life.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is using my creativity as a bridge between my personal journey and the world around me. My art isn’t just about self-expression—it’s about creating a space for reflection, dialogue, and healing. Seeing how my work resonates with people, especially within my own community, and knowing that it can inspire, challenge, and even comfort others is deeply fulfilling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arriscreates.art
• Instagram: @sir-ra_
• Facebook: Arris’ J. Cohen
• Linkedin: Arris’ J. Cohen

Image Credits

Ian Crumpler of Ian Alexander Photography