Creative Highlight 09: Art: Alyak The Scientist
It's always a good day whenever I get to interview an artist. It's always a better day when that artist just so happens to be your best friend. I can honestly go on and on for HOURS about how insanely talented this woman is, but I'll let the art speak for itself. Kayla Mills (sometimes known as Alyak The Scientist) is by far one of the most talented people I know. Period. I can remember as far back to when we first met in 5th grade how she would always be drawing in her notebooks, not paying attention to not a thing the teacher would say. Instead she'd just be in her own little world drawing, and clearly that paid off today. So naturally, it's only right if I interviewed her right? We talked, and she showed me some of her artwork that she created over the past couple months and I cannot wait to share that with you guys! In this interview Kayla talks about how rewarding it is to be able to create art, and what keeps her motivated as a black woman.
Me: What exactly do you do as an artist?
Kayla: I believe that I'm on the road to working with different mediums of being an artist. First it was drawing, then I started painting, now I wanna start working with resin. Then I wanna start doing digital art and sculptures. I'm just an artist that's finding her way around. I like to do different things, but something that'll always bring me home is drawing.
Me: What inspired you to be an artist?
Kayla: I started when I first started watching anime, but I think I've just always been like this. I always liked animation. Literally this all started when I used to watch Naruto and Dragon Ball Z and One Piece years ago. I always loved loved cartoons as well. My first consistent drawings was comics. Then I would draw anime characters and it just flourished from there. I can't remember what age tho, I just know it was very young.
Me: When you make a painting or a drawing, what's the process like?
Kayla: For this self portrait that I have, it was a blank canvas. I was thinking about Basquiat. So I just decided to show some respect by replicating it and putting my own twist on it. It was an on the spot kinda thing. The devils having a party piece, I actually thought about that over the summer a long time ago. Some of my processes I think of months ahead. Others it's on the spot. I think my process is a little more scattered than other artists.
Me: Obviously you're a black women which comes with Its struggles in itself especially creatively, do you feel as if the men in the art world have an edge up on you?
Kayla: I'm not sure if I can answer that too accurately because as much as I have been painting from a young age I'm still in the early stages of my artistic journey because I haven't really put myself out there in the world fully yet. But just from knowing the history of art, men are usually pushed to the forefront. But I think it's like that in any form of art honestly. Look at politics and comedy for example. Men dominate those areas sadly. That doesn't mean we as women don't have a fighting chance tho, we're just as talented and aggressive. It also depends on how badly you want it.
Me: Why should we pay attention to your art? What makes you different from other artists?
Kayla: I think what makes me different from other artists is that my art is very relatable. I feel the same things that other people feel. I feel like I'm just making things that speak to people. As a person, I'm just an artist that has the same fears as everyone else. It's so hard to be an artist, so I feel like I'm more realistic because I'm honest and I'm not perfect. If you're waiting for art from me it'll take a long time because I'm not a machine, when I do it, I'm putting all of my effort and emotion into it. I'm serious about what I do. Some of my artwork is precise and some isn't but its supposed to be like that. I think all of my art pieces are different from each other as well, some are more chill and constructive some are messy. It makes my art stand out in my opinion. I just wanna be a versatile artist. Eventually I wanna create my own style, but overall I still like to try new things when it comes to my work.
Me: Give some advice to black women.
Kayla: I want us to learn how to take care of ourselves and put ourselves first. I feel as if black women are always taking care of other people and never taking care of ourselves enough. I want us to focus on sisterhood and luxury. Just on things that make us happy and keeps us going outside of regular productivity. I want us to indulge in more creative things and indulge in our pleasure first. I want us to learn how to create better meaningful healthy relationships that aren't only romantic. That's what I want for black women.
Make sure to follow Kayla's art page on instagram @alyakthescientist