We recently connected with Tracy Stevens and have shared our conversation below.

Tracy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Yes, I am making a living as a creative.

I contract myself to a couple different companies, look for outlets that feature my fine arts and I have a strong support system. I’ve learned not to set limits on myself, my work or those around me.

In the beginning, it was not like this at all. It took a while for me to realize I have talents that would take me anywhere. I was still young in business. I learned a lot, matured a lot and I share my story to those who will listen to help them over the hump/slump. I had a chance to work with Russell Simmons during the Def Jam Poetry phase. I was published by Salem tobacco company and I received recognition from Kwiesi MFume and I still didn’t realize what was going on. To me, these opportunities were a normal part of life, It took a while to realize my normal isn’t everyone else’s normal. My life has been full with blessings and I overlooked a lot of the opportunities. Once my ArtWear was featured in Macy’s in Orange County CA, I felt that was the beginning of something big.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

With no formal art training I have been creating ever since she was a I child. I created in almost all media: oils, acrylics, pastels, pencil, charcoal, pen & ink, water colors and clothing.

In the 4th grade, myself and a couple young ladies have surpassed the rest of the class in reading and math so, an art class was created for us. Here I picked up a paint brush for the first time and painted a Christmas wreath. This painting ended up on a Hallmark card. Every couple of years, something big happened. In 6th grade, I created a comic strip in which Tom and Jerry spoke French, 9th grade, I created my 1st pastel drawing and Congressman Kwiesi Mfume brought it, Right after high school I was picked up by Salem Tobacco products, I was also on Russell and Danni Simmons’ radar. I had the potential of being a young millionaire, then, I just stopped. I walked away from art and went into accounting.

After 5 years of working at T Rowe Price and a number of tragedies, I realized that creating is my passion. I walked away from a well paying job to something I love, Art. Armed with the love of God and my passion of art, Stray Ink was born and it’s been rising ever since. When art is in you, it’s hard to bottle it up.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I don’t understand the concept of NFTs. How does the artist get credit or recognition? I love the fact that artists are getting seen but how is the art and artist being represented?

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

At times I was lacking confidence and I was about to quit when my career was about to pivot. A friend of mine, Charles Cooper, who is no longer with us told me that my public was out there. If I continued to create, they will come. I got so tired of being looked over. I create my art so I can help people understand that there can be victory after the darkness. I want people to see that yesterday is the past, today is temporary, and tomorrow is a new beginning. It seems I wasn’t being seen if that makes sense.

Charles had a huge fanbase and I looked up to him so much. He was who I wanted to be. His art made people smile, brought a happy feeling and still does to this day. That made me realize that my art was bigger than Baltimore. That I am bigger than Baltimore. This opened a new door for me. A HUGE Door. A door in which Macy’s and also a billboard in Times Square was behind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://strayinkllc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stray_ink_llc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066669285801
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-stevens-aaba657/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stray_Ink_LLC
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCegWRG6Lid3mlAQk8nnIIYQ

Image Credits
Hugh Williams: hughwilliamsphotograpy Mike: Cool_photography