From my first breath, I felt what love was and how sacred it can be. That it nourishes the soul, feeds our growth and is a powerful, everlasting source of energy. There is such importance in embracing love in all of its forms. Familial, friendship, romantic, platonic, self-love and many more. Girl love is one of my favorites though. Being raised and created by divine feminine energy, I saw the beauty in women supporting other women. The vitality of believing in their passions and helping achieve each other’s dreams. In this article, I wrote about six of my biggest inspirations. My homegirls, my peers and mis hermanas in the creative arts.
Alexa Sass is currently a student at UCLA. She began creating digital doodles as a means of self care when school got to be too overwhelming. It started out as finger drawings on her iPhone just for herself but now Sass is making art for herself, for others, and even selling these digital drawings as stickers! The drawings she’s made are symbols of time periods in her life. Each sticker is related to something that she was going through, something that she learned, or something that she wanted to remind herself by sticking on her laptop to see every day. Alexa’s stickers tend to be random and unrelated to one another, but the connection that she has with others when they relate to what her drawings say or represent motivates her to stick to art that is authentic to her, her experiences, and feelings. You can order these beautiful stickers through Alexa’s bio on Instagram at @alexaraesass or at tinyurl.com/alexasstickers
This is Galen Womack Batzdorf. She owns the sustainable clothing brand @fuckititsfashion (FIIF) / fiifstore.com. Fuckititsfashion (FiiF) is a New York City and Oakland based clothing brand creating one of a kind custom denim clothing. In a world where fashion has become trends and fads, FiiF takes pride in the fact that all denim used is up-cycled vintage, original, and tailored to fit every body. Womack currently attends the fashion institute of technology (FIT) in New York, majoring in fashion business. She is inspired by many other designers, but also her peers! She enjoys social media because of the limitless access to other creatives, giving her new ideas every day. Galen’s goal is to create wearable and sustainable art for all body types, shapes, and sizes.
Cinthya Barron-Broussard is a Afro-Mexicana, Queer, Poet and proud plant mama. She was born and raised in San Diego, CA. More recently, the poet relocated to the Bay Area. She’s been writing poetry since she was a child. Barron-Broussard used art as her own way to escape, a creative form of therapy and of understanding her ever changing surroundings. Her main topics range from writing about her shared culturas. And how being a part of the Latinx community has clashed with her competing identity within Blackness. She also writes about her journey through mental health. About Black : boy, girl, man, and womanhood, love, heart ache, and addiction. Poetry is her church, pen to pad her bible. Art is what she likes to call her religion, home, and heart all in one. Cinthya’s art is for anyone who has ever felt alone, unloved, and casted out. You can find her on most platforms, but mostly Instagram, where she shares different poetry series and her love for art in all its mediums. @cinthya_barron.
This is Tatianna Córdoba. She is a twenty year old Latinx/Filipinx college student from the Bay Area. Cordoba comes from a large, loving and loud brown family of artists, musicians and creatives. Being expressive in a creative space became second nature for her at a very young age. Tatianna is a talented singer, actress and dancer. She has more recently started a body positive and woman empowerment series of paintings. Her art is inspired by all of the beautiful and strong brown and black women in her life. In her pieces, she paints how she sees these women. Radiant, passionate, joyous, complex, regal and resilient.
You can see and purchase Cordoba’s paintings through her Instagram: @creationsbytati__ (two underscores).
Sydney Cerri is a Filipino American creative who was born and raised in the east Bay Area. She is currently a college student, pursuing a major in Communications and a minor in Sociology. Growing up in a family where self expression was strongly encouraged, Cerri picked up the art of storytelling. Along with her best friend, she co-hosts a podcast called Brown and Bonita. The Brown and Bonita Podcast is run by two womxn of color who talk about many topics ranging from self love to music to food and much more! The hosts share stories, our own experiences, and advice. You can check out Sydney’s podcast on a variety of platforms including Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many more!
Aiya Meilani is a African American and Filipino American poet born and raised in the Bay Area. She began writing poetry at the age of twelve and began performing spoken word at the age of fifteen. She has performed spoken word poetry from BART trains, local coffee shops and galleries to sold out theaters across the state. Her writing is inspired by her family, her love for the ocean and significant events in her life. Aiya is currently in the process of publishing her first chapbook, which will be a collection of poems/journal entries from the most transformative years of her life. In her free time she enjoys making playlists, writing to beats, painting and journaling. You can find her work on YouTube and on her instagram page @aiyapapayaa.