About

Ciara LeRoy

VISUAL ARTIST & CREATIVE CONFIDANT

I'm a multidisciplinary artist and designer primarily focused on text-based works. A lifelong love of media (i.e. television, books, magazines, and the internet) informs the eye-catching, color-saturated, and message-based nature of most of my work. My pieces often jump sporadically between a range of subjects and feelings–echoing the experience of browsing through a smartphone, magazine, or channels on a television. In an age of continuous scrolling & shortened attention spans, the glaring, brightly-colored presentation of my work is meant to entice the viewer forward and then invite them to explore something deeper.

I've been featured by Insider, Better Homes & Gardens, and Frankie Magazine and some of my past clients & collaborators include Penguin Random House, Madewell, Boxed Water, and Uncommon Goods.

My work has been exhibited at several galleries in the American South and Midwest including: the Lexington Art League (Lexington,KY) , The Parachute Factory (Lexington, KY), the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center (Lexington, KY), the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (Cincinnati, OH), and the Contemporary Arts Center (Cincinnati, OH).

VIEW SERVICES

“oh…ok…” 😐🙃😒 #mood #handembroidery #handembroidered #embroideredlettering #secretword #hiddenwordart #camouflaged #fiberart #dmcthreads #modernembroidery #blackfiberartist #cincinnatiart #letteringart

Just a short snippet of the very long & tedious process behind “IT’S UP TO YOU.” #handembroidery #embroideredlettering #handlettering #cincinnati #cincinnatiartist #fiberartist #blackfiberartist

“It’s up to you.” —My father said this to me on a phone call earlier this year, while I was in the midst of a particularly horrible season of life. I was seriously considering giving up on my career as an artist, because barely any work was coming my way, and it had been this way for a while. On top of that, I was still dealing with violent waves of grief, anxiety, loneliness, and depression triggered by my mother’s sudden passing 2 1/2 years ago. My work life and personal life were looking pretty bleak when my dad said those words to me. “It’s up to you.” What he meant, was that it was up to me to determine my next steps. It was up to me to make a go at turning things around. It was up to me to try. And try again, when the first, second, or thousandth attempt doesn’t work. Because all I can really control is myself, and what I do with this present moment. I’m reminded of my dad’s words right now, as I think about the results of the latest U.S. elections. It’s up to you. It’s up to you to take care of your neighbor, your family, your community. The government will not save us. Capitalism will not save us. Convenience will not save us. Individualism will not save us. “Every single person must rise to the occasion of taking care of us.” — @cassie__lopez (excerpt from their Guide to Accountability, pinned on my profile). [edit: this piece has sold]

Letters in disguise 🥸…. Progress on my latest camouflaged lettering piece. Slowly pulling each letter out of the background is both thrilling and tedious. ✨😵‍💫🪡 #handembroidery #handlettering #handlettered #modernembroidery #camouflaged #blackartists #cincinnati #cincinnatiart #cincy #513 #fiberart #fiberartist #blackfiberartist #letteringartist #letteringart

“If you cry for help, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed.” - Quadron (from the song “Neverland”) Over the past year, I’ve witnessed a lot of people asking for help. One of my immediate thoughts when I see these requests is how hard it is to admit to yourself (and others) that you’re struggling. “I love you” and “I need help”—both tiny phrases that weigh a lot more than what they look like. If asking for help seems cringe to you, it’s probably because of the highly individualistic, capitalistic, euro-centric, western culture a lot of us are steeped in. 🙃 My late grandmother Flora would consistently say to me, “Keep your hands open. Keep your hands open to give, and keep them open to receive.” I do my best to be a giving force in the world. So here I am, hands open, this time in need of some help. 2023 was my worst year, career-wise, since going full-time as an artist in 2019. I’ve surfed many highs and lows throughout the years, but last year was a new level of *suck.* In 2023, I made less than I did working retail as a 23-year-old recent college grad. There were several months in 2023 of zero income– no clients, commissions, or online shop sales. When I did my taxes earlier this year, I realized my income had dropped by over 50% between 2022 and 2023, and had dropped by about the same percentage the year before that. DAMN. 😭 There are so many possible reasons for this, but I know *some of it* has to do with how few people see my work when I share it these days. I’ve been in the dungeons of this app for a while now, and I’m asking for your help to get out–it’s dark, smelly, and hardly anyone can see how cute & talented I am in here! 2024 has been better, but I’m still in the hole from how awful the past couple of years have been, and I need your help to keep doing the work I do. Please support artists, creative types, and small businesses! Like and comment on our posts. Tell your friends about us. Buy our work (while we’re alive). Gift your friends & family artwork, handmade things, and experiences, instead of mass-produced items that enrich CEO bro-types and celebrities. Reject convenience in favor of community. And ask for help when you need it. 💗

I designed & illustrated this coloring page as a freebie for visitors to my latest show, “FLORA MAGNIFICA”, currently on view at @indigohippo. If you’re not local to Cincinnati or unable to visit in person, you can get a free digital copy to print at home by signing up for my newsletter, Strange Delight! (Sign-up link in bio and Story Highlights) The coloring page will be included in the next edition of Strange Delight, going out this Sunday, October 20. 🖍️📧✨ As far as what you can expect in my newsletter… -lots of smile-inducing content from my favorite corners of the internet -recommendations for reading, watching, and listening -Painter’s Corner (schemes & musings from my cat, Painter) -updates & behind-the-scenes peeks at my work -and more… 👀✨

“…and everything.” — my late grandmother, Flora, would often punctuate her sentences with this phrase. And everything. As in “and the rest” or “you know what I’m saying” or “moving on…” It’s one of the phrases that keeps the sound of her voice resonating the loudest in my head & heart, even though she left us and this earth nearly a year ago now. And everything. 🖤 This Friday is the opening of my latest gallery show, FLORA MAGNIFICA at @indigohippo. FLORA MAGNIFICA is a botanical love letter to my late paternal grandmother, Flora Mae, who cultivated many beautiful gardens during her 95 years on Earth. The florals and botanicals I’ve rendered through hand embroidery and illustration are based on real plant life, but often incorporate exaggerated and fantastical elements that I’ve dreamed up. Every hand embroidered piece incorporates second hand, scrap, or remnant textiles–a sustainable & nostalgic nod to the many, many trips I took to the thrift store (“the used place,” as she used to call it) with my grandmother as a kid. 💕🛒💐 Join me at the opening reception for FLORA MAGNIFICA this Friday, September 27 from 6-8pm at Indigo Hippo. **We are encouraging masking during this event and will have some free masks available.** EDIT: this piece is sold

1: Mona Lisa smile in front of my very first grown-up easel— a gift from my dad for my 35th bday last month. 🎨🎂✨ 2: During our college years, @howelldesignery and I would take turns exchanging silly/disturbing selfies— I guess to see who could out-weird the other person. Because of her influence, I *still* take at least one ridiculous photo each time I photograph myself. 3: Painter lounges, pondering what criticism she will offer on Mother’s artwork later on. 4: I moved apartments back in June, and planted a few heirloom tomato seeds not long after unpacking my boxes. I’ve enjoyed watching those teeny seeds grow into this. Fingers crossed I get a least one tomato before the weather turns. ✨🤞🏾🍅 5-7: Lots of botanical embroidery experiments lately, as I prep for an upcoming show. Here are a couple of my favorites. I’ve updated my Etsy shop with these pieces and discounted several older works as an end-of-summer clean out. Check it out! 👀 8-11: Slowly unpacking & hanging art around the new place. A few of my favs, including work by @fershologram @cmmnctn.brkdwn @echolocations @blountben @allifacio 12: My “I’m over taking pics, surely one of these is good enough” face. (Necklace by @squidstevensstudio ✨)

