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

Lina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A few years back, I began a project I now refer to as “The Prophecy”.

This piece will hold a special place in my heart and mind forever. It has expanded my perspective on fate, destiny, and true desire of the soul in ways I have trouble articulating with words. When I began sketching this silly little self portrait, I had no idea that in the years to come I would watch every single detail down to the most intimate nuance happen in my real life. At first, it frightened me, but as time passed it left me with so many questions. Was I seeing a path that had already been paved for me, or was I the creator of my own destiny? How could I possibly know so much yet be aware of so little? How could something I had drawn with my own hand shock me into such a profoundly existential realization as if I hadn’t seen myself put pencil to paper and think nothing of it in the moment?
I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent staring into this drawing, sometimes crying, sometimes rejoicing, sometimes in complete silence, but every time searching for guidance from a source I could never fully comprehend. It expanded my thinking in so many ways, yet was always sure to remind me that I truly knew nothing, and that fate would always have its mysterious ways. Most of all, it inspired me to ask myself; if I am the creator of my own destiny, and if my art is truly immutable, then what is my soul’s deepest desire?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My first memory as a child was of me sitting in a high chair and very poorly drawing a tomato with a pack of crayolas, so quite literally for as long as I can remember I have always felt the pull to create. While I have a few pieces for sale every now and then, ultimately I am not a business, and my goal is not to sell you something. I am an artist, and the most important thing you can lend me is your eyes. In return, what you receive is completely up to you, but if I made you feel something, made you think, made you see in a way you could not see before, then I have accomplished my goal.
I believe that we can learn something from everybody, and that connection is the most beautiful quality of humanity. With that being said, my perspective is only a tiny footprint on a vast and infinite path, yet that does not diminish its importance. My desire is for you, the observer, to become immersed, to become not only a participant, but the protagonist, to feel alive, passionate, liberated, and wild like I do. My dare is for you to dream, to understand your soul’s appetite, and to radically accept it.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When we are children, we are full of wonder, magic, and curiosity. As we grow, we are taught by parents, by peers, by society, that magic is not real, that curiosity kills the cat. That wonder in our big open eyes gets stomped out before it even has the chance to flourish. You must do this a certain way, because that is how it has always been done. You cannot accomplish that—it is impossible. No one has ever been able to do that before, so neither can you. Do you see what I’m saying? If our childlike whimsy were given a true chance to flourish, this world would be full of princesses riding dragons, 10 story playgrounds, colorful sidewalks, world peace, and not a lick of grey in sight.
It is for many, an incredibly suppressive upbringing, and one that most people become unfortunate slaves to. The unspoken strength it takes to drown out all of the voices, to not let them color you grey and shove you in a box, is immense.
For me, it took years of miserable jobs, classical education, and stagnation, to finally throw caution to the wind and take my heart’s advice. To an outsider, this may have looked like an incredibly foolhardy risk, but I had never been more certain of anything in my life.
To follow your heart is not an easy decision. The path is unpaved, unexplored, and always, always unpredictable, but your life belongs to no one but you, so why follow someone else’s map?
There was one question I asked myself that snapped me out of my societal delusion, and it is one I still ask myself before taking advice from anyone; Do you want the life that they have?

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

If I’m being honest, at first my goal felt like a selfish one, only because I did not fully understand what my art had been subconsciously articulating for years. I wanted eyes on me—I wanted attention, just the same as every artist does, but I did not truly know why until fairly recently. I was not one with my desires, my soul, or my soul’s “mission”, and that in itself is the catalyst of my work—oneness. What I mean by oneness is the connection between the body, mind, and spirit. I touched on this in the previous question, but when we are children, we are full of spirit. We see things for how they could be, not how they are. Our minds are completely unrestricted and untainted by the world. We learn and explore with openness and wonder, and we naturally gravitate towards certain things that align with our souls’ purpose. As we get older, our connection with our spirit becomes muddied and distant. We get lost in a path that was predetermined for us long before we were ever born, a path that we are supposed to take because we were told to by those who came before us, but the spirit always stirs from deep within.
I do not want you to look at my art and think it is nice. My desire is for you to immerse yourself in the world I have created and remember a time when you were one with yourself. My mission is for you to understand your soul’s purpose, to understand what liberates you and what makes you feel alive, and to inspire you to create a path that is unmistakably your own.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linagwynjolie.com

Image Credits

Stowkelly, Tuck Chaylor, Detavius Kneeblack, Sav Huddleston