It’s a new year and mannnnnn am I grateful to not only have made it through the past two years but to have thrived in so many ways. I also feel like I should reintroduce myself since many things have changed for me in the time I have been away from the blog.

Let me lay down the basics: My name is Erica, I’m 24 soon to be a quarter century old. I make art in the city of Boston and my mission is to create a sense of awareness of self in people that they may have otherwise ignored or had gone unnoticed. From the makeup artistry to my illustrative work, I want people to see themselves in their best light but also shed light on the things that have been hidden.

With makeup, I do this by showing people it doesn’t take much to release your inner self. It’s all about the confidence gained by becoming the reflection of yourself that shows who you are on the inside, outside. Reminiscing on my chameleon days of “new wig everyday” and having 3 opposing aesthetics a week, helped me to find the little details of personal style that brought my inner personality to life. If you’ve ever had your makeup done by me, you’ll hear me say, “it should be you but more refined” but the thing is, I don’t want to define what the refinement is. That’s for you to be curious about and figure out what you are tuning yourself into. Often times, it’s just another aspect of you that lacks visibility.

Taking that into consideration, I never want to mask how I or anyone else feels or expresses themselves. I want to amplify. This goes for my illustration as well. I want to create a space that is tangible for people to feel like they can express things they never have before and explore what that is or what it could mean for them. I have had many highs and lows and dealing with them has revealed a lot about the ways in which I view the world and where those boundaries are or even where they are being created. Emotional and spatial awareness is a big part of my current work as I practice this while making the work itself.

I will be working my way back to fashion posts and “style studies”. It’s clearly something I have always loved but it heavily ties into art and the way I like to tell stories. People around me have taught me how to tell better stories and that it can help to push a story forward. That’s why I love costume designers Ruth Carter and Ellen Mirojnick. They use color, texture and historical narratives that are more engaging stories. I want to do that in my daily wardrobe but I’m also working on creating a more sustainable wardrobe. I am back to designing and making clothes for myself again. But as always, my wardrobe is open to independent designers, black-owned, Women-owned and eco-friendly businesses. Moving forward as I want my closet to have a similar moral messaging that hold myself to. So I’m excited to go back to being dressy and cute and adding to my “Chameleon Effect”. I will also be partner with some new people and brands this year so don’t be surprised when I have discount codes for days for you!

Looking forward to more posts and educational resources on here as well as BTS and process work for all of my projects. See y’all later! 😊

I love this little snippet from The Real Daytime that has been illuminating to hear

the Real Daytime clip