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

Xierra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

In 2021, after finally realizing and accepting that my passions did not solely lie within the realm of fine art, I applied to Savannah College of Art and Design for their Masters of Art in Illustration degree. I had never considered going back to school, but after a year of a pandemic, and feeling like I was spinning my wheels creatively, I decided to take a chance on myself. I only applied to the one school, telling myself “If I don’t get into this program, then it wasn’t meant to be” (especially since I had no real emotions tied to it). Fast forward to my acceptance and sitting in my Zoom orientation session and I felt like a total imposter. I vividly remember saying out loud “who do I think I am?” I didn’t know ANYTHING about illustration. Literally nothing. I was jumping off a cliff and spending a ton of money to do it. But I did know that something was missing and I felt like I was not reaching my fullest potential as an artist. The next two years were the single most humbling experience of my life. I learned what it takes to be a professional and produce work that is marketable. I learned how to take ridiculously harsh criticism, take what served me and leave the rest. I created horrible work that I’m embarrassed about to this day, and I made work that I thought I would never be capable of. And most of all, I found my voice. Something that I never saw myself as having as a traditional painter. I found it within this realm of art that can be so specific and so broad at the same time, with so many different genres encompassing it. Not only did I become technically very good (if I do say so myself), my intuition was sharpened and through learning the craft I began to gain confidence where I always felt deficient.

Xierra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always felt as though I never truly resonated with the traditional fine art crowd. I didn’t have big aspirations to have my work shown in a museum, and I didn’t have an interest in slaving away over huge canvases. As a painter, I felt a little like I was faking the funk. Three years ago I began a business taking my drawings, sublimating them on household items such as coffee mugs, tea towels, and aprons, and selling them at markets as a fun little hobby. Through the process of creating those products, and seeing how successful they could be, I realized that I had fallen in love with surface illustration; an avenue that I had never considered before. It occurred to me that my creativity and love of art didn’t have to end at fine art. This discovery led me to want to learn more about the world of illustration and the doors it could open for me creatively. Through obtaining my Masters in Illustration at SCAD, I found the intersection between art and culture that resonates with me.

While experimenting and working on honing my skills and style, I stumbled on a love of illustrating family recipes. Being of Puerto Rican and Palestinian descent, it felt like a way to honor my cultures in a way that felt meaningful to me. Beyond that, the recipes started to feel important to document. With both countries still experiencing various forms of colonialism and occupation, I began to see my way of documenting and continuing food traditions as a way of resistance. The illustrated recipes slowly grew from a project here and there, to a fully illustrated cookbook that is currently in the works. It is my pride and joy, and I can’t wait to publish. Beyond the illustrated cookbook, I currently take commissions and freelance as a food and lifestyle illustrator.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Early on into my foray into illustration I came across a pretty notable illustration publication that offered reviews with an established art director. As I was just starting my Masters and had really no formal experience, I thought it would be a great idea to set this up and get an idea of where I stood professionally. I Zoom in and the man on the other side of the camera was like the stereotypical New York art director from the movies. Backdropped against a bookshelf jammed with colorful books, he sat there with whispy white hair, large black glasses, and a black turtleneck sweater. He pulls up my PDF portfolio that I submitted, and spent the next ten minutes (felt like a lifetime) absolutely demolishing my work. Literally going so far as to say I should be going back to my bachelors, not working on a masters. And the cherry on top, that I should be embarrassed of the work I was showing. I sat there stunned. I hadn’t expected rave reviews, but I also did not expect to be so thoroughly debased as an artist. As he concluded, I thanked him for his time, ended the call, and proceeded to bawl my eyes out. Mainly because it was the first time someone said all of the ugly things I would say to myself about my work, just out loud. After my cry, I realized that if illustration was the thing I was staking my claim on, I couldn’t let one person steer me from it. I told myself that there would be countless art directors that will feel my work is amateur, and that’s just part of the game. I would have to be willing to take that level of criticism if I wanted to play. So I wiped my tears and worked harder. Looking back, I’m grateful for that experience. Did he have to be so cruel? Absolutely not. But, it solidified that if I wanted something bad enough, then I had to be able to take the ugly with it. No one was going to hand over a gold star. I had to go to war for it. Now, I’d love to think that I would blow that art director away with how far I’ve come, but I also know that it no longer matters. Even if I have to self publish my book and never get professionally represented, it would all have been worth it just for the fact that I am now confident in calling myself an illustrator.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The hardest thing I think to understand is that if you take a look at my creative journey collectively is that I have been all over the map, never fully sticking to one project. I started off as a fine art painter, then began body painting, jumped to a developing a travel company right before COVID hitting, started doing professional dinners curating a cultural experience, to then starting a surface illustration company selling mugs and tea towels. Zooming out, I can definitely see how it looks like I have no idea what I’m doing. However, all of those different projects and experiences have led me to finding my voice as an artist both stylistically and culturally. All artists are made up of all of the things the influence them. I don’t believe you can be an effective creator without having some life experience under your belt. And as an artist, that often times means starting several projects that never fully get off the ground, but that inspire the next.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://xierrai.com
• Instagram: @xierraiart
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/xierrai

Image Credits
©Xierra Itayem 2023 All Rights Reserved