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

Alright, Tey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Earlier this Fall I started my teaching career, facilitating graphic design and printing classes for high school students. Although there are so many things that are out of my control I’m constantly thinking of ways this could be different for them. The main thing I would change about the education system right now is emphasizing how many options they have in life. The school I teach at in particular falls under career and technical education. That means students can choose different pathways ranging from culinary skills, cosmetology, graphic design and printing, welding, and much more. Giving students an opportunity to engage in something that isn’t taught in traditional schools allows them to lean into making choices for themselves and not having to fulfill a role placed on them. The youth is crucial to our society and will be our future. As an educational professional, I think we owe it to them to create a safe environment for them to explore early and develop their sense of self while learning. I would also implement more information about navigating life and prioritizing mental health. No one really prepares you for the life-changing moments outside of the school building. A lot of students that I work with are experiencing grief at such a high rate but don’t know how to navigate those feelings. Food and housing insecurity is something that students face but don’t necessarily know where they can go for help. We need more resources for their well-being and we have to put care at the forefront. We need adults who truly care while doing this work. When I reflect on moments from school that shaped my life, I always go back to high school. Like many of my peers, I was struggling with mental health and maintaining a safe environment at home while exploring my identity. My guidance counselor, Ms.Romito, literally saved my life and I’m sure she knows it. She showed up for me and helped me navigate that time in my life and felt well-equipped to make it through other challenges that presented themselves later down the line. She was one of the few adults who really centered care and showed it through her words and actions. I think that’s another reason why I show up for the kids I teach with the amount of care that I do.

As always, 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 back background and context?

Of course! I like to tell people I make things. More specifically, I make things with the intention of nurturing my past self, learning more about my current self, and speaking to my future self. Belonging, moments of nostalgia, and familial experiences as a Black person are recurring themes in my work. As my creative practice develops I’ve been focused on honoring the matriarchal figures in my family and community through digital imagery, textiles, and multimedia work. I graduated in December 2023 from Stevenson University with my Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design. I’ve always been drawn to creating and helping others tell their story through design. I’ve had the opportunity to create work for organizations and businesses local to Baltimore. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, T. Rowe Price, Muse 360, and The Baltimore Abortion Fund are a few organizations that I’ve completed work for. I also have a background in exhibition development, installation, and curatorial practices. Throughout college, I had the opportunity to work at my school’s art gallery and learned under one of my favorite mentors, Lori Rubeling. She really pushed me to continue using design as a way to not only tell other’s stories but to understand the ways in which I decide to tell my own.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have a very interesting relationship with social media. I created my art account on Instagram in October 2021 as a way to document my journey with studio art classes in college. Gaining a large following and garnering 100s of likes has never been the priority for me. When you approach online spaces like that, I think it’s easy to become inauthentic. I make it a point to tell people that I’ve connected with online and had the chance to meet in person, that what you see online is exactly what you will get in person when you meet me. Not too many people can say that. If I get into more of the details about followers and likes, I would say that things grew over time. I just remained consistent with posting what I wanted and made connections along the way. Starting out I had 87 followers for the longest time and now I’m up to 328 and averaging 14.1K impressions a month. I’m not big on the data and analytics side of social media but I think it’s safe to say my work is doing something. The most important thing in all of that, is I’ve met more than 80% of my followers in real life. Maintaining those real-life connections is what makes things more exciting and helps put a face to the art. As far as advice, I would say just stay true to who you are and what you care about. It’s very easy to form a persona online and create an aesthetic for show. The internet could be gone tomorrow and that will leave you with the question of how you maintain the relationships you’re fostering with people online. Where does your community exist? What do you stand for? And are your actions aligned with your words?

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist so far is returning to myself. Every day I get the chance to learn about who I am, what I like and don’t like, how I see myself, and what I need to feel loved and seen. Being able to push boundaries as far as the mediums I work with has been a wild ride! Up until recently, the work I’ve created has only existed in online spaces and been confined within a 1080 px by 1080 px square. I began to reflect on the idea of tangible work. Work that you can experience in person. I always go back to the question “What would I do if the internet went down and there was no digital proof of what I’ve created?” It made me think about the archives and maintaining physical media and memory. With that in mind, I turned to working with textiles and even experimenting with wheat pasting. Our hands hold so much power and I personally need to use them to transmute what’s happening internally into a physical form! Another sweet reward art has brought me is the gift of communicating with new people and making new friendships.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://readymag.website/u1759562294/4904690/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visionarytey/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teylah-saunders/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@visionarytey

Image Credits

For my personal image, Duane Sauneders Jr. is the photographer!