By Anya Shukla Matt Remle wears many hats—he’s passed several laws here in Seattle, works as a teacher at Marysville High School, and writes for Last Real Indians. Remle, along with Chase Iron Eyes, co-founded Last Real Indians in 2012, in response to the absence of Native and Indigenous stories in the media. Over the past eight years, the news site has gained a significant following and serves as a collective of Native and Indigenous authors, organizers, and content-creators.
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By Jessica Liu “There’s people who draw out their look. I can’t really do that. I do things in the moment,” Marisol Suarez explained. Suarez’s creative process embodies her free-spirited, daring approach to makeup. Her Instagram page, @mua_mari, filled with eye-catching, striking colors, highlights the power of her talent and creativity.
By Anya Shukla Even though Clement Kammwamba is currently stuck in the United States, unable to return to his home country, Malawi, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, he’s taking the time to improve his art. Kammwamba hopes to move away from drawing animals—such as the impeccably-detailed, hyper-realistic lions, tigers, and cheetahs that grace his Instagram page—and explore portraiture. "We’ll see how that goes,” he said, bashful. “I’m still in the process of improving my skills.” He’s selling himself short.
By Jessica Liu “I always try to incorporate poetry into whatever I do,” Ashley Hajimirsadeghi said, grinning. A rising junior at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Hajimirsadeghi’s passion for poetry has continued throughout her college years, and she has continuously found ways to push her boundaries in the craft. Her work, packed with poignant imagery and powerful language, lingers long in the mind after just one read.
By Jessica Liu “I definitely have way too many ideas, and sometimes I need to focus on just one,” Nicolette Scrivner laughed. “It’s really hard for me to pick because I love them all.” These words capture the passion driving Scrivner’s art, passion evident in the hours of work and energy she devotes to writing and drawing comics. Bold lines and vibrant colors characterize her artwork, making each image eye-catching and captivating.
By Anya Shukla and Kathryn Lau “I dreamt of a world where Shakespeare and the identities I hold could share space,” said Aneesh Sheth during the introduction to her play, “Much Ado About Nothing.”“Because the opportunity for South Asian trans woman like myself to play Beatrice is nonexistent.”
By Anya Shukla “I hope that my music makes someone happy, or makes someone laugh, or lifts someone up when they’re not doing well,” James Fall said, guitar in his lap. At first glance, I characterized Fall as adorably awkward: he’s more laid back than the typical rock star. But while he may not have the classic guitar-god attitude, his passion for music soon became apparent—between questions, his hands almost unconsciously strayed to his instrument. By Anya Shukla On May 25, 2020, a group of Minneapolis artists—including Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain, among others—created a mural in honor of George Floyd. Their piece has since received extensive publicity from outlets such as CNN to the Former President Barack Obama himself. We were lucky enough to speak to one of the mural’s designers and painters, Cadex Herrera, to learn more about the artwork, as well as the community response to the piece.
By Anya Shukla In 2019, Elisheba Johnson, Inye Wokoma, Jill Freidberg, and Rachel Kessler started Wa Na Wari, a Seattle organization housed in the historically-Black Central District. Located in Wokoma’s grandmother’s home, Wa Na Wari celebrates Black artistry through events, workshops, and art exhibits. I spoke with Elisheba Johnson to learn more about her artistic practice, as well as Wa Na Wari as a whole. Q: How did you first get started in art? A: I started writing poetry in middle school. I wanted to be the Poet Laureate of the United States—which was, you know, like who ever gets that job, but I thought it’d be cool. Other than that, however, I never really thought I would be in the art world. But something just moved me right before my senior year of high school: I was like, “I want to go to art school.” So I started taking every art class I could take, in school and outside of school, pulled my portfolio together, and got into Cornish College of the Arts.
By Anya Shukla “I love music,” Grae Violett said a few minutes into our interview. “You can have two people who hate each other and disagree on everything, but they might still have the same favorite song.” A mix of thoughtfulness and introspection, that sentence embodies Violett herself: a talented singer/songwriter/poet whose work deals with topics of identity and belonging. “I’ve been doing art for forever—music was always around me,” Violett noted. Her earliest memory is of singing along to Neyo and Maroon Five in the car, and her parents, who are “not musically inclined, but really like music,” often took her to concerts and shows. Nevertheless, she only seriously saw herself as a musician after she toured Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts at fourteen: “I realized that I really want to go to this school,” she said. “That gave me a fire to really hone in on my talent and figure out what I want to do.” To learn more, she dove into musical theater and youth arts boards such as Seattle Art Museum’s Teen Arts Group. It was through the latter that she discovered Totem Star, an organization providing music mentorship and accessible studio space for young artists. |
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