This past weekend, I wrapped up my three-week run with the @modelousa Custom Shop. For these pop-up events, I created a series of Cincinnati-themed designs that were then customized for each shop guest, by me! The Custom Shop team and I visited 18 bars all over Cincinnati, and customized hundredssss of tees & totes along the way. 🔥✨🥵👏🏾😀 #ModeloCustomShop #ad #21plus #cincinnati #cincy #cincinnatiart #cincinnatiartist #513

This hand embroidery took so long, my nail art changed FOUR times throughout the filming process for this vid🥵💅🏿🥵💅🏿🥵. This is my largest embroidery hoop ever, at 22” wide. Recent nursery decor commission for one of my besties @jessica_verie & her soon to be born bebe boy, Alden. 👶🏾💗🌱 (Hand embroidery on secondhand linen, secondhand quilting hoop)

Up until halfway through my sophomore year of college, I was a biochemistry major—I planned to follow in my father’s footsteps and pursue a career in medicine. But you already know how this story turns out—I’m definitely not a doctor right now and I definitely changed my major (to journalism—not art, as you may have imagined). You can still see glimpses of my interest in science within my artwork, most prominently, the little “cellular” shapes I sometimes incorporate into my pieces. I started to explore how these shapes affected color about 10 years ago. In this month’s newsletter, I’m introducing a new segment called “Time Capsule Dig” where I’ll share nostalgic delights from my own past—like these cellular color studies of mine from 2014-2017–or interesting bits of vintage pop culture I’ve collected from magazines, books, and various corners of the Internet. Edition 002 of my newsletter, “Strange Delight” goes out tonight, so subscribe now if you’d like to join this month’s Time Capsule Dig, read Painter’s thoughts on the flavor nuances of canned fish, AND MORE! Subscribe at the link in my bio or via my Story highlights ✨

“I can stitch my own floweeeeeerrrsssss, on this used jean jackeeeeettt” —okay that’s *not* how Miley’s song “Flowers” goes, but this jacket embroidery is so adorable, I think the lyric rewrite is completely understandable. A fresh bounty of floral & botanical embroidered art is available now in my studio shop, including this hand embroidered secondhand @madewell denim jacket. Link in bio! 🔗👀

Come along with me to one of my favorite spots in Cincinnati to find art supplies, @scrapitupcincy, located in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood of Cincinnati, OH. This second hand shop is stocked full of arts & crafts favorites, and a lot of unconventional materials to spark your imagination. I encourage you to check out places like this before you default to places like Michael’s, JoAnn Fabrics, & Amazon for art & craft supplies. Your community, the environment, AND your wallet will thank you. 🙏🏾👏🏾

Another batch of shiny, resin-coated letters are complete. This time, letters “I” thru “N.” The letter “L” features a color I hadn’t worked with before this series, but is now a new favorite— “Fluorescent Red” by @blickartmaterials Music: “LFT” by Quadron. #resinart #resin #acrylicpainting #blickrylic #womenoftype #goodtype #alphabet #art #painting #blackartist #blackart #cincinnatiart #cincinnatiartist #cincinnaticreatives #typography #handlettered #handlettering #lettering

This series is called, “I Found a Set of Teeny Canvases in My Supply Closet & Some Leftover Resin, So Here’s the First 8 Letters of the Alphabet.” WILL I KEEP GOING?! We shall see... These lil’ bebes are available in my studio shop now. Link in bio. 🔗 [edit: all sold] -Acrylic & resin on canvas- #abcs #alphabet #handlettering #typography #handmadefont #lettering #goodtype #36daysoftype #36dayswot #womenoftype #womenofillustration #blackdesigners #blackartist #cincinnati #cincyarts #cincinnatiartist

Process behind my “Burger Deluxe” embroidery. Had quite the case of burger finger after working on this for nearly a week…😮‍💨🍔 Music: “Burger Finger” by @the_planejane #handembroidery #dmc #burger #burgerfinger #contemporaryart #contemporaryembroidery #blackembroiderers #cincy #cincyarts #cincinnati #cincinnatiart #embroiderersofinstagram #satisfyingart #dragrace #rupaulsdragrace #planejane

I’ve been cooking up this fancy burger on & off for about a week and it’s *finally* ready to leave the kitchen. 😮‍💨🥵🤤 All hand embroidered (LOTS of split stitch), ingredients outlined in gold thread, with hand-beaded mayo. 🍔✨ Hot & fresh in my shop this week, along with a few other new additions! Link in my bio 🔗 What tasty treat should I embroider next?? 👩🏿‍🍳🧵🪡 #embroidery #handembroidery #modernembroidery #embroideryart #embroideryartist #embroideryartistsoninstagram #embroideredfood #funembroidery #craft #blackembroideryartist #blackembroiderers #cincinnati #cincyarts #cincinnatiartist

A few moments from life lately: 1: My braids are in a long bob now, and I *cannot* and will not stop flipping my hair around, for the time being. 🤷🏾‍♀️💅🏿💇🏿‍♀️ 2: There is a lot to be discouraged about right now (to say the *very* f%*#ing least) so I will also be embroidering “keep going” repeatedly, for the time being. 3: If TikTok ends up getting banned in the U.S., I’m really going to miss stumbling upon livestreams like this. 🥲 4: A slice of blood orange poppyseed cake so good, I went back for seconds, from @brownbearbakery 5: As an act of self-love, I’ve been taking the time to cook beautiful meals for just myself lately. This plate of homemade pesto pasta with crispy chicken was especially delicious. 😋 6: I have a newsletter now! The first edition goes out this Sunday evening, March 24. It will be full of exclusive treats & fun lil’ features to brighten your week & broaden your perspective. Head to my Story Highlights or the link in my bio to subscribe!

