Roots, Moving, Early Art Sparks

SPEAKER_02 1:48

So we like for our guests to kind of get to know a little bit about you from your perspective. Yes. So tell us about any childhood experiences, who influenced you growing up, um, where you're from. Do you have any siblings?

SPEAKER_00 2:01

So I'm originally from Newburgh, New York, which is about so deep in here today. A lot of people moved to South Carolina from New York, and I don't know, maybe it's the cost of living.

SPEAKER_04 2:12

Nah, because y'all ancestors are from here.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:15

We know it. That's hard. They all moved up there to come back. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

But I'm originally from Newburgh, New York. I moved back and forth a lot whenever I was younger between South Carolina and New York, but we eventually started to settle here around when I was like 13. So I'd like to say that I'm raised here. You're from here. Yeah. As far as inspiration, I think I started doing art when I was like in elementary school. Wow. Um, I remember having an art teacher named Miss Wisnit. She was very impactful to me. Say her name again. Miss Wisnit. It's so fun to say. I know that's all it is. Okay. But um, I also remember the drawing books that we used to have in elementary school, and I was always really into those. So whenever I was in the stage of moving around a lot, that's kind of a hobby that I just picked up and I kept. Um I wish that my parents knew maybe I could have been a prodigy.

SPEAKER_04 3:17

You wish they would have nurtured you more?

SPEAKER_00 3:19

No, like they knew that art was like something I was passionate about. That's what I mean.

SPEAKER_04 3:23

Like, do you wish they would have been like, hey, like how people do, oh, this child's fast. Let's get him into sports now. They would have been like, oh, look at how well she's online.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

But maybe I wouldn't be as inspired anymore.

SPEAKER_04 3:34

See, this is the conversation we're having earlier um with the gentleman that was here. Like, if you would have known, like, would you have wished to go into it earlier, or do you think like learning where you are now that it would that you're you're just where you're supposed to be?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I like to think I'm where I'm supposed to be because at the pace things are happening for me, it feels like everything's kind of aligning perfectly the way it should.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

You're you on a trajectory. I was reading your your background and everything. I was like, this is amazing for her from college to have a residency and then you know, uh exit a show, your whole show dedicated to yourself. I'm just I'm proud of you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 4:11

Moving fast. Yeah. It's not like you're moving slowly, which is good. That's good. You're moving fast.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

So when did you actually get into well making art your your niche, your full-time thing?

COVID Introspection And Finding Her Lane

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Was it called COVID? COVID-19. I feel like during COVID, a lot of us we were in lockdown. We didn't really have anywhere that we could go other than if you were a central worker and you would go to work. But um, for me, it was a time period where I actually had to sit down with myself and ask myself like who I really was, why I did the things that I did, why I acted the way I acted in public, and why I wanted to be seen a certain way in public. So it was a lot of introspective thinking and I think art was the outlet that I went to because it's something that I had been doing for the duration of my life.

unknown 5:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

Now when you say how you were acting in public, how are you acting?

SPEAKER_00 5:08

I was very shy. Like I would not talk to anybody really. In school, I was very much about the academics and the academics only. I'm like, that's too girl.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

It's too good.

SPEAKER_04 5:19

I thought you were doing something else out here. No, no, I was like, or education, so she's not education. I was acting out here. I was like, Right?

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Yeah, I was very shy, like, and I think that's why college impacted me so much because it kind of let me get out of that shyness by going to different events and meeting different people and actually having opportunities that my professors would give me as like their test. Because I was I was a a good student. Okay. Like, so whenever they had opportunities, they'd be like, hey Lenaya, like do you want to go to Chapin? That was good.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

They they kind of saw your potential and kind of pushed you outside your box, your comfort zone.

SPEAKER_04 6:04

They were nurturing in a good way.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

I think that's why I make a lot of work that, well, I didn't bring any today, but includes boxes, is because I think the box is a good representation for a comfort zone. And kind of just learning how to progress and step out of that. In a lot of aspects of life, it's not just being shy or art for me. I feel like it could be used in a lot of different sectors of life.

