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

Alright, Ileyna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I have worked on is a series of 5 self portrait oil paintings. These paintings are personally meaningful to me because they capture my most vulnerable self in works of art. Not only are these paintings physically me, but each painting describes a feeling I had when creating each specific painting. I am able to express my feelings and emotions through art and that is meaningful in its self for me. Moreover, these 5 pieces show my emotional journey through college and the beginning of my teaching career. My mental struggles have been a roller coaster ever since I can remember and these paintings show my rollercoaster at the time. Furthermore, these paintings are my most meaningful project and I feel honored to be able to share them with other people.

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.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Ileyna and I am an artist and currently in the 3rd year of teaching high school art.

I have always been an artist. I never stopped making art as I grew up. I have known I wanted to be an artist since about middle/ high school. That has always been my main passion. I have been lucky enough to have parents that have always supported my passion for art and encouraged me to do it. My high school art class got me through high school… After I graduated high school, I continued my education at Arizona State University as a painting major.

To back track a littel bit… when I was in high school my mom put me in a teen artist program that was for teens that wanted to peruse a career in art. Through that program, I sold my first piece of art when I was 16 and continued to sell my art and learn from other professional artist. As I aged out of the program, I decided to stick around and mentor the teens in that program. I did that through most of college.

Okay let’s get back on track. So during my 4 years of college I was a painting major. As time went on through college, I had this feeling that i needed more than my art to be satisfied with my life. I had some very meaningful people in my life tell me that I should be an art teacher. I wasn’t about it at first, but then I eventually decided to add art education as a major. I graduated from asu 5 and half years later with a painting and art education degree. I was happier than ever during that last year and half of college. I loved my education classes, I made some really good friends in my program, and I finally figured out what I wanted to be doing with my life.

That teen program my mom put me in really helped me find my passion for being an artist and helping teen artists. I told my self if I became an art teacher, I wouldn’t lose my artists side. I wanted to make sure I was a working artist along with being an art teacher. This is definitely easier said than done, but I made sure to it make my goal.

I am proud to call my self an art teacher and an artist.

I mostly sell prints of my artwork. I have recently been selling things like stickers as well as mugs. I am slowly getting into the relm of selling my original paintings. My paintings are pretty emotional and most likely not the usual kind of artwork you see in a living room, but I hope that my art finds the right crowd and one day see my work in other people’s homes.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is showing my audience that they are not alone in whatever they are feeling. I have always had a hard time expressing my feelings in words, but I have never had a hard time expressing my feelings through art. I really don’t hold back with my emotions in my art and I think people may be surprised to see that, but in a good way. You have to wear your heart on your sleeve to share that kind of vulnerability with people. It feels rewarding when someone relates to my art, whether they put their own spin on artwork or not, I like hearing how my art makes people feel. I think my art speaks for its self. It’s very loud and out there, but I love when people appreciate it.

Being an art teacher for high school students is very rewarding. Most of my students in my classes are there because they want to work on their art ability. With that said, I do still get students in my beginning classes who do not want to be there and thats a challenge in its self. I try my best to create a calm and welcoming environment for all my students. And fortunately, I am able to provide a space for students to be creative and learn the techniques of art making. I love getting to know my students and see their progress everyday.

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

My goal as an artist is to share awareness for mental health through my art. I want people to look at my art and to not feel alone or feel like someone else can relate to feelings they have had. I want people to know that making art can be a very healthy coping mechanism to get all those emotions out whether they are good or bad and everything in between. Art has helped me in so many ways. I make sketches that no one else sees that help me cope with the feeling I’m having in that moment. You don’t have to make beautiful art to enjoy the art making process or feel impacted by the art you create. My goal for my art is to keep expressing my self as I go through life. I want to tell a story of my life through my paintings. I want to express all the things I am feeling whether its the happiest day of my life or worst day of my life. I want my viewers to know they aren’t alone and that everything you feel is valid.

Contact Info:

• Website: Linktr.ee/ileynaluart
• Instagram: ileynalu_art
• Facebook: Art by ileyna Witenstein

Image Credits
Cory Otterstrom