The making of “A Gradual De$truction” Music: Hello America by Hot Chocolate #painting #acrylicpainting #acrylicartwork #acrylicart #cincyarts #cincyartist #cincinnati #ohioart #helloamerica #capitalism #community #blackartist #blackfemaleartist #hotchocolate #hotchocolateband #handlettering #signpainting #letteringart #lettering

Capitalism will convince you that anything that doesn’t earn you money, is a massive waste of time. Friends, family, rest, and play included. I was scrolling through my voice memos earlier and found a recording I made on the subject of play from this past September. As I recorded & rambled, I messed around with a $3 handheld basketball game I had acquired earlier that day. Swipe to slide three to listen to/read the voice memo & hear me ramble about play, adulthood, and capitalism for a little over two minutes… Title of work: “A Gradual De$truction” Medium: Acrylic on repurposed canvas

POLA-VOID EXPERIMENT #002 - Part 2 of my experiments with various shades of black. Using Carbon Black by @plaza_art and BLK 3.0 by @culturehustle. Original painting available in my shop. Link in bio 🛒

Freshly minted collection of “Keep Going” originals, in honor of all of the rejection emails I’ve received lately 🥲…KEEP GOING Y’ALL. I know it can be exceptionally difficult at times, but keep trying & keep👏🏾showing👏🏾up. 💗✨

I first stitched this phrase in March of 2020. I recently decided to revisit & refresh this design, but the message & meaning remains the same. I personally can never hear it enough times—“Keep going!” Keep showing up. Keep getting out of bed. Keep making that thing, or doing that amazing thing you do, even if it seems like no one notices. Keep standing up. Keep speaking out. Keep resisting. Keep protesting. Keep loving. Keep your sense of empathy. Keep asking for help when you need it. KEEP GOING ✨💗 (3rd slide is original design from 2020) A couple of these refreshed designs are now in my shop. Link in bio 🔗🎨🪡

I will now exclusively be painting black holes. 🕳️ Ok, ok, not really. You know I love all of the other colors too much to abandon them like that. Here’s the first of my experiments with various shades of black. 🖤◼️⚫️🕳️ @novacolorpaint VS. @culturehustle BLK 3.0 #black #blackestblack #colorexperiments #acrylicpainting #blackartist #blackhole #blackpainting

Finish up a few new embroidery hoops with me. ✨🧵🪡 Available now, in my shop. Link in bio 🔗 #handembroidery #modernembroidery #loveyourselftoday #letteringart #embroideredlettering #handlettering #floralembroidery

“WCNSF”— an acronym unique to the Gaza Strip. Coined by doctors & aid workers due to the amount of injured children arriving at hospitals alone and newly orphaned. It means, “Wounded Child, No Surviving Family.” For this work, I imagined what the alphabet blocks of an orphaned Palestinian child would look like. The reclaimed wood is painted as is– jagged edges, chopped off bits, and a protruding nail– representing the absurdity & injustice of children forced to live, play and perish in a war zone. This work and others will be on view at the @artworkscincy gallery starting this Friday, January 26 in the group exhibition, “Crafting Conversation: Art as Protest.”

Painter chases long-neglected dust bunnies under my latest completed work, “Reclaiming.” This piece will be part of an upcoming group exhibition called “Crafting Conversation: Art as Protest”— the culmination of the @artworkscincy Gallery Fellowship Program that has been under my guidance for the past three months. The show will be on view January 26 - March 14. ✨🎨

A few things from December: 1: Post-Covid sunrise selfie—shockingly enough, Dec 2023 was my first time getting sick with Covid (dodged it for so long!!🥲). Happy to report I’m feeling 100% better. ❤️‍🩹 2: The gallery fellows I’ve been mentoring for “Art as Protest”, in our studio, learning tips for photographing their artwork. 3: An in-progress shot of a piece I’ve been working on during my artist residency with @artworkscincy. Painter carefully supervising my work, per usual. 4: A communal altar of toys & trinkets @lovepeacefelice and I stumbled upon during a winter stroll. 5: Stacks on stacks of orders from my latest IG Stories art sale. Intensely grateful 💓🥹 So is Painter—you can tell by the way she insisted on being in the photo. 6: A recent post from one of my favorite Reddit threads, r/ThereIsNoCat. 7: My face when I’m deciding to be *cautiously* optimistic about 2024 ✨🥲

Lately, I’ve been doing drawing warm-ups by randomly selecting a family photo and sketching it. It’s been a fun way to ✅practice drawing, ✅experiment with color, and today, to spend some time holding my late mother close to my soul & wondering what it would have been like to hang out with her in 1979. 💗✨ - medium: @posca_usa markers - the yellow paper is an @uuglybookss sketchbook. The folks at Ugly Books were kind enough to send me some to try a year or so back, and I’ve *finally* started drawing in them on a regular basis. 👏🏾🖼️ I’ve realized they are *highly* satisfying to draw in, especially with paint markers & pastels. ✨

Last week, my family & I said a final goodbye to a truly remarkable woman—my grandmother— or “Grandmommy” as we called her— Flora Mae Jones LeRoy. 1- A young Flora Mae. Wasn’t she stunning? I always admired my grandmother’s beauty & sense of style. 2 - 4- My dad asked me to write her obituary. I’ve excerpted a portion of it here. 🖤 5- A letter from one of her many, MANY lovers/wannabe lovers over the years. My favorite part of this one reads, “You said you loved Watts & C.H., but the one who love you, you didn’t believe…but I have said it before and I say it again, I love you and I have always loved you…if you still want to get married, I’m still single, but you never did love me…” BRUH. 😭🥲🫣 Just one of many who were willing to risk it all for Flora’s attention. 💅🏿💅🏿💅🏿 6- Flora with her son (my dad) Gary. 💗 Rest well, Grandmommy. 💐🌸🌷

“Tulipa gesneriana” aka Gesner’s Tulip, in embroidery floss.🪡💐🌷💐🪡 I will have this work and many, many others with me this weekend at the @craftysupermkt! Saturday, November 25, 11am-5pm at the Cincinnati Music Hall. This is the *only* market I’m doing this holiday season, so come on down & shop my latest creations 👀✨👀

Things *definitely* aren’t the same at the Bond Hill Community Recreation Center in Cincinnati, OH. Over the course of two months, me, @trippykelz and a team of @artworkscincy teen apprentices transformed two main rooms inside of one of @cincyrec’s community centers. Thank you to ArtWorks for the opportunity to design these works and lead the install team. And huge thanks to the staff at Bond Hill CRC for encouraging & supporting us along the way. 💗☺️🎨

🥹bebe’s first photo/video dump…a few moments from September/October: 1-A selfie I liked & an outfit I loved, featuring my new favorite hat (@kinapparel_ ) 2-An adorable doodle by a mural apprentice 3-A gallery wall in my apartment I’ve been “working on” for 6 months… (still unfinished) 4-A random cat was screaming at my front door for several minutes last week, so I let it in. We spent the day together until her owner finally claimed her later that afternoon. 5-Some @sietefoods chips I bought on impulse that turned out to be incredibly tasty, and are now a new fav. 6-Speaking of tasty things, an unforgettable zucchini & bacon danish from @el_caminobakingco 7-I got a vintage Polaroid camera & tested it out on Painter of course. 8-Speaking of vintage photography…an photo of elementary aged-Ciara I shared with a group of elementary students I spoke to in early October.