SPEAKER_04 6:27

Did you participate in a lot of um groups or organizations while you were in college?

SPEAKER_00 6:31

I was in art club. Hey, that counts. I did um I volunteered at the Goodall Gallery or the Columbia College um gallery space.

SPEAKER_04 6:41

But other than that, no. I just had to ask. It's just some background information. I just wanted to know. That's interesting. Okay, continue, continue. My fault.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

So, can you tell us about how from being a student to you know graduating and being into the real world and you're competing as an artist with everybody else? How did you leverage these local institutions to help build your network?

SPEAKER_00 7:05

That's a good question. Um, I think it really was just learning that I could have a sense of community outside of family and finding people that had common interests as me. So being at a liberal arts school, that made it a lot easier. And then stepping out of my comfort zone and going to do things like volunteer at the gallery. I was introduced with um the gallery director at Columbia College, Brittany Watkins, and she had me be her studio assistant for a couple of years. So I got to go to different places with her and help her set up like Green in Greenville, Greenville Center of Creative Arts. I did a performance piece there with her. Yeah, so it was just like not. I made a pact to myself when I got to college that I wasn't gonna say no all the time. Like I would start saying yes to things more often. So I think that's why the opportunities that I'm given, I try to step into them with more confidence because I'm like, it's only gonna last as long as it lasts and then it's over.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

So that's really good for you to know that as a young are you a millennial. I'm gonna see. Yeah, see, it's good that you know that though. That means you have been around people that are older, mature, work ethic is totally different. You're still curious at the age. I like that.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Yeah, and with Stormwater, when you said older, like all the artists there, they're very established, like full-time art is the only thing that they really have to do. So being there, it was like eye-opening, and I felt like a sponge just soaking up all this knowledge and information. I'm so grateful for Stormwater.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

Yeah, that's why I said when I saw that she was uh uh at Stormwater, I'm like, oh my god, I'm proud of her. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't even know this girl. I'm proud of her though, because I'm like, once you get out of college, it's like, okay, what do I do as an artist? How do I find myself? What places do I apply to? So the fact that your your career is going up and forward, ride that wave, girl. I I'm trying, I'm trying.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

But um, yeah, with the stormwater thing, that was an opportunity that my professor Martin Lang um came to me with, and he was like, hey, like this is usually for students that already graduated, but I think that if you applied, they wouldn't have a problem. And they didn't. Say it one more time. Okay, guys.

SPEAKER_04 9:25

You know, that's what I like to hear.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Girl, he's watching over you.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

But a good thing is, and I and I think, especially for the audience that that listens to us, um, and we we found this out, this is always good to know. Now younger folks listen to us, not just us old folks, um, people with with the arthritis in the bone and stuff. We got young folks that listen to us. And um, what's so cool about that is the folks that are listening are gonna be in your demographics, right? And so they'll get to hear how does somebody my age do what we see these other folks doing, right? So hearing that from you, amazing. That's amazing. It's cool to hear that um in your journey because everybody's journey is not not the same, but um mixed media.

Mixed Media Process And Faceless Portraits

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Yeah. So as an artist, you know, I I like to see people that incorporate a bunch of different tools, uh resources, techniques. Um so with your work, how did you decide which medium is best fit for your your projects?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

Well, with me doing things like sculptural art and painting and doing acrylic painting as well as oil painting, um, a little bit of graphic design, I feel like for me it's more so I have an idea in my head and then the process is the execution. So I'm trying to strive for the vision that I have. Um it's not necessarily, oh, I'm just gonna start working with this medium and then I'm gonna work towards something. It's more so I have the idea of what it's gonna be, and then I'm trying to reach that idea through the process.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

So do you ever like have to pivot during the process?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, there's a lot of problem solving that happens because it's not always a smooth sale, like whenever you're trying to come up with something that doesn't exist yet.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Right, because it's forming in your mind. So then actually to put it on canvas, it's like, okay, now I gotta problem solve a million different ways.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Yeah, but I also do use um like references or sometimes with like paintings like this, like this was my bathroom in college, and I'm the reference pitcher of the figure, but for me, I don't want myself to be the focal point of the painting. I like it to be able to be something that other people, other women of color can insert themselves into. That's why a lot of my stuff I don't really hate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:55

Ah, wow. I was about to ask you, I was kind of scared at first, but I get it.

