We were lucky to catch up with Rose Assibey-Mensah recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rose, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Growing up I was always a curious person that found happiness in the smallest things and knew there was something about me that stood out from others. I was about 6 years old when I started seeing my brother draw Dragon Ball Z characters to regular cartoon characters and was impressed by seeing him draw. I had some Lisa Frank folders and began tracing drawings from them and instantly knew drawing made me feel good. Ever since I started tracing, I began making my own drawings of what I was able to create in my head to characters I saw on tv such as the Powerpuff Girls. The more I began drawing, the more I started taking art into my own hands and enjoyed the creative process. I got involved in anything that was art related in school and educated myself more on different artistic styles. When I got to college, I began to create more ideas, learn more about the art community, and created my art Instagram page. Wherever I saw anything that involved painting and a brush is where I knew that was my calling for my creativity to continually grow. I did my research on good products to use, how to blend effectively, make skin tones, etc. and that’s when I knew this was something that I have to continue doing. I graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College with a degree in Business Marketing during lockdown and have improved so much from when I started. Surprisingly I found out a few years ago that art is an inherited trait that goes all the way back to my mom’s grandpa being an art professor in Ghana.
Rose, 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?
Naturally I’ve been a creative person since I was really young and art has been one of the best ways I was able to express myself and feel more confident. Being born in Atlanta has exposed myself to different aspects of the culture as well as embracing my own Ghanaian heritage. Growing up I was someone that was frequently misunderstood, an easy target to pick on to having anxiety, but allowed myself to get in tuned with my creative side despite whatever I encountered. After going through a dark time in 2022 and finding out I have mild scoliosis, I found my old ideas I made from 2016 and that’s where I decided to get back into painting. The more paintings I was creating, the more I began to discover more of my purpose as an artist and visualize how far I can go with anything I make. That moment showed me that I still have my creative inner child within and allowed myself to tap back in with what makes me feel the happiest. My art is a reflection of different subjects such as manifestation, embracing the beauty of African culture, and other interests such as famous musicians I admire to self love and nature to name a few. I’m proud of pushing myself beyond my comfort zone to fully immerse myself with what I visualize to create and inspiring others around to keep going and elevating that creative fire. One thing that I truly want to be recognized for is how it’s possible to create beautiful things from turning your pain into power while doing things that set your soul on fire and not allow anything around you to hold you back from growing your passions. Whatever you’re feeling from your intuition/going through is the foundation towards reaching your highest self and will be thankful you made the first step.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Whenever I go through a tough time in life, I realized tapping back into my creative side has helped me in ways that I couldn’t feel any more proud of and enhances more of my confidence as a creative. I wasn’t painting as much when I graduated college during the pandemic and unfortunately lost my 9 year old cat a few months later. I was dealing with so much depression that it was hard for me to know things will get better as I was around toxic energy that began to drain me mentally & emotionally. I hadn’t recognized who I had became during that time yet alone wasn’t doing what I felt strongly passionate about, receiving support for my passions, and lost true focus of what mattered the most. Basically I wasn’t my truest self and was becoming a product of different energies around and knew something had to change. I was missing one of the pieces to my own “puzzle” to naturally become my highest self as creating art returned to me at a pivotal moment where I didn’t recognize it began shaping me into something larger than I could imagine. From that point on I decided to make more paintings and even went as far as making some for a few artists I listen to, as I’ve received positive feedback from them or someone personal to them. I started learning more about my passion for art from watching TikTok videos to Instagram reels and have experimented with different products to techniques. The more I experimented with these products and techniques, I found what naturally works for me and stuck with it. I got involved into doing art shows to posting my progress online and watching my followers grow. Although I’m not 100% where I want to be with my art, I’m grateful for how much time I’ve dedicated into being the artist I am today, pushing myself beyond the limits of perfection, and not allow anything I go through to make me feel less than my greatest self.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for being a creative is leading in what you believe in, standing in your own form of authenticity & confidence, showing how to create something from your mind and be recognized for your strengths. Being an artist means that you can create anything you desire to as there’s no type of label on it and doesn’t have to be seen as “perfect” or “weird”- you are 100% capable of creating anything you want and can be interpreted in many different ways. There are different artists from the 18th century to now that have broken barriers of what’s acceptable, which represent standing in your authenticity. Having your own authenticity means you don’t care who views your art as not their type, but rather you represent what resonates with your soul and put it out there no matter what. The creative process is something that applies differently to everyone, but has played a significant role into how much you can create with a simple thought. Even if you see an idea that’s similar to the one you created, that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own version of what you envisioned and add your own flavor to it. When you share a finished piece and decide to share it with people, there will be people that will acknowledge your work while there are others that will just scroll pass your work and discreetly want to see you fail. Majority of the time those people are only jealous based on seeing what you’re doing and how you’re being fearless with your crafts. I’ve learned that you have to keep going, no matter what type of feedback you receive, and walk over the hating energy trying to distract you. Artists have their own version of what they create as we take in everything from inspiration, experiences, emotions, and our own flavor to what will stand out. My message is continue doing what you’re doing, grow more of what you love and never allow anyone distract you from what’s meant for you. There’ll always be a rewarding outcome in the end for your discipline, consistency, and what you visualize.
Contact Info:
- Website: artxvelvetrose.etsy.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/_thevelvetrose
- Facebook: facebook.com/TheVelvet-Rose
- Twitter: twitter.com/__exquisiterose
- Youtube: youtube.com/roseassibey5375/
Image Credits
Bryson Tiller collage painting, 2023 Through the Eyes of the Motherland, 2022 Visualization of Trevor Jackson with Michael Jackson, 2022 (Met him while he was on tour in Febrauary 2023) TrapxArt Atlanta, 2023 Wedding couple. 2022 Paradise Views, 2022 Foundation of the Homeland, 2016 (Created this for an African event at school)