We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dominic Clay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dominic below.

Dominic, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

My mother was an artist. Not in its traditional or scholarly context but in the most beautiful and freeing of ways; creating beautiful things. My earliest memory as a small boy is of my mother sitting with me, teaching me to color within the lines. Not only did I too fall in love with creating beautiful things but I learnt of and felt the immense satisfaction that comes from doing something correctly. However, it was not until I began my undergraduate studies in Art Education at Texas College in Tyler, Texas that seeing myself as an art professional truly became conceivable. Under the tutelage of and guided by the words of Dr. Curtis Watson who once told me to create my art but always have an income to supplement it.

Dominic, 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?

I moved to Houston in 2007 after having lived almost extensively in Karnack, a small rural town in East Texas. Houston as a city and as a community can be very supportive of grassroots artists. As a young artist, I would have access to a plethora of art pop ups and artist calls for group shows that would keep any emerging artist busy. By day, I was employed by the Houston Museum of African American Culture as the Exhibitions Manager and had the privilege of working closely with and learning from artists I greatly admired and respected. I have many great memories of that time and my proximity to beauty and greatness. Core memories that have shaped me as an artist and as a man. Encounters and conversations with artists like Kerry James Marshall who I have long admired for his talent and devotion to process and Faith Ringold who taught me to forever be curious about the world around me and what it truly means to be resilient in the pursuit of being seen and heard as an artist.
As a Black man, my art is a direct and unambiguous reflection of the community I represent and serve. My images and narratives invoke pride and affirm a sense of self in a world where representation matters but is seldom offered. My current thesis explores African and African American folktales and myths as a vehicle of my own self exploration and transformation.
As an Artist, I am most proud of my growth and my lived experiences. Art is transformative and so too is truly learning something new for now you cannot go about as if you have been unchanged. Art is legacy and immortality and like the lessons my ancestors saw fit to enshrine in folktales and stories, I too aspire to live on.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Art enriches our lives and has such an endurance that I believe it is the most human thing second only to the creation of life itself.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Art makes me happy and above aspirations for greatness and legacy, I desire to lead a happy and beautiful life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.madeofclay.us
• Instagram: dominicclay3rdeye
• Facebook: DomArt4U

Image Credits
Along Comes A Spider, 2023 acrylic & found objects on Linen courtesy of the artist Nankoypon and the ladder to Heaven, 2023 acrylic & found objects on Linen courtesy of the artist Bantu-gether, 2021 ceramic, wire & found objects private collection ChiWara: Giver of the Garden, 2021 ceramic, wire & found objects courtesy of the artist Grand Fulani, 2021 ceramic, wire & found objects courtesy of the artist Hood-Rich, 2021 ceramic, wire & found objects private collection To All of the Forgotten Kings, 2021 ceramic, wire & found objects courtesy of the artist