FINALLY came back to and finished this upcycled drippy rainbow corduroy ——> available in my shop now 👀💧🌈☺️

For the past several weeks, I’ve been working with @artworkscincy, @trippykelz, and nine awesome student apprentices to install a series of murals I designed for the Bond Hill Community Recreation Center in Cincinnati, OH. Here’s a recap of our progress between week one and week five (out of seven weeks total). Stay tuned in the coming weeks to see the big ✨reveal✨ 👀👀👀

DRUMROLL PLZZ…🥁🥁🥁… Introducing Premium Mix & Match Clip-On earrings, handmade by me 💗💅🏿💗. Why clip-on? Well, I *do* actually have pierced ears—HOWEVER—if I put anything through my piercings that isn’t sterling silver, real gold, or platinum (💸🤑🙄) a.k.a most earrings at most stores, the piercing gets *super* irritated & angry. 😭😵🥲 I often find myself wishing more places sold cool clip-on earring options—for kids, for folks who don’t want to poke holes through their ears, and for folks like me who have sensitive piercings, but still want an opportunity to wear something more affordable & fun. What makes them *premium*? Other than the fact that my beautiful Black hands made them, these earrings are made with teeny pony beads, hand-strung on 💅🏿silk cord, & mounted on nickel-free golden hardware. Why are they sold individually? To encourage mixing & matching— both with other earrings in the collection OR with the earrings you already have. Perhaps you wear a simple gold stud on one ear, and a 90’s Lizard clip on the other! 😮😀👏🏾 I’m so thrilled to finally release my weird lil’ earrings into the world. I’ve had a ball designing & making them over the past several weeks & months. Thanks for checking them out💗😁☺️

Over the summer, I took on my most demanding, critical, and indecisive branding client ever— ME. 😭😮‍💨😤🥲. But I’m confident this result was worth all of the internal struggle and hours of grueling design critiques between Ciara, Cee-Cee, C, and Kiara* *pronounced KEE-AIR-UH (“Kiara” is the most common mispronunciation of my name and has become one of my spicy alter-egos) Portrait by @oh.cecilia 📸 #branding #design #logo #newlogo #blackdesigners #prettystrangedesign #ciaraleroy #lettering #handlettering #letteringart #letteringartist

I’ve always, always been a sensitive soul, but I haven’t always been ok with it. These days, I embrace my sensitivity and the water works that often come along with it. IT’S ALRIGHT TO CRY. It’s alright to cry when you’re upset, when you’re laughing, when you’re encouraged, when you’re grieving, when you’re celebrating, when you’re winning, and even when you’re losing. It’s alright. Even if the people in your immediate vicinity are being weird about it or judgmental. Tbh, that says more about them than you. I decided I wanted to carry around a reusable hankie with these words stitched on it, in lieu of carrying a package of paper tissues around. There were so many cool vintage hankies at the flea market I went to, that I decided to make several. A small collection of hand embroidered Pretty Strange Sobbing Rags™️ are now available in my shop. 🥲🥲🥲🥲 *EDIT: first collection is sold out. More to come!*

Fourteen-year-old me is back, and she’s talking volunteer work, the universe, and boyzzz. *All names of friends & crushes have been changed to protect the awkward*

Checked back in with teenage me last night, and she was quite concerned with deciphering body language clues during Geometry…🕵🏾‍♀️👀🤔

I still have several of my childhood diaries. Every once in a while, I pick one up to read & have hilariously cringe conversations with my younger self. Last night before bed, I sat down to do a dramatic reading of some of these entries. Let me know if you’d like to hear more from adolescent Ciara 😂😭😬 #teenagediaries #childhoodmemories #deardiary #dramaticreading #cringe #nostalgia #journaling

A couple weeks ago, I discovered miniature pony beads exist, and proceeded to spend hours and days experimenting with them and reliving the crafting glory of my 1990’s childhood. I’ve made a few available in my shop, including the most adorable little slice of watermelon you ever did see✨🖍️🦎🍉 Music: A 90’s essential by @brandy #90s #90sstyle #ponybeads #ponybeadcrafts #nostalgia #90snostalgia #90skid #brandy #moderncraft #blackcrafters

Continue, continue, continue… ✨🖤✨

When I feel a little lost, when I feel a little forgotten, when I am in one of those deep valleys of life (as in right now 😭🥲🙃)—sometimes the only course of action I am sure of, is to keep going- to continue, even when I have NO IDEA what will come of my continuing. I have no control over past events, I cannot predict what will happen tomorrow— but what I can do is focus on this present moment, and decide to continue on doing X, Y, or Z. Sometimes, I wonder if I can continue to hope. I wonder if I can continue to be an artist. I wonder if I can continue to love. To stand up. To believe. To laugh. To dream. To care. I do wonder about these things sometimes, but I‘ve learned to continue in the midst of wondering. And it’s often very, very, VERY hard. But I’m glad I’m continuing in spite of that, and I hope you continue too. 🖤✨🖤 Art inspired by @tegareacts_ (video on second slide)

Various butts, bootys, a$$e$, bikini bottoms and undies are now available in my shop. 🩲👙😎🍑 Behind the design: Last year, when I was going through a super dark time, one of my coping mechanisms was seeking out & wearing fun underwear. I’d also had loads of latch hook canvas and yarn in my studio for a while, so I decided to do some more self-soothing by making fiber art versions of “fun undies.” I finally got around to adding backing material and hanging hardware to these this week, so I can *finally* share these. ✨🩲 (three cheers for finally coming back to half-finished pieces….😬😬😬) #fununderwear #undies #fiberart #latchhook #latchhookart #wallhanging #cincinnati #downtowncincinnati #cincinnatiartist #cincinnatiart #blackfiberartist

Some NEW NEW fresh out of my studio this week, including a clean-up and varnish job on a piece from nearly two years ago (it’s never too late to revisit a piece & make it better! ✨) Music: @jungle4eva #newwork #newart #prettystrangestudio #blackartists #handembroidery #modernembroidery #blackfiberartist #letteringart #handlettering #typography #posca #poscaart #cincinnati #cincinnatiartist

**FREE ACTIVISM RESOURCE NOW AVAILABLE** In 2019, following a mass shooting in my hometown of Dayton, OH, I started a practice of sending hand embroidered messages on fabric along with my letters to Congress about the issue of gun violence in the United States. Fast forward to present day, and mass shootings and the proliferation of other forms of gun violence remains unrelenting. As I read news articles about mass shootings, there are words that stop me in my tracks. The words of folks directly affected by each mass shooting. The words of activists who have been working (largely behind the scenes and thanklessly) for YEARS toward meaningful change. These words stood out to me so much that I decided to start incorporating them into the letters I wrote to my representatives. I turned a few of the quotes into simple embroidery patterns, stitched them onto a fabric scrap, and now I include one with each letter I send to Washington. These patterns are now available as a free PDF download through @maydelcraft. Thank you to Maydel for partnering with me on this and giving the patterns a place to live. 🪡🖤 Perhaps dozens, hundreds, or thousands of hand stitched squares of fabric will eventually come together to speak a message that becomes impossible to look away from any longer. It is also very possible you and I never know the direct effect of the letters we send and the activism we do. I hope you’ll do it anyway. I promise you, it matters. Please join me ✍🏻📝🧵🪡 Maybe it will look like adding “Write to Congress” as a standing “meeting” on your calendar every quarter. Maybe it will look like adding paper, envelopes & pens to your dinner table once every month, and writing letters over a meal with your family or friends. It will take intentionality and sustained effort to do pretty much anything worth doing, including looking after one another & chipping away at societal pains. So let’s commit to moving forward on this, together. 🖤🖤🖤

😎ahhhhh…it’s finally that time of year when I can wear my croppiest of crop tops again✨💅🏿😁🌞🔥 This is one of my all time favs from my closet, the Lettuce Top from @fashionbrandcompany Pants: @reformation Majestic photography by @oh.cecilia

