Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Miranda Livingston. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Miranda, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I was a sponge honestly. I first learned about mixed-media and how to collage from my father. He was an art teacher for over thirty years and is now a full-time artist. I learned about composition, black and white photography, background vs. foreground, and using found objects just from observing my father and his work. As an adult, I continued to hone my skills by spending hours on YouTube, experimenting in my art studio, and visiting other artists’ studios.

I never aim to speed the learning process. What’s the rush, you know? I’m always learning and wanting to evolve and that’s the fun of it all. So I don’t think I could’ve or would’ve done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Patience and authenticity (that’s more of a trait than a skill but nonetheless important) are extremely essential. I feel like rushing through the artistic process is doing yourself a disservice. Be patient with the process, enjoy it. And I have to tell myself this A LOT. I sometimes try to rush to the end because I can already see the final product in my head. But what ends up happening is I get frustrated and then I feel like my pieces aren’t as authentic to me as they could’ve been if I had just slowed down.

I would say some obstacles would be time. I work a full-time job and now I’m a new mommy! So my time is precious and sometimes (a lot of times) I feel like there isn’t enough time to do what I want to do, and that includes honing new skills.

Miranda, 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 am originally from Ferguson, Missouri and now I reside in Chicago. My dad instilled art in me from an early age and I learned the art of fashion from my mom. My dad taught me about several African-American artists that unfortunately did not get as much exposure as other White or European artists did in galleries or classrooms. I was always surrounded by art specifically from the African Diaspora and that has heavily influenced my work. I never considered myself an artist, although I was always immersed in it. When I was studying for the bar in 2017, I started thinking about creating my own art brand and the name Pothos & Patterns came to me while I was walking home from class. Starting in 2018, I started doing more photography when I was walking around, I started taking more pictures of my outfits, and I would gather artistic inspiration. I created an Instagram for my brand and would just post whatever I wanted with no pressure.

I did not do anything with my brand until 2020 when, like everyone else, I was at home and had a lot of time to myself. I started researching abstract art forms and came across acrylic paint pouring. By the end of 2020 I started doing acrylic pours on Christmas ornaments, canvases and ceramic tiles. Since 2020, I have done several art shows, like the Black Girl Art Show and Art Basel in Miami. I have a group exhibition opening on July 14th at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago. My artistic journey has been challenging but so amazing.

I aspire to create my own artistic hub that houses several art galleries and event spaces, communal art studios, and a storefront for my brand and other artists to sell their work. My studio practice is centered around storytelling, specifically around the African Diaspora. I believe what sets me apart from others is my ability to tell stories using mixed-media collage and acrylic paint pouring. I know my art is unique, vivid, and deep and I will always continue elevating my art. Honestly, that is what I have found myself proud of the most lately; my elevation. Looking at the pieces that I have created recently versus the pieces I was creating even a year or two ago I can see my progress. Life has thrown me a lot of curveballs and my art has kept me centered through it all and I am so proud and grateful for that.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I love this question because it goes to the core of what my brand identity is. I truly believe that everyone is an artist. I am also a true believer in originality and not doing what is easy. I love curating art and would love to curate several art shows highlighting innovative artists, both rising artists and already established artists. Part of my mission is to expand people’s artistic tastes and to not just gravitate to what I call “low-hanging fruit art”. I truly respect everyone’s artistic crafts. However, some of the art that I see on social media or in art shows is art that I’ve seen before or see everywhere. I love art that is not easily understood; art that you have to pause to look at. My mission with my studio practice and my brand overall is to go deep within to create authentic art. My brand tagline is nurturing your inner artist. I want to nurture the authentic, carefree, and raw parts of people. Yes, there is the saying that there is nothing new under the sun, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot try to reinvent the wheel a bit, or just knock the whole wheel over lol. Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Don’t create for the consumer, for money, or for ego because it shows.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’ve recently become a mother to a beautiful baby girl. She has turned my life upside down in such a good way. It definitely has not come without its challenges. She has changed the way I go about everything. I’ve had to pivot how I approach everything, especially my time. Specifically with my art, I’ve become a lot more intentional about how I use my time and have learned to be okay with having to approach tasks in chunks. I would not say that my studio time is more limited per se, but I would say that I work more intentionally and diligently around my mommy duties and full-time job. That means that during the week after work I’m in the studio in the evening and into the early hours of the morning sometimes. My husband is also a huge help and we work together to allow me to have time in the studio.

Before I had my daughter, I had not created a collage on canvas in about 2 years. I was doing digital collages sparingly, but I was having real artist block when it came to my canvas collages. I was barely going into my studio and I was not inspired at all. I was feeling really down about myself and my art and was honestly wondering if I would create art again. While I was on maternity leave, I applied to be in a group exhibition with the Chicago Collage Community ran by Christine Vilutis and Charity Taylor. My collage art, along with other fellow collage artists is on display at Everybody’s Coffee in Chicago until June 28, 2023. I also applied to be in a cohort named the Connect Residency created by Hollie Davis. We have a group exhibition at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago opening on July 14, 2023. I applied to these programs because I knew I needed a push; a push back into the studio after being away for so long. I was feeling like half of me was gone and I didn’t want to keep showing up that way when I knew I needed to be a whole person to be there for my daughter. Next to my daughter, art brings me closest to my authentic self; the version of myself that I love deeply and that is always striving to be better, My postpartum journey was challenging and I felt like I lost that for a while. Through the help of my husband, my family, and village I have been able to start to feel whole again.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pothosandpatterns.com
• Instagram: pothosandpatterns
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/pothosandpatterns