SPEAKER_03 12:01

I get it.

SPEAKER_04 12:04

Because well, Tamaia's awesome. Again, I'm gonna give shout out to my she does great research and stuff, and so when we get the information, we're looking through through everything that's on there, right? Um, a lot of it with artists, obviously, is left to interpretation, right? So imagine me. First time seeing, I'm like, where their faces at? Yeah, I didn't but now I understand. That is awesome, and you do give that ability to then put yourself into um the the the art yourself. It kind of reminds me of jazz, and I don't like lyrics. Partly because I can't remember words of songs. I'm horrible at lyrics. But I love jazz because it allows you to put yourself into the music. The music's there, it's just a it's a template for you to feel the way you need to feel on it. That's why I was looking at it. So I'm saying it's very interpretational.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

I like that. I never thought of jazz that way. So it could be like a self-portrait, but there's no face.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

I don't want any identify really identifying features to get in the way of the narrative of the message I'm trying to I like that.

SPEAKER_02 13:01

No face, no case. That's a Maya.

SPEAKER_04 13:05

Oh no. But yeah, that's really I I like that.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

I like that it's awesome. Are there any hidden messages in this one?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

This one is about self-reflection, and I chose the bathroom because I feel like that's the place where we are the most vulnerable. Like, you go in your bathroom, you shower, you take off your clothes, you use the bathroom. And that's not necessarily a space that people see when you're in it, actively using it.

SPEAKER_03 13:34

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

So being in that space and then having that vulnerability surrounding it, and then tying that into the idea of self-reflection, which can be hard for some people because it's a it's an idea that you have to be vulnerable to think about. So I just wanted to have that in there, and then I wanted it to be faceless because the name of this piece is Do I Know You? So it's basically this person in this reflection asking themselves questions about who am I? Like why do I want to be perceived the way I want to be perceived? Is it because that's who I really am, or is that because society teaches me I'm that's who I should be? And with hair, I think that ties into it because a lot of things that we do for our hair, yes, it's about the culture, but also it's about trying to look presentable, but for who and why. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

So can you explain this part or the touching?

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Well, I like to work with surrealism. So with this side, which is the reflection, it's like you see the um different saturation in the mirror. So it's showing you that it's the same space, but it's kind of different. Yeah. And then if you look through the reflection, you can see in the sink like there's this hair that has like a life of itself and it's coming out into the mirror. So it's basically connecting the two sides of who you think you are versus who you really are. Wow. And they're like seeping into each other. Oh, yeah, right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

I love acts and the artist. Can you explain it? Because your point of view is totally different than what the average eye can interpret.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

I like to hear other people's interpretations too, because I think that's a good conversation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:17

I'm not gonna lie, yeah. I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:20

And because when I was like when I was because um I was actually the one who actually learned and found out about you online just doing research. And one of the things that drep drawing me to your pictures, or I guess your work was the eyes. Yeah, that's what I was about to ask. When did you s when did you become interested in eyes?

SPEAKER_00 15:36

I've always drawn eyes and I never knew why. But I think it has a lot to do with perception. Like, I always say, like, I don't want to be perceived, me posting on Instagram all the time. And but um it opens you up for people to be able to form opinions on you whenever they don't necessarily know who you are. Yeah. So whenever I draw eyes, it's sometimes it's from the perspective of the other, and then sometimes it's the perspective of yourself looking at your physical body, but thinking about yourself on like a spiritual level. Yeah. And then they say eyes are the windows to the soul.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

They are, yeah. Right. Yeah. Now what about this one behind you?

unknown 16:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:22

Go ahead, take it down.

