We were lucky to catch up with Vanessa Safel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Our life’s journey requires us to stay in full awareness so we can express our highest potential. Many of us are dealing with our own levels of pain & trauma. However, when we become aware that “our life matters”, we begin to journey on a path of Healing.

I believe that Healing through artistic expression is very rewarding to many individuals. Seeing your creative process go from idea to manifestation is powerful. It transforms you.

And I know it’s true because “Art Saved My Life” many times.

I am a Healing Artist. I create meaningful projects around Healing. I enjoy all forms of artistic expression. I dance, I paint, I play instruments. I recite poetry. I create costumes. I write treatments and scripts. I allow my Soul to collaborate and express.

And it all flows into having a meaningful impact on my Soul,

Seeing your Soul expand in different art forms empowers you to be Extraordinary. And that is a legacy striving for.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My mother passed away in 2015. It took a part of my Heart & Soul. The woman that created me is gone before I could really express my True Self.

The first project I did was a Reflection art exhibit at the Warehouse Artists Lofts in Sacramento CA. People purchased my art pieces and were drawn to my stories that contributed to the artwork.

Then I did an Ancestral photo shoot wearing my mother’s favorite dress as my Headwrap. It was a monument of her Beauty, Strength, and Courage.

Once I noticed feedback on how I was using my mother’s passing as an inspiration to others. So I started blogging and eventually holding space for BIPOC who were experiencing the same issue.

I just kept allowing my Spirit and my mother’s spirit to move me into these different creative spaces to Tell My Story. And every time I would get good feedback.

Now I am revamping my brand to invite other BIPOC to Journey with me. I have enough tools and resources to share.

By 2024, I will have a new platform under my name, Vanessa Safel. I want to serve BIPOC through creative outlets because of how much it healed me.

For now, you can find me on Youtube @VanessaSafel to see the pieces of my Journeys. They are fluid adult conversations around relationships & healing. I separate the topics into Playlists so viewers can choose where they wanna start their Healing Journey.

I look forward to seeing how it grows in the next 5 years.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Yes I am often misunderstood by people who think they are not creative. Especially when I talk about topics around Sexuality and Art Expression.

I am learning to continue being an Artist and follow my visions. I am compassionate for naysayers and those who are closed minded people because i know underneath it all, they are needing to find their own Healing path as well.

We are all born CREATIVELY. Our uniqueness is the core of that innerstanding.

My favorite affirmation is “We Are Divine Expressions of the Most High”. It holds us accountable for our blooming, our becoming, our destiny.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I have to unlearn societal programming in order to become liberated.

When I looked at my life before my mother’s death, I realized I had so many buried layers and hidden truths that kept me in bondage. The childhood traumas, poverty consciousness, and self hatred brought me the most pain and suffering.

I went to different forms of therapy to help me see all these parts of me that were holding me back or making me live out of chaos. My 20s were wild. But by my early 30s, I was soul searching and I loved how my life had more meaning than I was aware of.

Life is very giving. It gives you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly… but you are the Alchemist. You can rebirth yourself so many times until you get it right.

I am a MoonChild (July 8th) so I use the cycles of the moon to help me unlearn and start over and over again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.VanessaSafel.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/vanessasafel
• Youtube: youtube.com/@vanessasafel