We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yaminee Patel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yaminee below.
Yaminee, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
I moved to Seattle in 2021 for my very first full time job in tech. It was a leap of faith – I didn’t know anyone west of Kansas, let alone in the state of Washington, and I felt incredibly isolated for the first few months. I had friends of course, but no one who was physically near me. I didn’t really know what to do with my time other than work, so I spent sun rise to sun set grinding. The only person I regularly saw was my co worker who sat across from me in my office. He too was a workaholic along with our other co worked who lived across the country but worked closely with us most days. The two of them were my lifeline. We trauma bonded through all of our exhaustive days, racing on an accelerating hamster wheel in the little work bubble we created. I found myself half heartedly joked with them that if I ever got hit by a bus only my walk to work, they’d be the only one to notice I was gone.
The stress was becoming palpable and after my first 6 months in Seattle I still had nothing to show for it. No friends, no hobbies, no community. The three of us would make pleading comments about how we needed to figure out work life balance and how to make friends. We’d dream up ideas on how to make friends in between calls. Maybe we join meet up groups or volunteer somewhere? The idea of going alone was daunting. My birthday was soon approaching and my co workers asked what I was going to do. I hollowly responded “nothing.” I didn’t know anyone, what was I supposed to do? Celebrate alone?
A few days before my birthday my co worker texted me and told me to check my email for a surprise. I scrolled my inbox to find a ticket to a glass blowing class. My co workers had pooled together some money to get me a ticket to try something new and get out of the office. I was so surprised by the gesture – it was such a random act of kindness and I felt so seen by the gift. I was clearly struggling with being stuck in a routine and needed a reason to get out of it. I took the day off work to go to this class as a way to celebrate my birthday. If I’m being honest, I was so nervous to go alone – it felt embarrassing but I couldn’t let their gift go to waste so I mustered up the courage to go. I went in with a positive attitude and was genuinely interested in trying a new artistic medium and maybe unlock a new hobby in the process.
When I got there, it was me along side a bunch of couples and groups of friends and I felt like I was sticking out like a sore thumb. This was clearly a group activity situation and I was ill prepared. I wasn’t good at it and it also wasn’t something I could see my self doing in the future. I went through the motions of the class and left feeling a little defeated and a greater sense of loneliness. I couldn’t get the feeling out of my head of the rest of the day.
The repetitive noise of shame and disappointment in my head slowly began to turn into a wake up call. If I was able to go to this random class all alone I could probably do it again. Sure I was a little uncomfortable but it didn’t kill me, right? So that night I googles “classes to take in Seattle” and found a House Plants 101 class. I signed up immediately and put the date on my calendar. When I attended that class it was also a bit unnerving. Lots of friends and couples as well. At the end of the class this girl came up to me and said “wow, so brave of you to come to a class alone, I could never do that.” It was a double edged compliment in my head – what is so obvious that I was uncomfortable being alone that someone had to make a comment? Or am I truly brave?
I kept this habit of going to classes going for a few months. This turned into also going to events I found on instagram. Everything including classes, art shows, plant swaps, and pop up markets, I followed all the people I met on Instagram and my algorithm slowly became a conveyor belt of local events. One event at a time, I started to get more and more comfortable with myself and over time I started making friends with the people I’d run into again and again. I’d slowly unlocked the skill of talking to complete strangers, after all it would be rude to see people multiple times and not acknowledge them! These people included the folks hosting events and small businesses I’d run into at popups across town. I also met a number of local artists and admired their ability to share their work with the world. Meeting strangers is interesting because it’s really all about asking questions and listening, and picking the brains of people with big ideas, businesses, and a whole lot of bravery is easy and inspiring. I started finding places in my neighborhood and stopping by to chat with small business owners when I’d walk by. And slowly but surely, this started to become my routine.
It’s so funny to reflect back on this previous version of myself because today I wouldn’t think twice about going places alone and talking to strangers now. I think of that moment of kindness from my co workers as the precipice of my journey to being part of a greater community. They indirectly gave me permission to do something uncomfortable and new, and while it may not have been the most easy experience, it opened a door for me. It unlocked this ability in me to try something new, without judgement. I don’t think I would have pushed myself to take a first step, so I am internally grateful to them for making me take a first step.
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.
I am a visual artist based in Seattle and my 2 areas of focus are community care and culture exploration through my artwork.
