We asked some of the most talented folks in the community to talk to us about projects they’ve worked on that they still think about, projects that really meant something. Have you had such an experience? Are you looking for inspiration for your next project? Check out the stories below, they are exciting, entertaining, and most importantly – inspiring.

Z-Wells

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on has been my album “Joseph” that is releasing in November. I started working on my new album in September of 2018, and it has been such an inspiring journey for me. My best friend Terrence Ray produced this passion project with me, and we both learned we could do things we didn’t know we were capable of. Read more>>

Mikaela Wendel-McBride

I’m currently studying Trauma Informed Care with the intention of getting my certification in the next few months. After realizing that so many of our clients were coming to us as part of their healing journey, I knew I wanted to provide for value and safe place for them to let their guard down. But providing a safe and accepting atmosphere that is the WMNKND boudoir studio just wasn’t enough. Read more>>

Jennifer Playford

I have found in my career that sometimes when you put yourself out there and take a risk, unexpected opportunities happen that you can’t predict. This is how my most meaningful project fell in my lap. In 2006 I had designed a small line of reusable fabric gift wrap printed with my illustrations. I loved the concept of wrapping in fabric as I have always been passionate about textile design and the idea that the wrap could be reused over and over again, reducing waste. Read more>>

Davion “Dismoc Le Ma” Coleman

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my past solo exhibition, “Respect! The Woman In the Red Dress,” which can still be viewed at thekre8iveshop.com/reddress. “Respect! The Woman In The Red Dress” is a series that explores the journey of finding alignment in a relationship. I devised this idea during the pandemic and saw it to fruition in 2021. Read more>>

Liz Pritchard

At my very first craft show, I met a lot of people that promised to contact me about creating custom pieces for them. Very few of them followed through but one in particular still stands out as my all-time favorite, most meaningful piece. Over a month after the show, Read more>>

Paranormal Putas

We grew up in east Austin, which may not mean a lot to people not from Austin. In 1928 the “Master Plan” was put into place which created a distinct racial divide. The people living on the east side of IH-35 were all people of color and of low income. Read more>>

Haley Nelson

I’ve always felt that an artist should shake things up to rediscover themselves and to reimagine their world through a new lens. This change in perspective ignites my imagination like pouring gas on a dull fire— the roar and sudden whoosh of hot air on your skin is almost overwhelming, but you suddenly feel very alive. Read more>>

Jandé

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on by far has to be my debut album “Face the Facts,” that I dropped in 2020. This project is important to me for sooo many reasons. Let’s start with the fact that I finished the album and dropped it in the middle of a freaking Pandemic. Read more>>

Mara Torres González

My upcoming book, 209, is certainly one of the most meaningful projects I have worked on as an artist. It all started back on September 20, 2017, when Hurricane María made landfall in Puerto Rico. We were still coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. María devastated our island and started a humanitarian crisis. Read more>>

Liz Palmer

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was definitely a piece that was about a year and a half in the making and certainly my most intimidating project. In 2020, a client reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to create a piece incorporating her grandmother’s ashes. Read more>>

Kira Wood

The most meaningful projects for me are the women that choose to do a boudoir shoot right before their double mastectomy. I’ve worked with a lot of women post breast cancer, but the ones that are currently undergoing cancer are in a different emotional space. Read more>>

Tamara Gentuso

The Nashville Clayscape, a ceramic tile map of Nashville, may very well be my magnum opus. Completed in May 2020, this whimsical, folk art interpretation took three years to complete with all 192 square-foot tiles, which on installation, measure 25’ long by 8’ tall. Read more>>

 Miranda Richey

Art as a form of therapy has always been meaningful to me; as of late, utilizing photography to bring a positive impact on mental health has been one of the concepts I’ve been able to explore and partake in with my inspiring clients. Read more>>

Phoenix SpiritDiva

Perhaps the most meaningful project I’ve been asked to create started with a telephone call last summer. “Phoenix, could you put together a proposal of about seven of your works from your Sacred Trees, Landscapes and other collections?” The resident curator of the Cleveland Clinic Florida at Weston went on to share that the hospital had received a donation. Read more>>

Emma Rowley

The EP I’m currently getting ready to release has been the most personally meaningful project I’ve worked on. Through the height of the pandemic, I found myself pouring my creative energy into writing songs about growing pains and self-discovery. Reflecting on these pivotal experiences during such a tumultuous time was very cathartic. Read more>>

