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

Jamillah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

Wow, what a big question! It is my hope that I will touch many lives through introducing people to the healing power of God through my art and that as a result, people will come to know that there is a God who sees and cares for them. I hope to inspire a generation of artists who have not traditionally fit in religious spaces to be empowered tune do what God has put on their hearts to do and not worry about naysayers or a life of poverty and lack due to choosing art as a profession. I want my art to bring about a revival in our communities and to inspire others to take up this mantle and continue the work through their own practice. I also want bring about a paradigm shift in how the Church think God uses people and the ways in which He allows them to operate. The Bible implores us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” This is my offering of a taste of that goodness. In short, I want my legacy to be one of creative miracles.

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.

I’ve always been an artist. I come from a line of creatively gifted people so it’s no surprise that I myself am also creatively gifted. At the time when I was coming up, I drew and stuff but I didn’t take it seriously and I never considered it to be a potential avenue for a career. I think I came up with the old school mindset that art wasn’t a “real job” so I was content with it being a hobby that I did every now and again. As much as I was unaware, though, I was drawn to various opportunities to create art, whether it was chalk art at a festival or flyers for an ice-cream social. I didn’t advertise my talent coming up because my older sister who also made art was considered “the artist” in our high school. I didn’t want to feel like I was competing with her so I kind of leaned into the “smart one” identity. When I got to college where I didn’t have to worry about being compared to her, I started doing it a little more. I took one art class and thought it was pretty cool but still wasn’t trying to make a career of it. It wasn’t until I started graduate school but I began to think of art as a potential ministry opportunity and I started exploring other media and eventually became interested in how art can be combined with spirituality to achieve both natural and supernatural healing.

Back in 2014, I had a conversation with someone that inspired a thought of painting people’s life stories and over time, they would have a private gallery in which they could see and remember all the seasons and circumstances that they have journeyed through and overcome. This conversation started me on a course of discovering a variety of unique ways art can be used to serve people. It was through this discovery process that I realized what my draw to art was: how I can reach people for God, tell of His goodness, and demonstrate His love using it. My passion was for Him, and art was the medium through which that passion could be expressed.

I can’t really tell you how long it took to arrive at where I’m at now but I think there were layers of me getting past some ideas that art doesn’t really have a place in the church, that art wasn’t a real career, etc. before I could finally be open enough to consider using art to heal people. In 2017, I finally decided to step out and I got business cards as an act of faith. I sold my first piece of art for $20 on OfferUp. It was way too low, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling! The next piece of art I sold went for $200, and that year I think I made over $2000 in sales and was in an exhibition. Once I moved to California in 2018, I took a break to get settled. During that time, I really questioned if this is what I what’s supposed to be doing, but the signs were there and God kept confirming His word regarding it to me. In 2020, I had a critical dream that confirmed to me that this concept was actually from God and not of my own origin, and at that point I began to take it a lot more seriously. Since I started in 2017, I‘ve sold works to individuals, shown in a gallery, painted live, and even painted a mural at a school.

I operate my artistry under the name RIZEArt Studios. RIZEArt Studios offers art and artistic services to businesses and organizations with a health and wellness focus, such as hospitals, state agencies, walk-in clinics, spas, mental health offices, and even health/wellness-adjacent organizations places like schools, funeral homes, and possibly even prisons. My mission is to calm the mind, ease the body and soothe the spirit with art in the built environment. I primarily work with acrylic paint and color pencil, but I also do watercolor and mixed media. I love to incorporate gold whenever I can- it’s just kind of my thing. In addition to creating original artwork, I also have products that I design such as stationary, laptop cases journals, and more. I also provide interior style consulting for businesses. If you’re looking for something that is more than logical, emotional or beautiful, I believe I have something to offer. People pay a lot of money for art that is beautiful and adds to a space, but what if healing was added to a space? I don’t know a person alive that couldn’t use healing be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. If you’re gonna pay a lot of money for something, why not pay for something that’s not just pretty but powerful?

I’m proud of stepping out on faith and selling my art. I think fear has held me back for a long time, so to be in a space now where I can talk to people about my art and have made products and built a website is light years away from where I started. I’m not where I want to be in my business, but I can see how much I’ve grown by taking the steps to start. I wouldn’t be where I am now had I let fear continue to keep me from pursuing my dreams.

I’ve always been drawn to the beauty of art, but I love the idea of art being functional, or even greater than that—powerful. That being said, I enjoy creating works of power that heal, protect, comfort, encourage, and inspire. What I do is prophesy with my hands. I know from personal experience just how impactful a timely word from God is, just how life-giving it is, like a bright, guiding light in the midst of overwhelming darkness. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much more impactful could that word in picture form be? How much more could it speak? Quality is important to me so I strive to have my work reflect that. My style is somewhat ethereal and typically has hints of glamour through the use of gold, glitter, or rhinestones. I am personally fond of themes around spirituality, identity, mystery, and authority and my preferred setting is the natural environment.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

When I first started back in 2017, a good portion of my clients actually came from Facebook. When you’re just starting out and don’t really have a name or money for big branding/marketing initiatives, you just have to use what you have access to and what I had was social media. Facebook was still super popular then so I was using that and scouring Craigslist for unique art gigs (and found some).

Now, although I have a website, business cards, and all that, I actually get clients from NextDoor interestingly. It’s still social media, although not the bigger platforms, but I find advantages to it. The biggest problem with Facebook and Instagram are that you a limited to your own social circles and if none of your friends are well-off, people who can afford your products are not actually seeing your work (unless you figure out the algorithm and all that). NextDoor is a neighborhood app that exposes you to anyone who lives in or near your area, regardless of whether or not you personally now them. That also means people of diverse socioeconomic statuses can also see my work, not just my friends.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

In addition to making art, I create products with my art on them for sale. The products range from laptop cases and mouse pads to a stationary box that contain a collection of writing products. I also offer interior style consulting services. In the future, I do plan to host healing nights where people can com experience healing through painting or drawing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rizeartstudios.com
• Instagram: @rizeartstudios
• Facebook: RIZEArt