We recently connected with Wytessa O’Neal and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Wytessa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project for me would actually have to be plural and most current. Though knowing I’m an artist/creative, oddly enough, I’ve spent so much time trying to define just me as it pertains to my purpose, while filtering it through the things that I do (which was a stifling mistake). Because of this conundrum, inwardly I sought to emphasize on who I was by highlighting the things that I thought I should do, this produced a duplicitous way of living. Think about it like this, if we perpetually spend our lives TRYING to be what we already are, then it seems, we are not connecting with the truth of who we are, there’s a skewed self perception or even lack of belief. In recent years, I came to discover the greatest mystery that I believe every human-being searches the world over to try to find.. I uncovered my true identity and purpose, both being wrought in Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Sounds cliche I know, sounds too simple to be true – BUT, what if in our searching, we’re all just over complicating things? For me, the missing component in my journey of self discovery was FAITH, the abode of the Invisible reality. The Bible says, without Faith, it is impossible to please God because he who comes to God, must believe that He is -Hebrews 11:6. This is so relevant and significant to the context as it exposes the plight I once had, trying to be myself yet without entirely honing in on the relevance of self. As it turns out, I as I, am only defined by Him. Therefore, since my Faith in Him was lacking, my connection with self identifying was also lacking. At this pivotal place, standing on the fine line that separates truth from almost truth is where my current project began to manifest. This is the place that begins to exploit the efforts of trying to fulfill my own mirage, yet simultaneously diminishing not only the efforts but the mirage itself. This project starts off with a canvas painting I’m calling “Refined Texture”. Identical to me, it is in a wave of transformative construction. It is a painting that reflects the cause and effect of scriptural lessons I’m learning, and how I become birthed in them, once they are received in my heart. The concept of this part of the project will put the emphasis on the application of learning, a pushing of the envelope if you will. For instance, I can say that three plus seven equals 10, and this is very true. Yet, the question is did I only remember that when I see those two numbers together that’s what I say it equals, OR did I actually learn to count? If I actually learned to count, then I learned not only the application of these numbers, but also how to apply them and how they are relative to others. If I learned to count, I learned the meaning in these numbers, I now have an understanding of their value and a reverence – my application of these numbers have now become a part of me and how I gauge mathematics. This project is about my coming to Life. Since Christ is Life Himself, I find that Believing serves as the activation button. Though we all have total access to Life, without Faith we have no way of activation. As I am a work in process with along with this painting, in tandem there is another project underway.. I’ve started a business, consisting of the production of baked goods – my husband coined it, “Art Bakery”. It is a sugar-free and dairy-free bakery. On the surface, it would appear it has NOTHING to do with the painting, but Invisibly, it has EVERYTHING to do with the painting. The same way with those numbers, once the value is understood and their relativity, is where my operative place of identity is found. Understanding who I am, rather Who’s I am, I’m no longer stammering at the description of “artist”. Instead, God has unveiled how artist is relative to creativity, and how creativity is relative to Him, and that I, am, His, and He is the cause of all things. Therefore, I no longer confuse who I am to be the motive for what I do – I no longer use who I am to be the reason for what I do. Now, I let who I am be the CONDUIT for what 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 background and context?

How I got onto the path of creativity is a pretty simple answer.. I was born into it. Art has been more than just a passion my whole life, it’s also been something I just can’t help but do and perceive. After college, my dream was to create music videos because my degree was in film and I LOVE music – but life didn’t go that way. A few years post college, I thought of making a living painting portraits and teaching collegiate art classes, but God redirected those plans as well. So, I got married and my husband and I began our own classes at our neighborhood community center teaching the Bible through art. We did that for roughly two years upon moving to Texas, and even having the opportunity to co-instruct program at a Hispanic arts and cultural center in Houston. Years later, I began changing my diet and became obsessed with the notion of starting a “healthy” home bakery, mind you, all the while not at ALL knowing my way around the baking kitchen. I was so captivated with baking, I actually had to pause on the idea and step away from it for a while! Interestingly enough, the idea was later proposed to me and I was assigned a job at a remarkable bakery. At this place I learned so many tools to baking. Since sugar and dairy weren’t my niche, I knew that since I’d learned these tools, I could some day take them and make them relative to my desired way of baking. While working at this particular bakery in the summer of 2020, the owner asked me to do a number of paintings. She wanted all the storefront windows painted, as well as the main wall upon entering the shop, so I did. Though that bakery closed down some months later, that summer of painting those windows, spawned a flurry of other painting gigs. Daycare windows, restaurant windows, a taco trailer and so on – I was consistently working on painting gigs for the remainder of that year. Since then, window painting and mural gigs are somewhat steady, but can come by slowly or in spurts. Last year however, baking made its comeback into my life, literally. I was Blessed with an abundance of baking supplies.. completely FREE. I was given so many bakery items that I couldn’t even contain it all in my kitchen and had to store some of it in my outdoor closet! I knew that now is the time to get it started. Though it is freshly opened, my activities consist of baking, painting at home, and painting for other businesses. What I am most proud of in all this is feeling like I’m finally arriving, but, not just arriving to settle in, arriving to THRIVE with God!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There is obviously one book that has impacted my management and entrepreneurial thinking, philosophy, and overall existence.. The Holy Bible. When it comes to management, I strive to keep myself in the mentality of hospitality, understanding none of what I possess belongs to me, nor is about me, there is a bigger picture – a Greater story to unfold. For that reason, I am merely stewarding the gifts, talents, opportunities, and etc that are given to me. As for anything entrepreneurial, it’s very similar to stewardship but there is a moral excellency that I try to keep my dealings in. I think it’s about how we treat each other. We have the option to Love each other as friends, or to hate each other as enemies. Interestingly enough, so many people disregard the validity of the Bible with false claims. For example, if there were ever a book written or story told about a Loving relationship worth dying for, the Truth of Jesus is the only one. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So, when I consider how to treat others, (personally or for doing business) I look at the Love Christ displayed for ALL OF US on the Cross. He gave His Life, so that we could have the opportunity to obtain it, forgiving us of our sins, and offering to us True Life. He didn’t do it based on our deeds, nor did He do it based on a contingency of what we would do later. No, while we were YET sinners, while we were in the midst of our dirty deeds, He decided of Himself and with His Great Love, through Grace for His Children to give His Life to reconcile us back to Him. Therefore my philosophy is to do unto others what my Heavenly Father did for me.. Love.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is having a gift that reminds me of my Creator, and being able to share that with the world!

Contact Info:

• Website: tessa-oh.blogspot.com/?m=0
• Other: artbakery.org campromans116.blogspot.com

Image Credits
My darling, my sweet, my gentle husband Jahid O’Neal