SPEAKER_03 16:24

Turn around.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

This one is called Watch As She Stifles in Stillness. Um, the word stillful, it means to hold back or suppress someone or something from expressing themselves. So with this one, I kind of did the idea of collective, um collective identity that people have with the black community. Like when one person does something, it reflects on the actions of everybody instead of just that person. Yeah. So with this one, it's like this person just in their element, in this dark and gloomy environment, faceless, of course, and then they the only thing that you're the only defining features you're seeing are their hair and the fact that they're you know, a black woman. It could be anybody really, and then the hands. With me, I like hands as well because I feel like it gives a sense of agency, like this is an issue that needs solving.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Wow. Good job, girl. Thank you. So, what is your favorite medium? You work with so many.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

I think I'm always gonna love painting. Yeah, acrylic painting to be specific because that's what I started with. And I literally started with the Walmart craft paint. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

So it still takes a long time to dry.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

Oh, yeah. And learning oil, ventilation.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Yeah. Sometimes I just don't want to deal with it. Safety issues. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

Like turpentine. Yeah. If you breathe it in too much, it can like mess with you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

You will feel high. You'll be like, okay.

SPEAKER_04 17:59

I will have to respect those people that work at medium a little a little differently. Um, oh, we got these cards in front of you.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

Yes, so you can draw a card, any card, and then read it and respond.

SPEAKER_04 18:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

What's something people see you doing well today that you don't realize was once a major struggle? Public speaking. Every time I talk to people or I have a presentation that I have to do, everyone's like, oh my God, you did so well. And I'm like, I was literally shaking. Like my heart is beating the mouth. And it's because I was so shy and it took me so long to step out of my element. But I feel like now I have a better grasp on how to communicate. How you're feeling. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

That's all you gotta really learn is what is the real feeling how they communicate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

Yeah. But you get you get a lot of reps. Yeah. You're getting a lot of reps. You gotta get in front of people and keep repeating and doing it and doing it and doing it. Is it gonna be better?

SPEAKER_02 18:59

So you're about failing and failing forward.

SPEAKER_04 19:01

Yeah, we did a lot of that. If you can't like it's it's season seven.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

We were nervous at first.

SPEAKER_04 19:06

Oh, we were different. We didn't even see people in person. I didn't even know that these humans existed. These eyes on you type stuff. This is weird. We were behind the camera. I could be in there, hair unkept, beard nasty, ain't brushed my teeth yet. Up there talking to people. Now I can't do that anymore. I actually gotta brush the teeth, gum and mouth, gotta take care, gotta change the clothes. Gotta do all this stuff. But yeah, it's it's it is interesting.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Pick another card. Pick another card.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise most people. Oh, when I first started college, I thought I wanted to be a veterinary technician. Um, I do love dogs, but I don't want to get bit, so I think that might be surprising from an art from a veterinary technician to going to school for art.

SPEAKER_04 19:59

Do you have any um pets, animals?

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Yeah, I have a dog. She's name her name is Luna. She's eight years old and she's a lab picnic. She's so cute.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

I like that name. All right, one more card.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

If you could sit down with your 18-year-old self, what's the first thing you tell them? Um that is a good one. Um I tell them to follow their passion. I tell her to follow her passion and not be scared to do things just because they're new or you haven't done them before. And just stay true to who you are.

SPEAKER_04 20:42

That's some good advice.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

Yeah, that is good advice. Especially because you're still Gen Z, so you're still young, so it's not a good idea. That's what I was like. That's why I was that's a good card.

SPEAKER_04 20:49

I want to see what you say.

Natural Hair Politics And The CROWN Act

SPEAKER_02 20:51

All right, so now we're gonna transition into I am not my hair. Yes. So your artwork shows a lot about African American hair. How do you see your artwork playing a role in the ongoing fight for natural hair acceptance?

