We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rochelle Irons. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rochelle below.
Hi Rochelle, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
My parents taught me that my value wasn’t in fitting into a box. They always encouraged creative thinking and made both of my brothers and I feel confident in being exactly who we were. We grew up on a boat, traveling around the Caribbean…not exactly your average childhood. They wanted to spend more time with us and I think that really translated into showing us the more important things in life. They never measured success on the same terms as most people of their generation. The importance of experiences over possessions, quality of life over the dollar amount attached to a career that was expected of you. My Dad taught us to work hard, if you were going to do it, you better do your best, whatever that was. And my mom taught us to be very self-sufficient. Why would you buy it, if you could make it? Creative thinking was always encouraged. To this day I’ll try to make pretty much anything, beer, pasta, pickles, clothing, pottery, or any new art process that catches my eye.
Rochelle, 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’ve always created art. I remember my very first mural, bright red crayon all along my great grandmother’s pristine white wall in her beautiful home. I think I was 3. It wasn’t received as well as they are now. As children, my mom was always giving my brothers and I art supplies. Creating was just something natural in our family. But it wasn’t until I found myself trying to reassemble a broken life, having two small children, and desperately trying to fill my nights with something that brought me peace that art became something new for me. A way to find happiness in a world that had become very dark. Art was my therapy, it brought me clarity, helped me process my emotions, and started to help me to see the beauty in the world again. I wanted to share that with others, it’s something so powerful, the way it changes the way you see the world. So now I create full-time. I work with local companies, restaurants, doctors’ offices, stores, and galleries. My work constantly changes, but the underlying stories don’t. It’s about finding beauty in the world around me, seeing the beauty that comes from the struggle. My paintings are of the ocean, the place I consider my home, and the bright tropical flowers and colors of the world around me. All of my paintings are signed with 2 hidden stars, they represent the most important things in this world, my 2 sons. The reason I knew I had to see the world as beautiful again.
My artwork is now on clothing, housewares, and furniture. i recently licensed some of my designs to a company that sells decoupage to furniture artists all over the world and I’m really excited to watch other creators use my designs to create their own unique creations.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Mental health awareness is a really big theme running through my work. I work very hard to bring awareness to the struggles of staying in an emotionally healthy place. I’ve learned to embrace my sad times and to work through them. But it’s only in talking about it, and being okay with saying “hey, I’m not okay right now” that we give ourselves and others the power needed to fight the darkness that can overtake us. happiness is something we must choose, and we choose it by making the choices that give us more peace. Curate the people you surround yourself with, the colors we wear, the things we spend our time on, and the things we outsource or forgo to have more of what makes us feel joy, they all matter.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?
When someone looks at my work and has an emotional response, that’s the best feeling ever. To connect with someone, not by the words I’ve spoken, but by the emotions that I’ve poured out of my soul with paint and resin, ink, and something that makes it all come together to speak for me in ways my words never do…..well, that’s kind of everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.greenpapayapalace.com
- Instagram: greenpapayapalace
- Facebook: greenpapayapalace
- Twitter: greenpapayapal
Image Credits
Jillian Nicholson