We were lucky to catch up with ACQUAETTA WILLIAMS recently and have shared our conversation below.

ACQUAETTA, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I grew up in Los Angeles, California, the only girl with 5 brothers in a Black American family. My parents offered my brothers the military for direction after high school; me — the local community college. Life at home was ruled by an authoritarian father and communication was poor. I had high energy and was full of enthusiasm and extremely optimistic about life.

I wanted to be a fashion designer but I accepted the community college painting classes. I started to look into other colleges when the University of California at Los Angeles offered me and my fellow Black Americans an opportunity to extend our creative horizons. All I needed was my father’s signature for a student loan; he refused, so I signed for him.

After I graduated, I spent several years working in a upscale Beverly Hills design store. I stayed in contact with the University. A graduate student in ceramics suggested I go east to where art schools were doing more with glass programs. Harvey Littleton, a glass instructor from the University of Wisconsin, visited the UCLA glass studio and encouraged me to apply to his glass department. I left California to attend the University of Wisconsin with no real direction but it was a start.

My mother never though I would leave. Midway through my term I was inform my student loan might be canceled. With tears in my eyes, I reach out to my mother for financial help she was only able to offered money to return home. it was not what I wanted.

It was a difficult time not having family support; however, I took several deep breath having made the decision to complete my education and obtain my master degree. Years later, my mother asked me what would I have done differently — I would have moved sooner. Life’s struggles may slow you down and navigate you away from the pursuit of your dreams but championing through builds character.

In pursuit of my career, I have lived in 3 states and earned an MFA from the University of Wisconsin. I left Wisconsin with the few words that artist and instructor, Harvey Littleton, impressed upon me, “Art classes are for people who want to be an artist”. I wanted to be an artist.

I moved to Ohio based on information from friends that it was a good artists supportive state. Richard Harned was the glass teacher at Ohio State University and he asked if I would be interested in bringing some energy into the glass studio at OSU. The first couple of quarters I didn’t do much, Richard questioned me if I could do more. I had found at a second hand bookstore a book called “How to Wrap Five Eggs,” by Hideyuki Oka, it focused on the style and technique of Japanese packaging. Inspired by this book I created the beginning of talisman-handcrafted objects.

In it I found my voice, I was influenced to take a non-traditional approach to glass, pushing the material to its limits and questioning the concept of functionality inherent in the vessel form. I used glass to showcase my strength, my resilience and my courage and also to share my stories that emerge from these environments: stories about identity, love, anger, sensitivity and being human. I was committed. I received an Arts International grant that took me to Benin, West Africa and from there I created my “Women Who Carry” series.

ACQUAETTA, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My life is now surrounded by the noise of the city. My boyfriend and I moved to Virginia, outside Washington, DC. I started to interact with the city in ways that I never had before. My time was split between a job in the food industry as a banquet server and creating my art. I was continually searching for my unique individuality, which informs my decisions and motivates me as an artist. Unfortunately, life’s struggles and the need to work outside the realm of art played a major part in my life. During difficult times, I felt I wasn’t an artist. While walking to work I discovered a personal sense of relevance in the beauty that touched me in my interaction with the Street Musicians. My daily walk from the metro train to work was a brief enigmatic solicitation, a formal and abstract exchange.
I saw in them fragmented forms, lyrical in movement, charged with emotions and woven together with subliminal messages. They were liked the worn plaster walls I loved: layers of paper, repeatedly glued announcements that are torn and weathered from sun, wind and rain; I wanted to peel away the surface to get to the heart of their spiritual transformation.

My art converges with the human spirit, the emotional agitation and sensitivity — the music. It has always been about physical form, gritty textures, sharp bold colors that speak to us with compassion and love. Through a layering of surfaces I have unzipped and gently peeled away to expose the heart and determination of individuals who have become invisible.

I want my collage paintings to challenge the intellectual participation of the viewer to complete their interpretation. Edges are scarred with repeated rejection seeking out answers, settling for revenge. Abstract shapes and forms combine a richness of saturated colors and diverse textures. I tell my stories to reveal my emotions, to express my ideas and to find healing.

My art became an assemblage of repurposed materials, as in my series titled Deconstruction Time Memories and Faceless Melodies, where I utilize roller skates, pocket watches, camera lenses and musical instruments to create fragmented compositions of expressive lyrical movement — objects that are memories of my childhood rolling skating through. Faceless Melodies embody the street musician, the religious frantic and the homeless. I heard their echoing; the urban dwellers expressing their emotional agitation through the repetitive voice of a broken record.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the collage paintings reflect more of who I am today, it encompasses everything that I love and still there is more of me to be discovered. I’ve gained an uncommon understanding of the innumerable creative and artistic possibilities and how to tell a story of the poor and marginalized.

I am that artist. I want my art to inspire people. I want people to be intrigued with my use of materials. Most of all I like how art makes me feel, it is my energy, my passion. I want to continue to develop my style and technique so that I can have a lasting impact in the contemporary art world.
I’m deeply committed to expressing, through my art, the emotions and imagery that reflect the cultural diversity in our society. I’m willing to chance everything to be an artist. I want my mind to be free to start a new project, to discover new directions. Life’s struggles can slow you down or veer you off-course but I have championed through them and I have come out stronger on the other side with the freedom to think. I want to recognize new creative possibilities and strengthen my communication skills through collaboration with others while further evolving my processes.

One of the most thrilling experiences for me was the announcement that the late Michael L. & Ann Brody art collection had been donated to the Racine Art Museum, two of my art pieces are a part of that collection. The museum created 2 exhibitions: Abstraction at the RAM’s Racine Museum and the RAM Showcase: Focus on Glass, at RAM’s Wustum Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Shepherd Express newspaper wrote a very favorable review,
RAM Showcase: Focus on Glass running June 15, 2022 – May 27, 2023.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

I used the Arte Sumapaz residency as an important building block toward developing my language and technique which would benefit not only my process, but the impact my work can have in the future. I welcomed the opportunity to collaboration with others. The Arte Sumapaz Residency had a profound impact on me and my work; I was honored to be a part of this experience. I was able to move my art forward through researching color, texture and content; continuing to investigate the relevance of my art to me, personally. I experimented with a carved block print technique that Picasso had used and I learned how to operate the printing press. The environment was filled with multiple perspectives and every moment was precious.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: acquaetta_lelee