SPEAKER_00 21:06

I feel like it's exposing people outside of our community to the fact that it's an issue still. Um, my show was at Stormwater Studios, and it's not a predominantly, you know, place of color.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Yeah, I wanted you to hit on that topic and you did it, okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

And I feel like that was a topic that was important because I knew the demographic of people that were gonna come in there. And I was like, y'all are going to see that this is an issue, whether you like it or not. So I think just having my artwork inner spaces and challenge spaces is something that I am very proud that I was able to do.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

I'm proud of you for it. I saw it, I was like, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:50

And I'll tell you too, it's interesting that you can be almost ostracized for something that grows naturally. I have problems with lots of things that grow naturally that you get ostracized for. Um, but yeah, man, it it's crazy, isn't it? This is how your hair grows out of your head. But and I deal with this, my wife all the time. She has said, Oh, I gotta be presentable, gotta go out and see these people, I gotta do my hair a certain way. This week's gonna be hard because I'm in between getting my hair done and all this stuff. And this is a stress that others do not have to deal with. They go to hair, that go to work, that hair is up in that same nasty bun all three weeks of the month, except for one, right? And it's not a problem. Or they can have that same haircut every day, and it doesn't have to change, you don't have to deal with the the the eyes or the judgments because your hair's not perfect today. I'm gonna tell y'all a story, and it's funny. What's the fuck story? Fuck story. I work with a young lady, won't say no names. Work with the young lady, she's awesome. She was in between having her hair braided. And so, y'all black women, y'all know, I've been in between, take hair out, right? So hairs out, you and Harriet Tubman style, right? It's what it is. So we're gonna hood it down. I think you had a shirt on earlier. Ida B. Wells. It's time, right? So you and that study, right? Now, she had her hair like that, and she wore her cap over her head because I work in a medical environment, so cap overhead. She took off the cap out, I believe for some reason that she needed to, and they started to go in on her because she had her hair in the quote unquote slave braid style.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Like the cornrock?

SPEAKER_04 23:30

Girl, yes, because you know, you're in between having your hair done, so it's not quote unquote perfect. And she came to me, she told me about it, right? And hurt my feelings. Because I'm like, even though it was instant just like they were teasing me, but I understood there's more to. It than that because I'm watching this person that works beside you that ain't never had her hair did, never has her hair done. No one has ever teased her, said, Hey, like you have a bad hair day to day. It's always on that same little bun, same little hair thing, clip together, all everything, always the same. But I witness and watch, especially black professional women, whether or not you're in medical, um, if you're administrative, teaching does not matter. There's a specific way that you have to wear your hair, there's a certain way it has to look, or you will receive judgment, the inability to move forward, and it's accepted. It's accepted. There's nothing that that can be done against it in the sense of, oh, you know what? That's harassment. We have an entire list of HR policies. None include taking care of that issue.

SPEAKER_03 24:30

I definitely agree.

SPEAKER_04 24:31

So they were able to treat this person in that way and get away with it. You see what I'm saying? I just feel, and and even though they may say, no, that's just what they do, in my opinion, I'm like, eh, they wouldn't have done it if if if it was something else.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

It's because it's so normalized. And the fact that when I found out about the Crown Act, I was flabbergasted. Like, there's okay, you're trying to get a law that protects natural hair to be implemented in multiple states. But the fact that there's a law that has to be implemented in the first place is the issue. And then whenever I found out that the law isn't even a law in South Carolina, I was like, I'm so disappointed. But am I surprised?

SPEAKER_02 25:14

No, no, not at all.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

So it's the normalization, and then the fact that it affects it hair is an issue that I feel like affects our lives more than it should. Like, you will not have your hair done and not want to go hang out with your friends, not want to go to work, not like not want to do things, and it shouldn't be that way. Yeah. You should be able to exist naturally just like everybody else. Yeah. And it's not necessarily that I'm telling people, like, hey, you need to go natural in order to like be happy. Oh. It's just let black women do what they want. Right? Let black men do what they want.