👀Seeing book projects I’ve worked on out in “the wild” is always exciting, but this one is ✨extra✨meaningful. I had the honor of doing the hand lettering for “Dear Yesteryear”— a historical picture book by @emalineandthem @kimberlyannece featuring archival photos of everyday Black people from the 1800’s & early 1900’s. It is a beautiful love letter to Black history and ancestors, and would be a great addition to the summer reading lists you may be putting together for little ones in your orbit. Another reason this project is especially meaningful and personal to me is because I was in the midst of working on it when my mom passed away, in early 2022. My work in this book is dedicated to her. 🖤✨🖤 @penguinkids @penguinrandomhouse

The *very* tedious process behind one of the pieces created for “Consumption”, a joint exhibition by @adrienne__dixon and myself. In terms of aesthetic effect, I wanted to convey how hard it can become to distinguish between wants and needs when someone consumes without much intention. At times, the more you get, the more you think you need to “survive” or be whole. 🤔 “Consumption” is now on view at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center in Lexington, KY through July 8th, 2023 Music by @ennyintegrity

It’s not trash— it’s ✨modern art✨. I used cardboard boxes, leftover mural paint, fabric trim scraps, construction paper, and a few of Pentel’s recycled/refillable writing tools to create a colorful and textured piece of wall art. YOUR TURN! 😀 Join the #pentelchallege, do some “artcycling” and turn what would otherwise be wasted or thrown away into something ✨marvelous✨. Head over to @pentelofamerica for all of the details, and soon, because the contest ends May 17th, 2023! #ad #artcycle #pentelchallenge

HOT OFF THE GRILL 🔥👏🏾👀 Six super fresh Pretty Strange embroidery patterns are now available through my retail partner, @maydelcraft, including this delicious depiction of my perfect burger🍔🤤. Another collection highlight—at the request of several folks, I’ve finally turned “Our Lady of Softness & Sensitivity” into a pattern ✨💗👏🏾 Head to the link in my bio or @maydelcraft to check it all out! 😁✨🪡

I’ve been endlessly in love with @posca_usa tools for many years, *especially* their paint markers ✨💕🥰. Thank you to Posca for sending me a big box of goodies to play with. 👀☺️✨

Spent quite a while installing a mini gallery for Painter today. She seems skeptical, per usual. 🤷🏾‍♀️ You just can’t please certain clients… Featuring work by: @matthewmcdole @irenemudd @sirenssongstitchery @whimsy_cosmos_ @kurt_and_kremena @loversfilmphoto and ME. Food bowl & placemat from @happyandpolly 😽😺 Music by @kinggizzard

A little known fact about my mom is that in her early twenties, she briefly pursued fashion modeling. Growing up, I admired this stunning black & white portrait of her from her modeling days. I also often wondered what might have happened had she realized those modeling dreams, instead of setting them aside for marriage & children. I wonder how often she herself thought, “what if…?” When I was a tall, spindly teenager, I was told consistently that I could be a model. At one point, my mom even took me to a studio to have professional headshots taken for a model search. I remember her looking really proud as she stood next to the photographer, behind the camera. I also remember being mortified in front of said camera, and having very little confidence that I actually *could* be a model. So I too gave up on that dream, almost immediately… 😬 *sigh. Today is the year mark. It has been a year since I lost my mom. I miss her so much. In the midst of grief, I’ve been thinking of ways I want to honor her, and continue to connect with her. I knew one of those ways was stepping into her modeling shoes & recreating this portrait. I worked with Cincinnati designer, @rosiekovacs to recreate the swimsuit and @cassie__lopez shot the images. Seeing my mom and I side-by-side in this way takes my breath away every time I look at it. I feel her with me when I do things like this. It makes me think that I am and will be one of her greatest dreams come true. So if you’re looking for a pretty strange muse to hire for your photoshoots, runways, video projects, etc., hit me up. I’m looking forward to stepping in front of the camera way more often. ✨💅🏿 For me and for her. 🖤

There is someone out there somewhere who is about to give up on something really great. You’re about to stop selling your art because you make one sale per month, sometimes none. You’re about to stop sending your poems to literary journals because your inbox and trashcan are full of rejection letters. You’re about to stop performing at bars because no one ever shows up. But I hope you’ll keep going. I hope you’ll remember why you do whatever it is that you’re thinking about giving up on. I hope you do that thing for YOU. Keep going. Keep taking deep breaths. Keep making the art. Keep going to therapy. Keep setting healthy boundaries. Keep going to the gym, even if you only stay for six minutes (I actually did this the other day 😂 BUT it was better than *nothing*). Keep going, even if some days, that simply means getting out of bed. Keep going. Believe in YOU. Small collection of “Keep Going” hoops are in my shop. Link in bio ✨

Was most likely deep in thought about my next meal when this photo was taken…. 🤔🤔🤔 This dress from @mantisladyvintage is no lie, one of my top three vintage finds ever. SHE IS STUNNINGG. Decades ago, someone made this with so much care, and now it’s my turn to wear this floral delight. ✨🌼🌷🌸 📷: @oh.cecilia

PREPARE THYSELVES FOR A PRETTY STRANGE ✨GLOW UP✨ — Cara, the owner of @creative_yoga in Lexington, KY, let me loose in her hot yoga studio last month and I gave it a dreamy blue botanical makeover. ✨💙🌿 Thanks to @johnherskind for assisting and capturing time lapse 🎥

Recently, I turned on @npr Morning Edition and the broadcast began with these words: “It has happened again.” And I immediately knew what “it” was. Another mass shooting. Another day in the United States of America. “Land of the free.” Yet many of us are feeling less and less free, to do the simplest of things. Go grocery shopping. Drop our kids off at school. Go out to a nightclub with friends. See a movie. Attend a concert. Take a break at work. Go to a dance class. Because it has happened again. And again. And again. But we can’t let such awful repetition lull us into submitting to this increasingly violent reality—we’ve got to fight back. We have to demand more from ourselves as a society. We have to demand a whole hell of a lot more from our leaders. Don’t forget, they work for YOU. Demand more. I’ll be writing to my senators & representatives on a regular basis about the issue of guns and mass shootings in the United States. I NEED to see more action on this, and I’m going to be a loud “squeaky wheel” until I do. I hope many of you will commit to joining me. At the link on the next slide, and in my bio, you’ll be able to find your senators & reps, their office mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. So no matter how you feel most comfortable communicating, there is an option to make your voice heard. 🗣️🗣️🗣️

This iris is one of my favorite things I’ve made in a while. The inspiration comes from one of my favorite botanical illustrations in the @taschen book, “A Garden Eden” (swipe through to see the original iris). Quietly flipping through an art book is one of my favorite small pleasures, and it often leads to something unexpectedly magnificent, like this very strange but beautiful flower. ✨💐🌷🌹✨ —> available in my shop (Pretty Strange Studio on Etsy. Link in bio)

3/3 — GIVE YOURSELF FLOWERS In the depths of my depression late last year, I started a practice of making pipe cleaner flowers in those dark moments. It’s pretty hard to stay focused on sadness when you are holding something soft & fuzzy that will soon be an adorable daisy or tulip. It was a way to pull myself together in the moment, but also a smile-inducing daily reminder as the bouquet grew in the vase I now keep them in. To give myself flowers. To celebrate every single little victory. To be proud of myself. To take care of myself. To spoil myself. Because I deserve flowers. 🌸 GIVE YOURSELF FLOWERS 🌸 📸: @oh.cecilia

