We recently connected with Joyous Ferguson and have shared our conversation below.

Joyous, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

As of today, I am happy being an artist. It’s always been my identity. I’ve always known art was my end game and that I would do what ever it took to make that dream real. God didn’t give me this talent for no reason. So I knew He would help me see it through.

But there were frequent low times for me where I felt I wasn’t being valued as an artist or even seen seriously. I opened an art studio(BJoyous Art Studio, Conyers, Georgia) in 2021, and it started high and ended low. I felt like a failure. To pay the bills that were growing daily I had to create excessively. Sometimes work that I didn’t even have interest in. That took the fun out of art. I was creating for survival, not for fun or for therapy.

After I closed my studio, I took a break, that turned into a longer break than I thought. I was depressed and I didn’t realize it until later that year. I had to fall in love with my art again. I had to find my voice again. When I found her, she was familiar but evolved. I realized fear of failure was holding me back. I was scared of trying again. Advertising, creating content, pushing the content, doing art shows; it was terrifying.

But I don’t want to waste time or the gift that I received. I’m proud to say that I have some new projects brewing and I can’t wait to share with everyone. Almost feels like I’m reintroducing myself to my peers again, but I’m embracing it fully. Rebirthing my art career will be one for the books🤗

Joyous, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I always loved art. Painted and doodled everywhere in the house. I loved fashion and painting so I would have little fashion shows and make art books and paintings for my family. My mom helped me create and incorporate BJoyous Fashions, Inc. in 2012 and from there I focused on fashion, selling tshirts and trinkets.

When I went to college (Hampton University, 2013-2017) I majored in Graphic Design in order to learn a new craft under the realm of being artistic but with tech. I created BJoyous Graphics as a branch on my company’s tree while presenting a branding project in class and it stuck. I created my bee logo in that class as well. My brand’s tag line is CMYK(Creatively Making Your dreams Known) like the printer settings. Lol a little bit of Designer nerd lore.

From there I’d participate in our schools small business bazaars and pop up shops. I had a few clients I made Snapchat filters, Instagram flyers etc. I grew I like graphics but painting was always my safe space.

My first painting I actually took serious(Keep Your Head To The Sky-2015) is my most prized possession that I will never sell. Trust me, plenty of people have tried to get it off me lol. I’ve made pieces before but this one made me feel something. Like that was my voice and vision.

I inherited the Afro-futuristic/surrealism genre of art. It felt the most like me. I started sharing my art more(everyone knew I hated doing that lol) and I was so uncomfortable but excited.

Over the years I built my clients in graphics, designing logos, websites, books, social media campaigns, content creation, video editing etc. I was the Joy of All Trades. It got overwhelming very quickly. I had to hustle so I did it. But my paintings were my saving grace mentally.

I participated in my first art show back home in 2017 and I was overwhelmed with the love I was getting. I continued to join more art shows and pop up shops in Atlanta. I curated and hosted art shows (Brunch N Brushes- 2018 & Brunch N Brushes 2- 2021, Little Creative(Christmas Kids) Artshow- 2021) while selling my art on the side as well. I wanted to share my platform with other artists to give them the chance that was given to me.

The pandemic definitely took a toll on my momentum that I gained previously. But it gave me time to evolve, which was important.

I want potential viewers and lovers of art to know that in everything I paint, you see pieces of me. My soul is poured on the canvas and I want you to feel whatever you want. I’m not trying to convince anyone to do anything but feel the joy in life again. Times are so hard now and don’t seem to be getting any better BUT happiness and joy are IN you regardless of what hard times come. Joy will be the light in the darkness always.

I used to think I was a little cursed with my name. Beautiful but everyone will try to steal my Joy. I have to fight twice as hard. So when you see my work you see my fight. And I encourage everyone to keep fighting and pressing forward. Peaks always have valleys and vice versa.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being able to articulate my feelings through my art. I can get my anger out without hurting anyone. I can be sad and make a beautiful piece of art and no one would even know I was sad at the time. As an introvert that helps me socialize better because don’t always have to speak what I feel. Which is like my shield.

I love being able to bend the limits of my emotions to display them in a way that people can comprehend but also confuse people at the same time. Makes people think before they speak. I love explaining my pieces after I’ve given people time to figure it out on their own. It’s almost like a mystery game.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’ve had to pivot careers a lot for survival but I’ve also had the pleasure of having different jobs in my career that weren’t just about painting. I was a teacher for a while, then a tshirt design and sales rep, a customer service rep during the pandemic then back to teaching and currently I’m a Marketing Coordinator at an engineering firm in Atlanta. In between my more consistent jobs I was a videographer, photographer, content creator, Creative Director and Social Media Specialist.

Having that balance made me ok with the career shifts. I didn’t feel like I was giving up on my dream. I just had bills to take care of. And the other jobs were just to pay them. The creative jobs were precious to me and I worked hard to make sure they could also become consistent flows of income as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bjoyousfashions.com
• Instagram: @beesloveme @bjoyousgraphics
• Other: TikTok: @beezloveme Portfolio: https://joyousferguson.myportfolio.com/