Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lacey Vilandry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lacey, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For a long time I separated my art between my personal work in my sketchbook, and my paintings, which while I had personal connection, they were not meant for me. That all changed when my Saturn Return came and I had to face the shadow that I had spent my life pushing away. Whether or not one believes in astrology or would pay attention to such things, there comes a time in our lives when we must work through the things that we buried away. If we don’t, they bubble up and manifest in ugly ways that negatively affect us and those around us. I found that I could not live authentically in the “light” unless I was willing to find equal depths in the shadow, so I began doing the dirty work. My paintings took on a darker tone as I peeled back the layers of masks to find the source of the voice that told me to change or die.
What I found is that even though these paintings were for me and my personal healing, they also became a source for healing for many others. I broadcast my healing process online for everyone to see the raw feelings and epiphanies that I was facing in real time. I wanted to find what radical authenticity truly meant for me. What was born of it was hundreds of people reaching out to me saying that it was comforting to know that they weren’t the alone, and that they were finding power in my ability to share it all, even though some of the things were so confusing, so painful, that I could barely put it into words.
It’s easy to only want to share the things that make people feel good, to keep things surface level because we think that it makes us more likable, but the true connection that hits people in their soul is finding a balance between bleeding our darkness and dancing in the light. I found that my ability to experience beauty and love is directly tied to the depths of the shadow I’ve faced, not in spite of it, and not from ignoring it.
For a long time I thought that facing the darkness was to become hardened and cynical to the light, but I came out the work softer, gentler, and much more compassionate to those facing their own shadow. I came out of it finding my power, standing tall, and speaking with a confidence and self-assuredness that I would not have found had I not initiated the work. By sharing the process with the world, I have the words to talk about it with everyone I meet, and the ability to help them find their words, as well.
I’m no longer scared of the dark, nor do I run from my shadow, and because of that, I no longer question whether or not I am worthy of love, comfort, and beauty.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I have always been an artist. My mom gave me my love of art at a young age in order to make sense of a world that was always in chaos. For a long time my work stayed bound to a sketchbook, until I first saw someone painting live at a show. It was Lock’n music festival 2013 the first time I witnessed a live painter, and I immediately fell in love. I’m someone who finds comfort in grounding in settings where there’s a lot of things going on all at once, and painting provided the perfect bubble of calm in the storm.
The first time I live painted was at a festival where I just brought a canvas and set up with the line of painters. I had no easel and propped my painting on a couple of sticks and used the light bleeding off of another artist’s lamp to paint into the night. From there I was asked to paint at another festival and my art life snowballed from there. 13 years later and I’ve travelled the world for my art, both as an exhibiting artist and a student. I have an insatiable drive to create and to hone my craft and I don’t shy from humbling opportunities that help me become a better artist and person. I never leave home without my sketchbook in hand, just in case inspiration strikes. I don’t gatekeep information and I don’t water myself down to fit other people’s palettes. I create every day even if it’s just scribbles in my sketchbook and I seek opportunities to further my understanding of life constantly.
I use my art to cradle the shadow, romanticize the mundane, and distill the sublime. I believe art needs to be accessible to everyone and I create a wide range of originals and reproductions to further that mission.
My name is Silver Arrow, a name given to me by a man who told me I’m meant to kill vampires, and I try to live up to that name every day.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In a world where things are meant to fit the widest market, we find that art and color get continually dulled and forms simplified until we are faced with a level of homogeneity that it sucks the beauty and diversity out of what makes life beautiful. When we are faced with a reality where the brightest colors come from advertisements in concrete jungles, we lose the heart of what makes a place memorable.
What comes first is recognizing that art is not a luxury but a necessity that literally changes the chemistry of our brains. When we look at history, it’s the artists that make a society memorable and carry the story for time to read.
If we, as a society and culture, recognize the need for the arts to sustain meaningful life and not as a symbol of opulence or as a waste of time, the rest will fall into place. The funds are already there and the artists are biting at the bit to share the vision. Diversity in all aspects of life will be what saves us.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Creativity is not some esoteric gift of the Gods. It’s an active practice that the more someone acts on it, the easier it comes. A child does not worry whether or not they are an artist, they simply create, even if it’s literally scribbling. Engaging in some kind of creative practice rewires our brains and gives us our feel-good chemicals without draining us in the way instant gratification does, and helps us to break self-destructive cycles. Nobody has to create with the intention of it becoming something, and in fact the most profound breakthroughs I’ve had as an artist didn’t come from creating the image in my head, but in making messes and seeing what comes of it. However, by engaging in creativity on a regular basis, things do change as we figure out what we enjoy about the process and deepen our understanding of aesthetics that make us feel something. Even when we hone the craft of how we apply our creative skills, there is no perfect, and the only way to refine these skills is with time, patience, and love.
It’s always the right time to start.

Contact Info:

• Website: Https://www.silverarrowart.com
• Instagram: Https://www.instagram.com/silverarrowart
• Other: Https://www.tiktok.com/@silverarrowart

Image Credits

Mary Rembrandt Photography
Moon Daze Photography