2/3 — A NEW DAY Nights are difficult for me. It’s when sadness hits the hardest. I’ve also had a years long struggle with insomnia, increased in severity by grief. It’s frustrating to be so tired (in a variety of ways 🙃) yet consistently unable to will yourself into a meaningful amount of sleep. It’s why I’m learning to love mornings. I’m still figuring out the sleep thing, but in the meantime, I’ve grown to admire the sunrise. I look forward to seeing it break over my Midwest horizon view. It means it’s *finally* a new day. Literally, yes, but also figuratively. I can make whatever I want of this new day, even if yesterday was the worst, and that is good. ✨IT’S A NEW DAY✨ 📸: @oh.cecilia Top & pants: @reformation

1/3 — DELIGHT IN YOURSELF This shoot was the first time I had been in front of a professional camera in a while. Grieving had the unexpected side effect of making my self-confidence completely bottom out at times. For a while, I lost my desire to be seen. But that finally turned around a few months ago, and I reached out to the supremely talented @oh.cecilia for new portraits. I love these photos of myself so much, I open my phone multiple times per day just to look at them and therefore look at myself. I’m like, SO PRETTY. 💁🏾‍♀️😁 When I look at these images, I think of delight. Because I am delightful. A vision on the outside and to my core. 👏🏾DELIGHT IN YOURSELF👏🏾

Did you know daisies are actually…EGGS??!!🥚🌼🥚 Ok not really. This is just a nail art fail turned into several tiny portraits of fried eggs. 💅🏿Polish: Bep Bep Blue, Banana Hacks, & Not Milky White by @holotaco

OKAAAY, this vintage rug really pulled my living room all the way TOGETHER. 👏🏾☺️✨ I’ve had my eye on @revival vintage rugs for a few years now, and when I recently moved, I decided to treat myself and my new space to this stunning vintage Turkish rug. SHE’S PERFECT 🥹

Here is a little known fact about my past: I’ve never been asked out to a school dance, prom or homecoming (or any semi-cool school function. In summary: I was never asked out to anything my entire schooling years). I know what you’re thinking. “AWWWW!!! 😭🥺” or “WHAT WAS EVERYONE THINKING?” or “Damn. That’s really sad…” And I guess it is sad. It definitely made adolescent/teenage Ciara VERY sad. I’m reliving some of my teenage angst because I’ve been dealing with the career equivalent of not being asked to the school dance, over and over again lately. The past several weeks have been abundant with professional rejection. To start, I received an actual rejection letter for an opportunity I had been extremely hopeful and confident about. Then, my potential client projects kept falling through for a variety of reasons. Several ghosted when we started talking money. Some decided “to go in a different direction” and of course never explained why. But whatever the reasons, it’s led to a reality where I haven’t had a major project in many weeks. There have also been times when I haven’t had a client for many months. (Side note: it’s easy to assume artists who have worked on big projects in the past, ALWAYS have work and are ALWAYS working on really flashy cool shit, because I have thought that in the past about others too, but SPOILER, that’s not always true… 😭🥲) All of this understandably left me feeling pretty depressed, and anxious about the future. And truthfully, I’m still kind of depressed about it and anxious. Because I’m in a season when I’m being “slept on” majorly and it hurts. In the interim, I’m choosing to learn and lean on what is true and good about me. How can I delight in myself right now? Delighting in myself is not about embracing some state of unbridled narcissism, or allowing ego to reach toxic levels. It’s about intentionally recognizing and celebrating the delightfulness in me, even when (ESPECIALLY when) others aren’t seeing it too. While I’m at it, I hope you know you’re delightful too. I hope you’ll take some time today to see it. ✨🖤 (Swipe to see how beautiful and not awkward I was as an adolescent)

FRESH OUT 😁😁😁 😈hehehe…. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED 🚨 I may be fresh out of f*cks, but my studio is freshly restocked with lots of original pieces, including this one. ✨ [EDIT: SOLD] Peruse to your heart’s content by visiting the link in my bio ➡️ 2nd slide: @crownmecutie

A couple weeks ago, I had a major mental health crisis/spiral/meltdown/breakdown--whatever word I apply to it, it was terrifying and created a huge shift for me moving forward. It’s in my nature to care and care deeply. I want as many folks as possible to feel special, thought of, and wanted. I try to show up for people in special, unexpected ways. I got so focused on providing joy, happiness, care and comfort to other people, and I realized I have neglected to do that for myself, in some very important ways. I have neglected to show up for myself. I have neglected to validate myself. I have neglected to delight in myself, and instead was hoping others delighting in me, the things I do for them, and what I create for them, would be enough. The hope is that what you put out into the world, the energy you spend, the love you pour out-- will come back to you. But unfortunately it often doesn’t, especially when you have an often above and beyond, over the top, and special way of doing things. So I’m learning how to pour back into myself. And it’s really hard, and often brutally lonely. This is hard work. But work that must be done. For me. 🖤 Additionally, grief has taken a level of resiliency I was not prepared for. The unexpected loss of my mother earlier this year, combined with other past traumas I've been trying to deal with, and the grief I feel for the state of the world in general, also overwhelmed me to the point of crisis. Thanks to quick intervention from my sister, therapist and primary care doctor, I am doing much, much better. In these moments of profound darkness and hopelessness, it is crucial to reach out for help as soon as possible, and I'm so glad I did. I'm still checking in with my care team regularly. I'm on a new medication for depression, in addition to the ones I was already taking for anxiety. I'm learning new ways to prioritize my mental health, my beautiful sensitive soul, and my levels of joy. (caption cont. in comments👇🏾)

Got to work with some familiar & friendly faces this week as I completed this super fun mural for @spotzgelato in Georgetown, KY. Spotz Gelato is a familiar friend because this is the fourth time we’ve worked together on mural projects at their many locations. Hands down, this is my favorite Spotz mural so far. Huge, HUGE thanks to my good friend and talented artist @jessica_verie for assisting on this project and for always helping me spread Black girl magic far and wide. 🖤✨🖤

I like to surround myself with all sorts of beautiful, intriguing, & weird things. My latest find is directly related to my childhood obsession with the Big Ear of Corn on Nickelodeon’s All That. Since I can’t have the original, THIS WILL HAVE TO DO 🌽🌽🌽 Corn stool from @comingsoonny

boys, From the beginning of humanity as we understand it, you’ve truly been Awful. And I’m wondering why I’m begging you to figure it out. Janet (Ms. Jackson) was right— “nasty boys don’t ever change” At least that’s how it feels. The other day, I experienced so much street harassment from men, that by the time I returned to my apartment, I was in tears and I was also slamming doors. I was sad & frightened, but mostly angry. I’m angry that I can’t take a walk in my own neighborhood and most other neighborhoods, without being harassed. I’m angry that most men probably know the difference between politely complimenting someone and harassing them, and they still choose to harass. I’m angry that I’ve been screamed at, cursed at, touched, and followed down the street by men whom I have rejected. I’m angry that because of that I feel unsafe in the world. I’m angry that men as a whole continue to be predators in increasingly creative and sinister ways, and that I am consistently seen as nothing more than their prey. I’m angry that men think they represent God. I’m angry that men don’t hold each other accountable more often. I’m so angry that so many men are nasty, nasty boys. And they don’t seem to change.

