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

Arkansawblk, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I remember so vividly, it was 2018 around the December holiday season and the event was focused on supporting small businesses and local creatives in Baltimore, MD. When I walked into the room, I saw others setting up their booths, folks ranging from selling clothes, drinks, food, hair products, and then there was me, selling my mixed media collage paintings. It was my very first event, needless to say I was in a bit of shock, but also excited! As I finished setting up and the customers began to walk in, I made my first connection. A woman approached me with a smile and asked me about a painting I had on the table with the message “My darkness does not define me.” She began to share what that message meant to her and gifted me a story from her life. When she told me she’d like to purchase, my heart skipped a beat. I wrapped the painting delicately in tissue paper and then placed it in a bag for her to take. At that moment, I felt that my heart was full and I felt seen. I hadn’t realized that selling my art meant people would share stories of their life with me, from that day on and at every market I take the time to try to connect with people and share stories.

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 mixed media artist journey as arkansawblk, began in 2017 where I taught myself how to draw, paint, and create mixed media collages. My artwork combines elements of the African diaspora culture, ancestry, spirituality, and religion centering Black and Melanated people’s stories through my paintings and writing. Due to the pandemic, I decided to return home to Little Rock, AR to be closer to my family and to reconnect with my homeland. After dedicating 2.5 years of working in urban agriculture and beekeeping, I realized that raising livestock and urban gardening was a new artistic expression for me.

However, if we travel back in time to the late 1990s/ early 2000s, my elementary years is where I began developing a relationship with non-human species and noticed they were occupying the same earth as us. With time, I began to learn the names of trees, birds, insects, and flowers because acknowledging and learning who/what was living in community with me felt just as important as learning about my human neighbors.

This relationship with nature was nourished by my mother—an educator for 20+ years in the Little Rock School District—and my father —an outdoorsy fisherman, hunter, and inventor—who taught me how to interact safely and respectfully with the great outdoors. My love and awe grew of the profundity of life that co-exists in nature, but the older I became the more I wondered if others noticed the diversity of life beyond humans. It was only in my 30’s that I learned the relationship I naturally formed with nature as a kid was called the study of ecology.

As an artist, I created The Urban Wildlife Haven, which is a cooperative values-oriented project centering African descendant traditions, Indigenous perspectives, and practices that honor the sacred stewardship between people and the land. We offer nature workshops and outdoor gatherings centering ethnobotanical knowledge honoring the diverse wisdom of our ancestors and community members. We dedicate ourselves to increasing accessibility and representation to communities typically underrepresented in outdoor activities in an effort to reclaim that the outdoors is a safe, healing, and abundant place for all people.

Nature deprivation and health-related issues plague underestimated communities and The Urban Wildlife Haven was created to help heal the relationship between people and the natural environment. We are budding urban farm and grow veggies, flowers, and kitchen herbs. By trade I am a nature educator, urban gardener, apiarist, plant medicine apprentice, curator of healing spaces for Queer, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and multifaceted artist. My work aims to center the needs of underestimated communities’ health and wholeness and to dismantle oppressive systems that divide communities and harm nature.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think what people struggle to understand about my journey as a creative is that everything I do, I treat like I am creating art. Art is a messy, unpredictable, inspirational, mistake-filled, a constant pivoting experience. No matter where I start or what vision I have in my mind for how I want an art piece to occur, it never goes exactly how I envision it and that is okay. Art is a process that requires faith in a journey that we often lack control of. It requires trust in our individual abilities to produce something beyond what we knew was possible. It requires interdependence between various tools e.g. paint, paper, camera, etc. and people who support the artist process. Living as a creative person, I deeply understand that it is my role to show up and be a bridge between the known reality and what could be. I don’t know everything and that is a gift because it leaves opportunity for discovery, wonder, and new beginnings. It truly is a journey and as a creative, the journey is what inspires the beauty we know as art.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up, I often would hide from the spotlight and hated receiving too much attention. I was an extremely nervous kid, but not many people could tell because I hid it so well. Truth is, behind closed doors I loved to sing, dance and be vibrant, but I didn’t think that I could ever share that part of myself with others. I thought that if I showed the world artistic talents, then I would be taking up too much space. A lesson that I am unlearning, is that I deserve to take up space and to share my talents even if it makes me nervous. I am allowed to shine, be seen and receive opportunities because of my gifts. There isn’t anything wrong with being multifaceted and that I can express my talents how I see fit. My talents are my own and how I share them with others is completely up to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arkansawblk.com/
• Instagram: arkansawblk
• Facebook: arkansawblk

Image Credits
Dustin Grimes