Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Boutzie R. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Boutzie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be unapologetically you. To stand firm in your God-given destiny and the dreams you want to manifest for yourself. Knowing that you are your biggest supporter and that no matter what, you continuously show up for yourself. Success is not about how much money you make, or the material possessions you acquire, but by how you remain ethical, considerate, honest, and full of integrity. The way I view success is through the change I make in the lives I encountered. It’s about reaching more people through your gifts, skills, and talents. Broadening your audience, making them see that, nothing is the limit, to what you can achieve. Being successful means always keeping those key things close to your heart, but also it means always giving a helping hand, and to give back.

Boutzie, 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?

My way of entry into the art and design industry was not a traditional one. The majority of my experience comes from self-teaching and self-exploration. I have had formal training and education, through work experience and academia. Basically, I have always been in and around some sort of visual arts or visual communication throughout my life. Always learning because this was an area of deep interest to me. Anything visual allowed me to express myself in such a way, that at the time, I was not able to do so verbally. I was fascinated with how you can articulate a story, a message. and a moment, with visual communication. And I have developed over the years this artistic practice for myself, within my art practice, my business, and my visual art career path.

A lot of the work I do outside of my own visual arts career path is creative and visual consulting. I like to work with people 1 on 1, to help them connect visually and creatively to their brand or image. I seemingly help them understand how they want to visually express themselves through visual storytelling. In addition, to that, for a great deal of time, I have been in school for a decade. The majority of people assume that I am a photographer and nothing more. It’s funny to me, but the bulk of my art practice deals with visual research and design communication. For the last decade, I have been doing a lot of visual communication and design communication research, that focuses on community outreach and engagement. My research deals with both studio-based and practice-led theoretical approaches to understanding how visual communication plays a role in our contemporary society. Again, I am fascinated by diving deep into my theory of how we can use visual means to truly articulate messages, bring communities together, and reimagine physical spaces; making more public art displays accessible to the people.

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

The word resilience is so beautiful to me. There really isn’t a story to tell, but more so some wisdom. In life, there will be trials and tribulations, and you must learn how to overcome them. You cannot be overturned by those circumstances and situations. Yes, you will cry and feel alone, but the storm always comes and goes. Always know that it won’t always be this way. Keep your faith high and know that you got this. That’s my resilience to know that everything will fall into place and be what it is meant to be. You have to believe that, hold tight to your dreams, and birth them no matter what. You were given these gifts, skills, and talents for a greater purpose. Not just for you, but for others to experience. You have to be strong and pull yourself up when you feel like giving up. Your dreams are your motivators, and that is the light that keeps burning. Be resilient, and courageous, and be at peace, knowing again, that you got this.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Be intentional when assembling your team. You have to trust them with you and your business. Always stay in communication and never move in emotions. Always remain open and honest. You take care of your team and your team will take care of you. I live by that, your team is your family, and they will help you along the way. Always bring in love, truth, and consideration. Never allow that to leave you all. Never.

Contact Info:

• Website: boutzie.com
• Instagram: Boutzieee
• Other: rebelliousrebel.com

Image Credits
Photographer: Boutzie (RebelliousRebel)
The Photographer is Saskia Kahn.