We were lucky to catch up with Kimberly recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kimberly , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I came into this work during a moment of uncertainty. I was at a crossroads where I was deciding whether art was something I would fully step into or something I would keep as a passion on the side. Then, a well-respected birth worker reached out to me.

That moment alone felt significant. This was someone I deeply admired. Someone whose work quite literally brings life into the physical world and here she was asking me to help bring HER vision to life. I didn’t take that lightly.

Early in our conversation, she said something that stayed with me:
“No matter what this becomes, I know your heart. I want your energy behind this expansion.”

That shifted everything.

Up until then if I’m being completely honest, I had seen art as something I created. But in that moment, I realized my work wasn’t just about painting – it went much deeper than that. It was about energy, translation, and trust. It was about taking something intangible (someone’s vision, their calling, their evolution) and giving it form.

As she shared more, I asked her a simple question: “What do you want this to feel like?”

While she spoke, I could feel ideas forming and began seeing images and symbols. She was rooted in Yemaya, the Orisha of the ocean, motherhood, and fertility. But as I listened, I felt something else alongside it and that was Oshun; representing love, beauty and fresh water.

When I shared that with her, you could hear a pin drop for the space the silence took.

She became emotional and told me she had recently been told she was a daughter of two waters. Though she naturally leaned toward Yemaya, she honored the message and received it with an open spirit. In that moment, what I felt intuitively mirrored something deeply personal and spiritual for her. It confirmed that this wasn’t just design, it was divine alignment.

We ended the call on such a positive note and I immediately began sketching.

I wrote down key words she had shared to anchor myself in her energy and then I let the process lead. I gave myself a few days before presenting the concept because I wanted to honor both the vision and the responsibility of translating it.

When we met again and I shared what I created, the first thing she said was:
“I knew you would bring my vision to life.”

That was the moment everything clicked.

I realized this is what I do.

I don’t just create art. I collaborate, I interpret and I build visual languages for people stepping into new chapters of their lives/businesses. That project became the foundation for my creative services: helping others translate their essence, their story, and their expansion into something tangible while reconnecting them with parts of themselves they may not have had access to before.

It started with one conversation but it became a calling. I’ve come to understand that I’m an alchemist of the arts: translating vision, identity and energy into something tangible.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m a multidisciplinary artist creating under the name Tali Lama. A name rooted from my commitment to nurturing my inner child. My work explores the duality of the human experience and translates emotion into a visual form that invites the audience to pause and connect with themselves.

I sowed many seeds to arrive at this work, slowly witnessing what I once saw as a passion become my purpose. That shift revealed itself when I was invited to create for someone I deeply admired and I realized my role wasn’t just to express but to translate what is felt or unspoken.

My practice spans from painting, murals and digital artwork, often paired with poetic language. Alongside my art, I also work in real estate which reflects a shared thread in everything I do: guiding people through transitions with clarity and intention.

I create original works, murals, and collaborative visual experiences for brands and communities. What sets me apart is my ability to bridge intuition with execution; creating work that isn’t just seen but felt.

What I’m most proud of is choosing to fully step into this path with sheer faith while simultaneously creating work that invites reflection and presence.

At my core, I consider myself an alchemist of the arts. Transforming emotion into form and form into experience.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is connecting. Taking what lives within me and knowing it will meet someone else exactly where they are. I don’t always bear witness to it, but when I am fortunate enough to share that experience, it confirms that everything I’ve experienced to here is worthwhile.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was believing that not going to art school or not having all the answers meant I didn’t belong. For a long time, I questioned if I had a place in this space. Imposter Syndrome on 100!

Throughout my life, I’ve felt a constant pull toward creativity despite my failed efforts in trying to silence it. Doubting the possibility because I never saw anyone that looked like me in this field and wondering if I and what I had to offer was enough. At the same time, I’ve been blessed to receive countless opportunities to exercise my creativity. So many that at one point I could no longer consider it luck and understood my place was wherever I decide to stand.

Unlearning that became a process of trusting that pull and allowing myself to grow through experience. Mistakes will be made but that’s how you evolve so although they can still be uncomfortable, I no longer shy away from them. I look at them as a badge of honor because I’m giving myself permission to grow and get to witness the opportunity in real time. I now recognize that belonging isn’t something granted by credentials but something you claim. And I’m claiming my purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: Working on my website: www.TaliLama.com
• Instagram: Tali.Lama
• Other: TikTok: .Tali.Lama