Community care: As a transplant who moved to Seattle for a job in tech, I acknowledge that I am a part of the gentrification problem. I am part of this ever growing group of people that drives out locals and artists and small business owners. Because of this, I made it my mission to find a way to be part of the greater Seattle community through my own version of community care and what I could commit to giving – 1) volunteer to support people who are critical contributors to supporting Seattle’s local community and 2) be a bridge between people, opportunities, and resources. Full time creatives and small business owners are the essence of a cities cultural fingerprints. These visionaries are the bravest members of our communities because they embark on endeavors to make their dream come true while putting everything they have on the line in cities with structures that stack the odds against them. Being a full time creator or small business owner can be isolating and frightening – never knowing if community will show up or if you’ll make a sale that day. So I decided to be the person who shows up. I have always been deeply curious about learning more from our creatives and small business community to understand more about their passions and worries, so I primarily focus on being present at their events and asking questions. Hearing people out is critical to showing care for them. Through this I try to understand where someone may need help or if they could possible leverage their skills to help someone else. These conversations have revealed that creatives and business owners across the city share similar hopes, dream, and fears. These conversations make people feel less alone and also start greater conversation about what we can do to help one another. In my free time, I attend community meetings, attentively listen to local news, and comb through local resources to equip myself with a baseline of knowledge that I can use to help others. On a rotating basis I also take walks around certain neighborhoods and perform check ins with the businesses I have built a rapport with and I find this to be incredibly meaningful. In a city where “The Seattle Freeze” seems so prevalent, I have found that seeing familiar faces and knowing your neighbors is vital to a cities foundation as it makes all of us less isolated. Over time, I have also expanded my focus into bringing other members of the tech community into these spaces to respectfully learn more about how they can help as they are the driving force for rising costs and hold the most wealth in a community. Transplants often feel isolation so I want to do anything I can to open up their welcoming to Seattle for them. What I do isn’t deeply profound in any way. I similar participate in what’s happening around me. I’m just a girl in a struggling city and this is the very least I can do to help make it just a little bit better.
My art practice: Through being a spectator at shows in Seattle focused on topics such as the Asian diaspora, accessibility, and belonging I began to more intentionally explore my own art practice. I have focus on my work on my experience as a second generation Indian American immigrant as a means to grow closer to my culture. So much of this work has been based on food, tradition, and nostalgia. I began making intricate pieces out of rice, lentils, and other dried goods as an homage to the ingredients that are the corner stone of my mother’s cooking. The methodical process of carefully placing each grain mirrors the time and care needed for processes such as of farming these crops, preparing them to be sold, distributing them, going to a store and purchasing them, and lovingly preparing them into a meal. I began to share my work in gallery settings in February 2023 along with my acrylic paintings in shows such as “Have You Eaten” a show about the Asian Diaspora, “Egg Shells and Coffee Grounds” about self care at A Space Inside, “The Art of Movement” about protest at Nepantla Cultural Art Center along with over a dozen more shows. In 2023 one of my designed was chosen for the Elliot Bay Book Store 50th Anniversary design contest and my work was sold in store on tote bags for a year. I had the honor of being part of “My Name Story” a project focused on immigrants and their complex relationship with their names within an American society in May 2023. I have also one of my favorite pieces “The Space Noodle” on display at my favorite local Pan Asian grocery store, The Mixed Pantry. Sharing my art with community has helped me forge strong connection and has helped me work through my own personal healing. Outside of sharing my own work, I volunteer at a QTBIOC art gallery, The Fishbowl, which focuses on supporting emerging artists. I am an outreach volunteer and I leverage my skills to bring in community partners to collaborate with and also sharing opportunities with our emerging artists to work with spaces outside of The Fishbowl. I owe so much to the Fishbowl for allowing me to grow in both my own practice and my ability to support community.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Participate, ask questions, and share! We all vote with our presence every single day. When you enter a space, you are giving a gift to those who are putting on an event or sharing their art work. I often hear people say “I feel bad because I can’t buy anything.” Do not let that stop you from going. Kind words and a follow on instagram may not seem like much, but it’s WAY better than an event with no people. If you see an artist or small business you like, go up to them and ask something simple like “what inspired you to do this” or “where can I see more if your stuff.” It’s ok leave an interaction by saying “I love your stuff, I’ll give you a follow and try to catch you at another market” or “This reminds me of my friend, they would love this. I’ll share your website/instagram/etsy with them.” You can also ask if they are willing to trade. I have seen art trading become more and more populate at markets and it’s a great way to share your work with those who really love it but it may be slightly out of reach for. If you find something that resonated with, you let them know! On bad days, those kind words could be what keeps an artist or small business going.
Also don’t get it twisted – if you do have the funds to purchase something, I encourage you to do so. Kind words aren’t paying anyone’s bills, but I also acknowledge that rising costs make it difficult and we realistically can’t buy something from everyone. So I encourage you to spread it out. If you go to multiple events or markets, make it a point to try and buy at least 1 thing from someone new.
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?
Creatives are baring their souls to the world and while sharing can be invigorating, it can also be scary and super draining. I personally really love talking and sharing about my work but it’s also so important to understand that MANY artists are introverts and don’t want to talk to anyone, but that doesn’t mean their work is less important in any way. There are 2 things you can do to help –
1) share their works! Advocate for the people who might have anxiety or want to keep to themselves. Their work is incredibly valuable and I want to make sure they are still seen. It’s so hard to cut through the noise, both online and in person, so if you really connect with something you should share it with others and talk about how much it means to you without overwhelming the artist. Sometimes a kind DM asking how an artist would like to be supported can also help.
2) DO NOT openly insult or make jokes about art, especially in emerging art spaces. You and your buddies may be there for the wine, crackers, and laughs, but this artist likely put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. You don’t understand how your harsh words would set someone back, so enter spaces with grace and respect. If you don’t “get it” you can keep that to yourself and talk about it when you leave. You aren’t going to “get” every piece of art and that’s ok, but don’t yuck someone else’s yum, especially when someone is bravely baring their soul to the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yamineepatel.com
- Instagram: yammakesstuff@
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yamineepatel/
Image Credits
Head shot photo – Taylor Bell Media LLC
Photo of me in pick jacket laughing and picture of me and girl in while sweater holding a circular piece of art both credited to: Tatyana Kurepina, Films About Artists