SPEAKER_04 25:50

If we if we do that, y'all think we can get rid of these bonnets. The reason why the black women wear the bonnet is because y'all be teasing her because her hair ain't dead.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

Yeah. Like if y'all weren't criticized you as soon as you walk out the door, like, you could have came out better than that. Well, what if my hair can't fit in the hat?

SPEAKER_04 26:06

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 26:07

Then what? What is your excuse? Wear a hoodie? Then I might get shot. Make it make sense. I'm so serious. You're right, right. Right. There is I'm mistaken as a guy because I'm wearing a hoodie. Like, what?

SPEAKER_04 26:20

And they treat the men a little differently than they treat the women. So I understand, y'all. Put that bonnet on. I get it, because I'll obviously we raised my my dad real tough on it. He's like, yo, then I'm ready that do-rag outside, bro. All right, ain't wear no do-rag outside. Don't wear no bonnets, none of that stuff outside. But there's a reason why it is done. And I get it now. I get it. I'm like, okay, she's wearing the bonnet because her hair is not done. And if she doesn't, she gonna get it. She's gonna get it from us and from them. That's what gets me too. It's not just that from the is we get it from ourselves. We we police ourselves using their standards.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Yes. And that's why the issue of texturism will always be. I'm just clueless as to why it's such an issue, especially within our own community. Like we have this scale ranking hair textures. When I learned about it, oh, this one is better because it's a looser curl. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Well, I I never wear my hair like this once a year. You know, compliments I got from black people and white people. But when my hair is curly, yeah. Oh, it just looks nice.

SPEAKER_04 27:22

Don't want that 4C.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

You turn in heads when your hair is straight. I said, This is crazy.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Don't let it be the older generation because whenever you wear your hair curly, it's not done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

They're like, what's going on? What do you mean, what's going on? I feel free. Troubles. That's what's going on.

SPEAKER_04 27:36

Yeah. I'm gonna tell y'all, I was horrible too, because uh, I'm gonna tell you, I'm I'm a I'm a black man, obviously. I I I I show and look like one I am one. And I will tell you this, my brother could tell you that I'm horrible. I used to wear my hair crazy style. Crazy style. I didn't give a darn. I crowned that. I ain't worried about no crown egg. I was horrible. So there was a period of time I was growing, I I had um, I ran through an issue where I had a very bad danger because I'm taking care of my head. And so my dad shaved me and had the baldy, right? Had the baldi was horrible. I was getting slapped inside the head. These gentlemen back here probably know what I'm talking about. I was getting slapped, they called peanut. I was getting oil on my head. It was horrible, right? It was, no, I'm saying horrible. I was at a black school, it was horrible, right? So after that, I said, nope, I'm growing my hair out. Y'all ain't gonna catch me like this no more. So I started growing my hair out. I had my hair growing out, I was doing fine, I was living life, right? And then I ran into outcast. Messed my whole life up. Outcast and Snoop Dogg messed my whole life up. I decided I was gonna get a perm. F y'all, get outcast.

SPEAKER_05 28:33

I'm gonna put this picture up here too. I'm putting it on the grow picture of a show.

SPEAKER_04 28:38

So I got the got the perm. My dad did it too. My dad, shouts out my dad, he hooked it up. It looked good too. He hooked it up because they put them back in the old school, they the cockleen, all that good stuff, right? You remember how the old school fellas used to wear their hair. So they put it in my hair, that thing swayed. Shaking it, right? It was nice, right? Wrap it up at night, get my hair braid, everything is looking good, right? And then um, I did not know this. If you don't keep getting that perm, that new growth comes out. Yeah and it starts to keep growing and you start looking crazy. And I had that growth, I did not care. I had the perm on the top and the new growth underneath, and I didn't give a dirt. I put a headband on with it, rocking that thing outside. My dad's like, You good with that? I'm like, yeah, I'm fine, I ain't worried. I didn't care. I didn't care. Oh, I was gonna rock it out and wear it for you. Don't even worry about that. Oh, he was in south grade. I'm not bad. Yeah, he was in seventh grade, seventh grade, I was horrible. I was horrible. I didn't know.

