Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stacy Lovejoy – a Florida-based performance artist, singer, and musician. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation.

Stacy, thanks for joining us, we are excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

Thanks for having me, Dan! I actually have a hilarious story behind the first dollar I earned. Since my childhood, I’ve loved listening to music wherever I go. In middle school, I always bought cheap headphones that tended to break easily. I used to pile them up in my room until I realized the pile was enormous. However, I couldn’t bring myself to just throw them away. Instead, I came up with an idea to turn them into jewelry pieces. I removed the wires and cut the cable into 1-2 inch pieces. Then I found some old beads in my mom’s jewelry box and stringed them one by one on a piece of fishing line in between the cable parts and attached a clasp. I absolutely loved the result and made several styles using different beads. My sister and I couldn’t stop wearing them and soon they started to attract people’s attention. My classmates were constantly asking me where I got them from but I was too shy, to tell the truth. Back then I didn’t have any creative role models who were making something with their hands professionally. So, I just told them I was buying those necklaces in a small shop on my way to my grandma’s house.

You can probably guess that I ended up with a list of customers wanting me to pick them up similar jewelry pieces when I went “to visit grandma” again. I was totally overjoyed and thrilled to realize that my creations impressed others so much. And I was happy to make my first bit of money. The same night I made a bunch of necklaces and brought them to my classmates the next day. They adored them!

I’m still in touch with some of my school friends. After I told them the real story, they were floored to find out that those necklaces were invented by me as they were really stylish and professionally made.

Sounds impressive! 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 background and context?

I started my career as a street artist while in middle school but soon met some gallerists and curators who convinced me to showcase my art in galleries and museums. Thus, I had numerous shows within the states and internationally. However, I have always been into music and performance art. Since childhood, I love people’s attention and often experiment with my style and appearance. As a teenager, I sang in the chorus, performed on stage, acted in school plays, worked as a model, and put on fashion shows. So, at some point, I just dived deep into this stream and never went back. Now I dance, sing, make music, perform on stage, and design my own costumes for those performances. Recently I finished a series of art masks titled “The Masquerade.” I have always been astonished by the fact that costumes possess the ability to heal and transform a person by evoking raw emotions and unlocking their deepest senses. After putting it on, a wearable object becomes an integral part of one’s personality. It can immediately erase all fears or make one’s cheeks red and pulsating, turn a person into a loser or winner, or transform them into magical creatures.

I adore filling viewers’ eyes with curiosity and evoking strong feelings that make them feel, react, resist, or resonate. Performing for others is one of the most powerful feelings I’ve ever experienced. It connects me with the audience, with myself, with the entire universe, and this is something I live for.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

I believe we were born almighty. And if you can imagine something, you have the ability to materialize it. The faster you realize it, the sooner the surroundings change to make it real. I learned it from my own experience, and since then, I have been globalizing the ideas of total freedom in self-expression, self-development, and self-love using one of the most powerful and most influential tools humanity has ever discovered – art and music. My mission is to empower people by activating their mode of feeling almighty, and free of any boundaries, labels, and stereotypes established by society.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most fascinating thing about being an independent artist is freedom. My life is a game, in which I’m the main character. I always laugh, play, and express myself immensely. Creating art takes me back to my childhood – that time when you admire water drops sparkling sunny rays; seek funny characters in a rug; giggle over your puddle reflection, and smile when a gentle wind tickles your cheeks. A time when you are happy-go-lucky, sensitive, almighty, and sometimes naïve, but always genuine. I am an eternal child and art allows me to maintain this state of being.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.StacyLovejoy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacylovejoy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stacylovejoy
• Other: tiktok – https://www.tiktok.com/@stacylovejoy

Image Credits
all the pictures belong to me