My sister and I checked out the @ohiovintagefest in Columbus, OH, and it 👏🏾did 👏🏾not 👏🏾disappoint. Check out what I brought home 🏠 👗👚👔🛒 Featuring items from: @mantisladyvintage @coolwaterdrygoods @ohiovintagefest

White supremacy is exhausting. It is exhausting wondering who among you on the train, in the library, at work, in your classroom— or yes, even at the grocery store— hates you & your Black body simply because it exists. White supremacy is exhausting. So I decided to rest a little this past week, because I’m really tired. I took so many naps 😴. I painted my nails 💅🏿. I went to therapy 🥹. I bought a pretty dress 👗. I laid in the sun ☀️. I ate lots of chocolate peanut butter ice cream 🍦. I put on roller blades for the first time in over a decade 🛼. I watched so many trashy tv shows, and some good ones 📺. I did what I wanted, and it was delightful. But these delights were still interrupted here and there by this simmering fear & anxiety I live with everyday— the fear & anxiety that comes with wondering who hates me just for being here. I try not to think about this everyday, but I often do. This past week, I fought back some of that anxiety with this stitched meditation of “rest.” So to those who are weary, for whatever reason, REST. Rest. Rest. Rest… 🖤😴

If you’re offended by this, it’s probably about you. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Reimagining some of my previous work, starting with “Validation is a drug”—words I first stitched about two years ago.

I’ve been revisiting and reimagining some of my previous work lately. I first stitched the words “Validation is a drug” nearly two years ago and these are a few of the words I wrote to accompany that piece: “What’s worse than rejection?— No one giving a s%*#. As an artist, the fear that no one will care creeps in often…” Turns out two years isn’t long enough for me to get over my fear of becoming irrelevant, people not liking my work, or more appropriately/honestly, the “RIGHT” people not liking my work, etc. So I decided to stitch “Validation is a drug” over and over again. At first it felt like those punishments of my youth—shamefully writing a phrase on the chalkboard over and over again. Then it became more of a meditation, and a reminder that never got old. There are eight of these in my shop. Oh, by the way, my shop is open again, as of today! Thanks for being patient. 🖤

It’s been more than a month since I lost my mom, and I still don’t quite know what to do. I wake up every day trying to solve this mystery: how and when do I get used to the fact that she’s gone? And I don’t know. I hate not knowing. I’m the type of person who often skips ahead through suspenseful scenes in movies and television shows, because I. Just. Need. To. Know. What. HAPPENS. But there is no skipping through this. There is no fast-forwarding through grief. There is no neat and definitive answer to when I will be “okay” again. I don’t know what to do, but really that’s nothing new. Even in less traumatic times, I’m often puzzled by life. What to do with my skills, what projects to pursue, how to communicate effectively, how to be a good and helpful human in an often disorienting and hurting world, etc., etc. Each day is its own new mystery. Sometimes, that is so thrilling. Other times, like these, it’s scary and deeply unsettling. So there’s a lot I don’t know right now, but I do know it’s starting to feel cathartic to make things again🖤 [Embroidery text excerpted from “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai]

On February 13th, my mom, Sherlynn LeRoy, passed away unexpectedly. Words cannot measure the amount of crushing grief that has orbited my family and I for the past seven days. Right now, grief feels like a veil over my eyes. I can see through it, but it makes everything cloudy & murky. I’m learning to function and coexist with it, but it makes even the simplest things more difficult. Sometime soon, I will create a more fitting tribute. But for now, I love you so very much, Mommy. 🖤

Client thank you notes, but make them ✨special✨ . . Materials: @cansonusa XL Watercolor paper, @posca_usa paint pens, masking tape, pencil

Am I too soft Or do you not know how to hold tender things? I’ve fought my softness for almost as long as I’ve been aware of it. “You’re too soft” I think to myself. But I’m learning that I’m not. I’m learning that softness is a virtue, and one to be nurtured. The world can be sharp and unrelenting, and it’s ok to be tender from it. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to be an empathetic person. It’s ok to care and care deeply.🖤 “Our Lady of Perpetual Softness” - 2022 Original work available in my shop - Link in bio. [edit: SOLD] Materials: @dmc_embroidery six strand floss & Diamant, cotton fabric remnant, wood hoop

One of my niece’s favorite foods is macaroni & cheese, so fueled by a glass (or two) of wine, I made her 1st birthday cake out of…mac & cheese. You can’t tell by her face, but it was a hit. 😎

“Our Lady of Perpetual Cat Hair” - 2021 Ok, that’s not the real name of this in-progress piece, but I’m wondering if I’m capable of posting an embroidery that doesn’t have visible cat fur stuck to it…😬😬 I’m currently ruminating on my relationship with faith, my relationship with myself, and how those two things have influenced each other for the better or worse. I decided to express this with a series of chromatic icons representing qualities I used to despise in myself that I’m now learning to find lovely and good. First up is Our Lady of Softness & Sensitivity. 💜 I’m curious, what would your “saint” or “icon” be? What is something special about you that you used to hate but you now see the beauty and value in? Comment below! I may just incorporate it into this series. 🖤

Even if it was hard yesterday, I’m wondering… won’t you love yourself… today? Asking myself this question, just like I’m asking you. 🖤 . . . . Original available in my shop. Link in bio.

Part Two of the process for my campaign with @boxedwater & @alaskaair

Peek at the process behind my work for the @boxedwater & @alaskaair campaign. Together, they are eliminating 1.8 million pounds of plastic on board!

It’s thrilling to work on projects that promote a deeper care for the earth and the people on it (us!!!). So it was such a pleasure to work on this campaign for @boxedwater and @alaskaair , creating art on Boxed Water cartons based on Alaska Airlines destinations. You can now find Boxed Water in all Alaska Air cabins instead of plastic water bottles. Together, they’re eliminating 1.8 million pounds of plastic on board. 🤯

Earlier this year, I found myself in a studio in NYC, doing something I really wasn’t sure I had the star power to do—filming an online course. When Domestika reached out and asked if I’d be interested in filming a hand embroidery course, I was so thrilled but also OH SO nervous about being on camera for many days and developing a course that would be fresh, fun, and inspiring. But I said “Yes” and we DID IT. My course, “Embroidered Hand Lettering” is available NOW on @domestika . I’m so proud of it and I’m excited to see what students create after taking this course. I’d so appreciate it if you supported this course either by taking it or sharing about it! Let’s make this one of the most successful courses evaaaaa! Link in bio!