SPEAKER_05 29:27

Oh, we're gonna put the picture on that. We're gonna put the picture.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

Please put the picture in this link and see how bad it was. And I did not care. I was gonna blow dry my hair out and just go outside. I did not care. I continued to do that all the way up until high school, and then my eye, my dad said, nah, bro, you gotta cut that off. I said, for real, I said, yeah, cut off. So I had to go back to a low fro and start the growth process over. And that I learned. But what what I did learn through that period was that your hair and how it's worn is extremely judged. And I just have very tough skin. I just did not care. Like, you weren't gonna tease me, you weren't gonna hurt my feelings. I didn't care. That's why I'm talking the way I talk. Wow, I got problems. But yeah, I don't care, right? Because I'm like, at the end of the day, if I feel comfortable and I feel proud, then I'm gonna keep rocking it the way I want to rock it. So sometimes I always tease my wife, man, your hair is fine. Wear your hair the way your hair is supposed to be. It grows out your head like that, leave it alone. If not, you'll end up with the perm on the top and the new growth underneath looking crazy outside. But yes, that's just how to get to it.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

I definitely resonate though because I was the first person in my family to go natural whenever I was in middle school.

SPEAKER_04 30:30

So Wow, you started in middle school?

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Yeah. And then y'all know how middle school kids.

SPEAKER_04 30:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

That's so mean. And I was just like, I don't care. I don't care. Say it again. Care. I don't care. You don't. Like I wanted to do what I felt like was right for me, and the perm wasn't working for me anymore.

SPEAKER_04 30:47

I was like creamy crack.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

I'm gonna just do what my hair wants does naturally and go natural.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

How has your journey been, your hair journey?

SPEAKER_00 30:57

I have locks now, so I really like my natural hair. I really like my locks. I know locks have a certain stigma around them as well, but I don't I don't care. Yeah. It works for me.

SPEAKER_04 31:09

Do you see yourself? Are you are here's the thing, because you're an artist, right? Do you are you treated differently in rooms because of the way that you present with your hair?

SPEAKER_00 31:20

I wouldn't say so, just because most people know me as an artist, so I feel like that's what they see me as first, as someone who's expressing themselves. So maybe they just tie my hair to the way that I express myself and then I make work about my hair. So certain demographics already know not to make comments. Um as far as the black community, I haven't had anything but support. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

Now, when it comes to the main issue, how did you come up with that concept?

SPEAKER_00 31:52

Just having natural hair, handlocks. I used to have an afro and people feeling entitled to your space with touching your hair, without asking. It was an issue that I have been facing for a very long time. Um so I decided it was time to talk about it, like on some journalism shit, but through my artwork. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

No question. You said you're originally from Newburgh, New York. What's that demographic makeup like?

SPEAKER_00 32:32

It's mostly it's mostly African American and Hispanic people.

SPEAKER_04 32:36

That's interesting. So where were you experiencing this um this want to um explore your hair with hands?

SPEAKER_00 32:42

Here. Yeah. Straight up. Now South Carolina. But I also think that being born in New York and living there for a little while and then being raised mostly here, I got to see the difference in how people accept like different people or people that don't express themselves the same, yeah, as they do. So in New York, you could literally be like people in New York do anything and everyone's just like cool. You ain't bothering me. But down here, if you do anything out of the norm, you're gonna get looked at, you're gonna get stares, and no one's gonna actually say anything to you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:21

But even with your um, and I just had to ask this because I wasn't even with your afro, you were you were getting with the afro?

SPEAKER_00 33:28

It was around the time that the natural hair movement was first starting. So people weren't used to seeing the afro, I guess. Especially in like elementary and middle schools. What do you go to school at here? I went to Northside and Busby. Oh, okay. In middle school.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Wait, Northside Christian Academy?

