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

Alright, Raiyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Ever since I could remember I used art as a creative outlet in my life— and through this I have found deep rooted healing and direction over my life. It was during obtaining my undergraduate degree in psychology that I noticed how relevant art is in allowing oneself to process trauma and heal from it. It was then I decided to turn my focus to art as a form on therapy for myself and others.

Raiyn , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I moved to France in 2023 to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts at the American College of the Mediterranean, though I decided to pursue my own path outside of academics where I found more freedom of expression and a more diverse art community. I am a co-founder of an art collective based in Madrid, lejos_de_aqui_lda. My current focus is to build my collection of paintings to exhibit around Madrid with my collective, integrating further within the art community. With a Psychology degree, my focus as an oil painter challenges psychological phenomena and opens up discourse about trauma and healing. I lean on the innocence of animals and what that symbolizes within us and our society.

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

I have faced uncertainty and doubt as an artist who hasn’t yet made a name for myself, yet the driving force of continuing down this creative path is all that the uncertainty has taught me along the way, how it has altered my craft and given me more to say through it. How it continues to open emotional doors within myself and allow me to connect with other creatives in one of the most personal ways. Through the vulnerability of art.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I once believed that my value came from what I was able to produce, living in a capitalistic American society where an individual’s intrinsic purpose came from constantly producing. This manifested into my artistic practice, resulting in resentment towards what I was producing. It has taken me a lot of trial and error, pushing myself when I needed a creative break, under appreciating the value of rest. I have come to understand that if the purpose of art for me is therapeutic healing and expression, allowing myself days and even weeks off fosters this relationship. I am no less of an artist on days I am not physically creating.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _rraiyn
• Other: Art collective instagram: lejos_de_aqui_lda