Jaz Erenberg

When I was given my first opportunity to create a public mural in 2017 I had the hardest time figuring out what to paint on the wall. I felt I had been given this huge responsibility to decide what should go up on that wall, but I didn’t feel comfortable making that choice. Read more>>

Aika Takeshima

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is one of our most well known repertoires, titled “You Don’t Have To Love Me Just Accept Me”, that talks about DIFFERENCE&ACCEPTANCE, which has been presented about 20 times in a year throughout NYC and New Jersey. Read more>>

Jerel Canty

The most meaningful projects I have worked on are the photos and videos I’ve taken of my hometown area of East St. Louis, Illinois. The first project was when I was in college. I created series called “The Death Trap Series,” these photos are displayed showing dilapidated buildings of homes and businesses. Read more>>

Antwain Donte’ Adams-Hill

The most meaningful projects I have worked on to date were my fashion shows produced and directed by me. These productions have not only saved lives, but they have given the hopeless, hope, the talented, a stage to be seen, and the one wanting to quit, a new race. Read more>>

Nora Paine

Hands down, the most meaningful, magical project I work on is Penguin Project. Penguin Project is a theatre program for children and young adults with special needs. Each year, I have the joy and privilege of working with 50 artists with special needs and their mentors on a musical. Read more>>

Natasha Smith

My upcoming book on loss and grief is slated for release in the fall of 2023 by InterVarsity Press. Tentatively titled “Can You Just Sit with Me”, it is by far one of the most meaningful projects I have ever worked on. Grief is a universal phenomenon that affects all. Because we have all experienced grief, currently grieving, or will experience grief at some point in our lives. Read more>>

Marie Coffey

It’s hard to say what my most meaningful project is. When most people think of crochet, they think about the ecru-colored doilies on every surface of Grandma’s house. I’ve found crochet can be the solution of many issues. For example, I have a line of bath and kitchen goods. They solve issues both of accessibility and reusability. Read more>>

JD Estrada

With 19 books out, you can imagine choosing the most meaningful project is quite the challenge, especially because each one has a big part of my DNA and responds to something I need to express. That said, what started everything was my urban fantasy Human Cycle Series. Read more>>

Keshida Layone

I champion for all living organisms on Earth. I love to incorporate many elements of our planet in my pieces. I starting developing work where I started painting different portraits of humans of the African Diaspora. I added backgrounds of nature and animals. I first debuted this type of work at my show ” The Brave and The Free” /Flucuations at City Arts Salon in Philly March . I wanted to wake the viewer of endangered species. The hunt to kill must stop. I create for the choice to live and to always find away out of darkness. Read more>>

Ashleigh Ewald

I have worked on multiple projects focusing on community building and service, from creating a podcast initially for students and teachers to stay connected during the COVID pandemic to currently creating events to mobilizing students across the state of Georgia to take action against specific issues. That being said, I have to say that the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my talk show ‘100% Real with Ashleigh Ewald’ podcast because of the inspiring guests I have been able to feature, and this project is something I launched from scratch. Read more>>

Yanwen Hang

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is titled NO U TURN, which is an editorial/exhibition design project, inspired by the exhibition ‘China/Avant-garde’, which was hosted at the National Art Gallery in Beijing in the spring of 1989. As a human who was born and raised in China, this topic is closely tied to my own identity; as a designer who believes in the power of design, I truly hope this project can provoke thinking. Read more>>

Jade Fabello

I don’t want to overstate its importance or anything. But I do love my newsletter. It’s called “I love words and you.” And every week, I dive into a different aspect of the craft of writing. I’ll do stories on how to deal with a blank page, choosing the right details, or a round-up of other writings about writing. Read more>>

Kimberly Kizzia

I am currently working on a mental health portrait project where I interview and photograph people with a variety of mental illnesses and tell their stories. I got interested in doing this project because of my own struggles with bipolar disorder, anxiety and ADHD. In 2020 I decided to start photographing myself and others experiencing their struggles with mental health, but took a break until March of 2022 when I had a depressive episode that lasted for a month. Read more>>

Annie Bedford Cokley

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on would be “The Beauty Over Bruises, Fashion Hair Affair”. I manifested this organization and event after attending a small community training in or around 2007 at one of our local shelters formerly known as SAFE PLACE, Read more>>

Kenson Truong

I started writing and experimenting with poetry around 2016 – it was a new medium I wanted to incorporate into my sculptural practice for a while, but was worried my writing skills weren’t strong enough. Poetry quickly became a medium I implemented into my art to help convey themes and stories I could not achieve with just sculpture alone. Read more>>