SPEAKER_00 33:52

Northside middle school. It's in middle school, okay. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 33:56

But that was give people the location of it. That's West.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

It's Western County. I know I want to be here. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 34:01

Because there's some people that don't know.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

Because well, we had a good conversation about this. There's some people that don't go to certain parts of town. So they don't even know that things exist. I'd had somebody, they were a young person, your age, they said they didn't know that Lexington had a high school.

SPEAKER_01 34:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 34:15

All right, they'd never been to that side of town. So they didn't know that there were schools out there. It's crazy. Crazy. I know that's why I asked you to clarify. Yep.

Work Life Balance And Avoiding Burnout

SPEAKER_02 34:24

So when it comes to like work-life balance, how do you handle being able to create but also having a real life outside of being an artist?

SPEAKER_00 34:34

That's something I'm still working on. True. Um, right now I'm working two jobs at the Columbia Museum of Art and the State Museum. So I will I'm still figuring it out. Um it kind of feels like college in terms of having things that you have to do at work and then going home and having things that you have to do at home and then going back out and going to another event. So I don't have that part fully figured out, but I'm working towards it.

SPEAKER_04 35:05

Do your schedules, how do they work out together?

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Um, I'll do three or four days at one job and then two or three at the other.

SPEAKER_04 35:13

Okay. All right. And then make sure they make sure that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

So did you see her portfolio?

SPEAKER_04 35:18

No, no, I see why. That's what I'm saying. Keep going. Yeah, I'm a busybody.

SPEAKER_00 35:23

Like, I like to be busy. I like things.

SPEAKER_04 35:26

Good, good, good. Awesome. And you get to see your dog still. Yeah. Awesome. As long as you get to see your dog.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

Do you have any upcoming projects or work that we can expect from you?

SPEAKER_00 35:38

Right now, I'm taking a hiatus for a little bit while I'm getting settled into both of my roles. Um most of the work that I'm doing now is just sketching ideas and saving them for later. But as far as new works, I understand that.

SPEAKER_02 35:56

Work life balance.

SPEAKER_00 35:57

I'm like, I've kind of been doing this non-stop since 2020. Yeah, you gotta take a break. A little bit.

SPEAKER_02 36:04

But I'll be burned out. You do not want to burn out because then you're gonna take a break from art and never come back.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

I don't see I can't do that.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:10

We don't want you to lose the passion. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

So I want you to look at that camera right there and tell people how they can find you, support you, follow you, buy your work.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Lenaya drayfort.com. If you want to contact me, I have prints for sale. If you want to see my portfolio and we can work towards something, lanaya drayfert.com.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Oh, I forgot to ask you, do you do um what is it called when people for special projects and people actually? Yeah, commissions.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

I try not to do them often, but I do do them. Okay. Um, just because I like to create what I like to create. Right. If it is something along the lines of what I create and I have more creative freedom around the project, yeah. Okay. I do commissions.

SPEAKER_04 36:57

How would they, and they would request that through their social media?

SPEAKER_00 37:01

Lenaya drayfruit.com. It is, it is.

SPEAKER_04 37:04

Yeah, make sure it gets out. All right.

Where To Find Her And Final Notes

SPEAKER_04 37:06

So obviously, we appreciate you being on the Hilltop Club podcast. I'm DJing what?

SPEAKER_02 37:11

I'm Tamaya.

SPEAKER_04 37:12

Skip. And obviously we got a little audience today. You got a little audience there. We like a little audience, and then our steamed guest.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Linaya.

SPEAKER_04 37:19

We appreciate you so much. Thank you for joining us. Don't be a stranger. Please come back. Um, make sure you tell somebody that you love, you appreciate them. You don't know when you'll get another chance to do so. Um, and um, as a note, make sure you check your voter registration. Gas is high, food's high. Peace.