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

Alright, Minnie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

This past year I have been creating more meaningful and personal art for my mental health. This is something I wanted to do for a long time. I was encouraged by my therapist to finally do it. A big project I created is about my relationship with my father. My whole life my father has been controlling and verbally and psychologically abusive. I still think of things he has done or said to me. I decided to write everything down he’s said that’s affected me and take a double exposure of the writings and my face. I wanted to show sadness, anxiety, frustration, and anger. This is how I have felt in the past. I want this series to help people who are or who have been in similar situations. I think it’s important for me to talk about my trauma because not everyone can. People who have been in similar situations need to know they’re not alone. I want to create more art about my trauma in the future.

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 back background and context?

My first known inspiration was when I was a child. I used to hang out with my mom and grandma while they sewed. When I first started to show interest in art my mom encouraged me. In middle school and high school I started to branch out with different mediums. I started my passion in photography while in 4-H.

When I started at Columbus College of Art & Design I majored in photography. During this time I focused a lot on documentary photography. I thought I wanted to become a photojournalist. After college I discovered I didn’t want to go into photojournalism but instead as an art career. I started experimenting more with other mediums. In 2021, I played around with photo manipulation with my old family photos. When restoring the photos for my family, I decided to turn them into aliens. When I started working at Columbus Museum of Art as a gallery associate. There was a woman’s street photography show on display then, I became inspired to capture the streets of the Columbus area.

A series I finished recently is called Self. I captured black and white self-portraits and double exposed different patterns. Then dyed them with fabric dyes and paints. Green is the color I utilized because it represents freedom to me. This was the first time I made work that felt personal. Lately, I have been working on other personal projects that have helped me heal from my past. In the future, I have many more project ideas about my mental health.

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

There’s so many rewarding things but the most rewarding to me is being a part of the artist community. I have met so many amazing and talented people in this community. We all help each other out. It never feels competitive with anyone. We all stick together and are there for each other!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

There’s lots of things people can do to help support the arts. Make sure you check out different artist events. Diversify and experience different art communities and ideas. If you purchase from an artist or go to one of their events then you could post about it on social media and tag them. It’s important to keep an open mind and support each other in the art community.

Contact Info:

• Website: minnielucas.com
• Instagram: @minnielucasphotography
• Facebook: @minnielucasphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minnie-lucas-397a22186/
• Tik Tok: @minnielucasphotography

Image Credits
Minnie Lucas