We recently connected with Alexis Weinberg and have shared our conversation below.

Alexis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My most meaningful project to date would have to be my very first photoshoot that I directed for myself. Growing up I always claimed to be “camera-shy” due to limiting beliefs and many self-debilitating insecurities. I hated taking pictures, being caught on camera, the whole nine. As the years past my confidence grew and I found myself voluntarily wanting to have my pictures taken. If I felt like my outfit was hard or even if I just felt good, I would ask my friends to get some pics of me. Last summer is when I decided that I wanted to take this newfound love of having my pictures taken and marry it with my creativity to direct a conceptual photoshoot for myself.

The concept that I had in mind was this punk-rock schoolgirl vibe. I didn’t really have a game plan, I just knew my heart was set on making this vision of mine turn into a reality, a sure thing. The outfit was the easy part: plaid skirt, sweater vest, white button up and some massive boots. But my focus was getting everything together for my set design. I didn’t want some office desk and chair from amazon. I wanted the same type of desk and chair that I used in high school. I looked on eBay, emailed my high school principal, anything that I could to get my hands on these crucial components of the shoot. One of my mother’s old coworkers ended up getting a school desk for me, while my friend found someone to give us a chair. Then after my friends and I spray painted them both black, all my outfit pieces came in the mail. I then gathered all my old notebooks and textbooks from school, it was finally go-time. 

Day of the shoot I woke up so excited and anxious, really really anxious. Even though it was something that I planned for I was still so nervous about the outcome. Throughout the day I cried, got overwhelmed, frustrated and all. Even with all that stress, the outcome was still so amazing. My team ensured that everything went well and comforted me along the way. When I look back at the pictures now and reminisce of the day all I can think of is how grateful I am for taking that risk and pushing myself way out of my comfort zone. I now continue to direct photoshoots for myself and have even started directing shoots with others aside from myself. As I continue to grow as a creative director, my goal is to help others bring their visons and ideas into fruition.

Alexis, 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?

Of course! Well again my name is Alexis Weinberg, but everyone calls me Lex, for the most part. I am a 21-year-old artist and creative from Baltimore, MD. As a child, I had always loved to create. Whether it was in art class or for some project that I was assigned, anything that required the use of my imagination sparked my interest. I was often gifted coloring books and drawing books as a child, but when I turned 9-years-old I received my first camera, a small little KODAK Easyshare. I would take it with me everywhere and take pictures of everything. However, oddly enough I ended up in an Environmental Science program in middle school, so I got disconnected from my artistic side. It wasn’t until high school where I really was able to explore the bounds of myself as an artist. I took the standard drawing classes, as well as AP Photography, I fell in love with it all. When I graduated, both drawing and taking pictures remained in my life as a hobby that I revisited from time to time.

In 2020, after the pandemic had really started to make an impact on our lives, I was feeling very lost and disconnected from myself. That’s when I decided to truly reconnect with my creative side. I took the time to introduce myself to acrylic painting to stay entertained. I found it to be extremely therapeutic. Around this time I also began to take photography more seriously, with my main focus being landscape work. Most of my friends are photographers, so seeing them continue to work outside of high school and build a brand for themselves served as inspiration for me. I wanted my unique eye for nature to be seen by larger audiences too. So, I would take myself to different parks and reservoirs in the area to develop a wide array of photos to share. February of last year is when I made my first social media page specifically for my work. It was definitely huge for me, seeing as though I had only ever captured photos for myself and not for the public gaze.

When people ask me who I am, I simply exclaim that I’m an artist, a visionary at heart. I don’t try to categorize myself or identify with one particular thing because I do it all, my ingenuity knows no bounds. I am a photographer, creative director, I paint, I draw digitally, etc. Tomorrow I could be designing textiles and making clothes, who knows. But I am open and receptive to whatever speaks to me. I am now in the process of building my brand, EOL (the Evolution of Lex), something I am extremely excited about. As I take a look at all of the things that I’ve accomplished over the past two years, what strikes me the most is my evolution, my growth. From getting more serious about my photography to exploring other ways to exercise this glorious imagination of mine. In addition to the roll-out of my brand, I am also preparing for my first juried art exhibition that will be held late October. This is just the beginning for me, I am so thrilled to share my story and journey with you all. There is so much more to come.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

The most rewarding part about being an artist, as well as my favorite part, is experiencing the evolution of your imagination. As you align with your true state of being, your creativity expands. You will find yourself with all these new visions, feeling inspired by any and everything all at once. When this happens, you’ll also want to explore other mediums and avenues to exercise the creative mind, thus going beyond the limits you once set for yourself in the very beginning. Being an artist of any kind is an all-around rewarding experience, even with the failures that come along the way. The journey is what it’s all about.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Confidence is one of the main things that artists struggle with, especially in the age of social media. When I first began to share my work, I would always find myself questioning my talents and worthiness based upon the amount of likes and positive feedback I would receive. If I didn’t get a certain amount of validation, I would feel defeated or insecure about my art. There was a time when I completely shut down and went weeks without creating because I was too worried about what other people thought as opposed to myself. I got out of that slump once I realized that these things were insignificant. As creatives, of course we want to inspire others and appeal to many, but we must remember that we create for ourselves first. To be a successful and resilient artist, you must learn to be your own #1 fan. Supporters will come and go. There will be people who love one art piece of yours and dislike the next, but it’s up to you to decide to let that hinder your ability to share your creativity with the world. This major lesson has been the foundation to me building my resilience today.

Contact Info:

• Website: eol.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lex.thestar/

Image Credits
Jadah Dunyoh (Instagram: @jdunyoh)