TW // Suicide, Depression // I wasn’t always happy to be here. Some of my earliest memories are of a little me feeling like an outsider—perpetually sensitive, odd, misunderstood, and out of place. So from an early age, I learned to repress the things that made me different—the things that made me Ciara— because those things were often met with quizzical looks, rolled eyes, whispers, or open ridicule. I often felt like an irritant to everyone around me— like my sensitivity, emotive nature, and oddball imagination would always be too much. All of this led me to mature into a very depressed and anxious teen and eventually, a very depressed and anxious adult. If I wasn’t liked, if being who I was wasn’t acceptable, if I would never truly be understood, then what was the point of being here? I’ve struggled with thoughts of ending my own life many times, as an adolescent and in adulthood. Because of the care I received from my family, friends, and several therapists along the way, I’m still here. Most importantly, because of the care and love I learned to give to myself, I’m still here. I’m so happy to be here. And I’m so happy you’re here too. 🖤 . . . “Happy to be Here” is one of two Pretty Strange embroideries that the lovely folks at @tattly turned into temporary tattoos. I’m so overjoyed that folks all over can wear these as badges of hope, positivity, and oddity. Tattly tattoos are super high quality, durable, and generously pigmented, which means they are vibrant and eye-catching on all types of skin. Available exclusively at @tattly . Link in bio.

For the next several weeks, follow along as I give the living room in my new apartment a Pretty Strange transformation. First step was of course, a mural. But turns out my a$$ in those orange shorts was the breakout star of this video 🍑

Dear ally, dear friend, You’ve seemed quiet, so I’m checking in. Remember your power has not vanished just because certain hashtags have. We still need you. I still need you. If you posted a black box on your feed last summer, what does it mean to you now? Have you kept the promises you made— to speak up at work, to buy from Black businesses, to hire more Black artists, to have awkward conversations with family members, to read anti-racism books, to donate, to think, to examine, to question—to act? Or did many of those promises fall away as your emotions cooled? You see, right now is the most important part of justice work. The part after the emotion, the black boxes, the hashtags, and the pledges. This is the part where you actively and intentionally dismantle injustice, even when it’s no longer exciting, attention-grabbing, and trending. Doing the right thing isn’t always going to give you the rush of endorphins it did in the beginning, but it doesn’t make it any less impactful or necessary in this world. Keep. Doing. The. Work. Engage with Black creators and support their content. Buy from Black-owned businesses on a regular basis, even if that means giving up some convenience or going out of your way to do it. Keep consistently hiring Black artists and designers like me. If you work for a company that made pledges or promises surrounding inclusion and equity, check on those pledges and make sure that your companies are following through, and not just virtue signaling. So dear ally, please keep doing the work, or start doing it again if you’ve stopped altogether. I know it’s f#%*ing hard. I know it goes against human nature to not lose interest. I know it gets overwhelming. I know you sometimes feel clumsy doing this work. But keep going. We’ve made meaningful progress this past year. But I know we can go so so SO much further. We must go further. 🖤🖤🖤

I. Don’t. Know. Three words most of us have been conditioned to keep out of our mouths. As a kid, I never wanted to suffer the humiliation of being called on in class and not knowing the answer, or know the un-coolness of being out of the loop on the latest band or trend my peers were obsessing over. Fast forward to adulthood and I worry about being caught without the right things to say when someone dies, or a marriage dissolves, or a job is lost, or a client makes an ask I’m not prepared for, or a global pandemic happens, or _____ fill in a million blanks. A few years ago, I was walking in downtown Philly, and I overheard someone say to their friend, “Actually, I honestly have no idea.” I didn’t know the context of that comment, but it was refreshing to hear someone so clearly and confidently say they didn’t know. We all have to deal with unknowable things, and the more life we live, the unknowable becomes heavier and more frequent. But it’s so much more bearable when we’re honest with each other and with ourselves. When we don’t hide when we need help answering those mysteries. When we don’t expect ourselves to always knock it out of the park when dealing with the unknowable things. There are a lot of things I don’t know about right now. And that’s ok. But I do know I’m not alone 🖤 Let’s not know together, and maybe we’ll eventually figure some of this out. . . . Original embroidery on thrifted tee, available in the shop. Link in bio. [EDIT: SOLD]

LET THE CHURCH SAY “AMEN” 🙌🏾 Happy Sunday. 🖤 Words from the song “Woman” by @this_nao & @liannelahavas . . My Etsy shop update is *finally* live. Link in bio to shop this crewneck and a bunch of other hand embroidered art, wearable & otherwise 😁 📸: @austinneal

Tenderness is a virtue. 🖤 . . . I’ve been creating a ton of personal work lately. It’s been refreshing to make things, simply because I want to, and not because they’re tied to a contract or deadline. I’ll be updating my Etsy shop a week from today, Sunday September 12 at 5pm EST. There will be original embroidery hoop pieces, and a mini collection of upcycled hand embroidered garments, including this one, “Pretty Tender.” ❤️ [EDIT: SOLD] 📸: @austinneal

Last week, Little Bookworm Ciara’s dreams came true when she got to paint a mural in a LIBRARY. 👏🏾🤓📚 @wootonstudio and I had a blast painting this Pretty Strange original in the library of Fall-Hamilton Elementary in Nashville, TN. Big thanks to librarian, Mrs. Price and Principal Portell for letting us occupy their domain for the week, and of course, THE KIDS for cheering us on along the way. 🖤

Moving slow this week, taking tons of afternoon naps, feeling my feelings, and it feels strange but good. Because sometimes I’m doing so much, I’m doing everything but listening to myself. . . . Available in the shop! Link in bio

I’m a real nerd about anything pens, pencils and stationery, so I was pretty stoked to get the opportunity to design a @thepapergang monthly stationery subscription box. I’m the artist behind this month’s (July) box, and inside you’ll find all sorts of paper goods decked out in my illustrations. Head over to @thepapergang or visit the link in my bio to snag the box!

🍻🥂🍾Three cheers to @wootonstudio for being a badass painting assistant and for making amazing videos of this Pretty Strange original at @condadotacos

When you walk into a space, what are you bringing with you? Now that we’re starting to venture out and gather a little bit more, I’m hoping one of the things we’ll all bring into those spaces is lots of kindness and grace for each other. I worked with @insideverizon to send this message of kindness to Lexington KY, in conjunction with their national #ACallForKindness campaign. Bring kindness 🖤 Big thanks to @theikimovement for providing wall space and lots of ice water 🔥🥵 and huge thanks to @wootonstudio for assisting. 👯‍♀️ 📸: @sarahedunnphotoanddesign

Would you? Embroidery inspired by the illuminating poetry of @diarrajasmineyoga . Please credit them when sharing. I’ve been ruminating on my body a lot lately, and how it’s changed, grown, and stretched over the last year. Diarra’s work brought so much comfort and clarity to me, and reminded me to be f#%*ing kind to my body and grateful for the ways she has carried me through. 🖤 Original piece available in the shop. Link in bio. [edit: SOLD]

🗣🗣No longer in the business of trying to convince people that I’m the s#%*. PERIOD. I look back at the many times in my life that I’ve cried, lost sleep, and been profoundly devastated by folks who have rejected me in one way or another. I’ve thought, “I’m an amazing friend/lover/job candidate/etc and I have so much to offer—WHY DON’T THEY SEE THAT?! Why do they treat me like s#%*? Why didn’t they choose me?” I realized there are many possible answers to those questions. But sometimes it’s just that there are some folks who will never see through their own BS to see your magic. As much as you bend over backwards to show them how worthy you are, as much as you try to convince them—they’ll never see it. And that is and never will be worth your time. (The words I painted are paraphrased from something I heard @blacktresscomedy say on the “Couples Therapy” podcast so long ago that I don’t even know if she’ll remember saying it 😂 But nonetheless, it has stuck with me ever since)

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