We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deidra Scott a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Deidra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I’ve always been a creative person; I would draw stick figures as a small child until my mom taught me how to draw actual arms and legs. After learning that I sort of ran with it. I would cut up clothes for my Barbie dolls, and draw different fashion designs/looks in my journals. I wanted to be a fashion designer initially; that’s actually what I attended college. I never fully pursued it because I couldn’t sew and didn’t have patience honestly. I wish that I would’ve focused more on my own thing earlier, perhaps not attending college and just pursuing my art. I didn’t really start marketing myself and my work until 2020; I had my son in 2015 and immediately started working as a visual merchandiser for Macy’s. Once covid hit in 2020, a lot of us managers got laid off and eventually the location I was at closed completely. At that point it was like, I had no choice but to believe in myself. I had limited distractions and could finally focus. But because I’m just starting, it can be discouraging. As a creative or just a small business owner in general, you have super high highs, but the lows are LOW. It can make you question whether you’re in the right path. I just tell myself I have gifts to share with the world, and I let God lead me.

Deidra, 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?

My name is Deidra, but my artist alias is Gia. I am a painter, a mom, I do some graphic work, and I am an emerging resin artist. My brand is called Plush by Gia; I named it that because my brand is about unique luxury; all of the pieces and artwork I sell are one of a kind. One thing that sets me apart is that I do not make prints or make duplicates, which adds to the level of exclusivity I want people to feel. I want them to know that my work is handmade with love, and only for them.

I want to ultimately help younger women that are on a creative path build their confidence and self esteem, and help get them the resources and help they need to become successful entrepreneurs. I didn’t fully pursue my art/creative work for so long because I wasn’t confident and didn’t believe in my work. I constantly compared myself to others, especially being on social media. I want to help girls in my position early on so that they can achieve what they want, and focus on their actual craft rather than whether they believe in it.

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

I think for me personally, many times because I do multiple things like paint, design, and work with resin, people say things like “You have so many talents, I wish I had that” or “I wish I had hobbies/passions”. I can understand one thinking that its great– and I’d agree to an extent, however, having multiple talents can also be extremely overwhelming at times. When you have one talent/dream, you know what you need to do to get there. You take the steps, you put your all into it most likely. When you have multiple passions, one week you want to go really hard at painting, then the next you really miss creating resin pieces. It spreads you thin to where you don’t know what to focus on or what to give all your time to. I’m very grateful for my talents, and thankful I have different things that I enjoy. I do think that that part tends to be a bit misunderstood, though.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Having people actually want my work in their homes is forever an amazing feeling to me. When people post photos, genuinely happy about what they received, it makes my heart so warm. Creating is so therapeutic; I recommend it to everyone in some capacity. Just being free, not worried about something looking “right” or “perfect”, just creating and going with what you feel. We are taught in society rules and restriction in every area of life; our jobs, school, laws. Creating art is the one area where you can just let your brain go.

Contact Info:

• Website: plushbygia.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bigbadgia_/
• Twitter: twitter.com/PaintPrimadxnna