We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Arielle (Steive) Hughes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Arielle (Steive) below.
Arielle (Steive), thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I had convinced myself that I was not lucky enough to take risks in life, and to be one of those people that step out into the unknown and make something out of it. I held a lot of fear in my body for years and missed out on countless opportunities because I did not see myself as worthy enough. In 2022, my cousin and I became roommates and she ended up becoming one of the most crucial supports of my transformation from fear based living, to love and faith based living. My cousin, Shalimar, challenged me on my reasons for why I lived the way I lived; and why I would not take action to change my life if I was unhappy. Shalimar shared so much of her own vulnerability and love with me, and truly inspired me to stop living in a cycle of fear and to take the risk of living whatever life I wished for. In the summer of 2022 I quit my job as an assistant art teacher to pursue tattooing as well as other creative endeavors. I was scared out of my mind, but I stood my ground in my decision, and regardless of what anyone said about my decisions, I walked forward into the unknown and created my own light to guide myself. I ended up getting an apprenticeship with a tattoo artist I greatly admire and began my tattoo journey. From that point my life took a massive change and I got casted on the TV show, “I Can See Your Voice.” I traveled to Atlanta Georgia for shooting and had the most incredible experiences of solo traveling to a state I had never been to. Once I got home I then planned my first gallery exhibition and T-Shirt launch with Prom, an independent clothing company in Beverly Hills.
I could not believe how much my life shifted into the life I had been craving for the majority of my youth and young adult life; Which is being creative and making a living off my art. Though I needed to be the ultimate decision maker in changing my life, I fully believe that we all need a loving and safe push of support from someone who truly cares for us. This is why I hold so much gratitude for my cousin, because she came to me with genuine willingness to hear and understand me. Without her and the entire experience of living with one another, I truly do not think my life would be where it is right now. I know eventually I would have broken free from my fear and taken some big risks, but I am glad Shalimar was the chosen catalyst to guide me into this new version of myself that takes risks with love and faith.
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
My name is Arielle (Steive) Hughes and I am an Illustrator, tattoo artist, and creative director. My journey began in my grandma’s living room when I was sketching one of her Thomas Blackshear Ebony Visions “Midnight” figurines. It was the first time as a child I drew something from life and I was elated seeing my sketch come together and improve upon each stroke. I ran into my grandmother’s room to show her what I had done and her face lit up in a way that I still cannot describe to this day. It was that moment that I knew I was meant to draw, I wanted to draw. It would not be until I graduated college that I really began to take my art seriously and find my footing as an artist. I started off as a freelance illustrator doing commission work for anyone that was interested in hiring me. I did several album covers, portraits, and random illustration pieces. I struggled heavily with my confidence and paralyzing self sabotage as an artist. I knew I needed to overcome these hang ups if I really wanted to improve not just as an artist but as a person in general. Even now, I do not have a clear answer on overcoming anxiety when trying to improve skills or creating new work; but what I can say is that being consistent and not giving up, as well as being tenacious at your craft will transform you. I felt insecure about how many different art forms I wanted to do and work with. “A master of all is a master of none,” is a quote that haunted me because I feared I would end up becoming mediocre at best if I did not figure out how to focus my energy solely into my illustration work. The irony however is that once I allowed myself to just play and take risks by taking a shot at different mediums and disciplines, it only solidified my understanding of where my best strengths and weaknesses are as an artist, as well as where I find true joy in creating. Overall I am an artist who is driven by my own curiosity about the world and what I want to add to it. I have a whole universe in my mind that I wish I could just vomit out in a few seconds, but I have found a way to fall in love with the entire process of bringing concepts to life. My first gallery exhibition, “Black Rorem,” was like an out of body experience for me. I curated, marketed, directed, and planned my first show which focuses on making more space for Black characters and narratives in the horror genre. The whole journey from December to January 6th, the day of the show, was one of the best times of my life as an artist. I really showed myself what I could do in such a short amount of time, while still staying true to the overall vision I had. “Black Rorem” is a body of work that I am most proud of, and it gave me the freedom to wear all the silly hats I wanted to and discover my process even more.
Moving forward I want to continue bringing my personal projects to life, while also getting opportunities to bring other people’s ideas to life as well. I have been blessed with having wonderful clients in the past who gave me so much freedom to experiment and generate new ideas for their projects. I love learning from others, and I am excited to meet more clients, collaborators, and anyone who would like to make something real.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I do not think I have found eloquent words to really communicate my core goal as an artist, but ultimately I always hope to move people in some way with my art. I am more indifferent to how I move someone emotionally. I invite all praise, criticism, joy, disgust, any and all reactions, because a strong reaction means my work spoke to you in some way that was meaningful. I would say since curiosity drives a lot of my work, my relationship with my art is all about answering my own questions of self interest. Having an audience to talk back to me is a nice plus. Cultivating a community from my work is like hitting the jackpot. I want to reach a point where I can better put my soul on display, and really share some of the most vulnerable aspects of myself to the world. My idea of radical self love is bearing parts of my soul for everyone to see; to scream, birth, cry, vomit, and gnash my teeth in front of an audience. We are all more similar than we think, but are unique in the ways we decide to live and operate in the world. I hope the more I bear my own scars, others will feel less alone and afraid to show there’s as well.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
My relationship to failure is by far one of my most toxic ones, and it is an ongoing experience. I fell into the scary paralyzing pit of perfectionism, as well as deep rooted limiting beliefs that I acquired through my adolescence. I ran in this hell cycle of trying to improve my technical skills but often giving up quickly when things didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I felt stuck in my own body, a never ending gnawing cycle where I felt I could never get out of. I did not want to practice because I felt everything I made was ugly and stupid. I wanted to somehow already be good without going through the process of making “bad” art and instead just make masterpieces off the bat. I also formed a toxic relation to social media and constantly comparing myself to other artists and hating myself for not taking any action due to being scared all the time. It was truly a “what the actual f**** is WRONG with me???!!! Why can’t I just do what I know I need to do??” It took some years for me to finally begin healing and nurturing these parts of myself that ran deep. I feel like I have made incredible progress as of late, and part of my healing process involved me having actual conversations with child me and getting to the uncomfortable and painful roots of how I viewed myself as a person. There was/is a lot of self hate and a struggle with feeling worthy enough. I gave myself space to fail, and I want to fail hard so that I can learn, because that’s all failure is. When I removed my self criticism and judgment, I was able to flow and be free with experimentation. I want to prove to my child self that failing is never the end, failing is undoubtedly a part of any process to get better and stronger. I am so happy I am unlearning this painful cycle I have been living with, and I already am coming out the other side with a fresh start at failing with no judgment, only a drive to learn.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lionazul.wixsite.com/mysite/about
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackroremmm/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielle-hughes-854b871a9/