Through the eyes of an artist
Through the eyes of an artist
As one of her framed photos continues to disappear from the walls of Coffee House Ten24, a young artist hopes to move forward to pursue her passion of art as a career. Aria Daniels (22) has a love for creating. Daniels, who has been an aspiring artist since she could hold a pen, said, “For forever. I don’t have a date or anything. I think since I was two or three, and I just never stopped. I just kind of went with it.”
Coffee House 1024 is Eaton’s new local coffee shop, and they reached out to Daniels through conversations at her church about creating paintings to hang on the walls of the vintage building. Daniels took the opportunity to take a bigger step on her journey of becoming an artist, and she began putting the paintbrush to the canvas. Daniels said, “They asked me to prepare some pieces for the grand opening, and as soon as they started selling, they wanted me to get new ones in.”
Her art at the coffeehouse has impacted her on a personal level. She finds selling her art at the coffeehouse is “an outlet that I can be rewarded in”. Opening up her talent and skills to the community allows others to recognize her talent, so Daniels is rewarded when community members compliment her work.
Art has impacted Daniel’s life in a variety of ways, so she aspires to give those benefits to others as they look at her masterpieces. “I kind of hope it helps people feel peace because that’s what art has done for me. It has allowed me to kind of figure out who I want to be. It’s given me that outlet to look at something bigger than me and see how it can reach others. It’s kind of a coping skill whenever I am stressed.”
Art is an interpretational form of communication according to Daniels. An observer of a work of art can enjoy or dislike a work that they see. Daniels said, “I kind of hope that whenever people look at my less uniform pieces that it doesn’t stress them out, and it lets them think.”
Can anybody become an artist? For Daniels the answer is yes. “It’s never too late for anyone to start art. A lot of people are kind of against other artists starting late. Just be open to being critiqued, but don’t let anything stop you,” Daniels said. In Daniels eyes, in elementary school students are given a task to complete, and they are given positive feedback when they turn it into their teacher. As children advance in school, they begin to get constructive criticism and are turned away from their area of expertise. Daniels advises that if you are interested in art, go for it, but just be open to comments from others.
Once you can accept critique from other people, Daniels said, art has tons of career choices. Some of the career choices include commercial artist, graphic designer, art teacher, and many other occupations. Daniels is hoping to pursue art as her professional career by becoming a “full time artist, like a freelance artist “ and commissioning her work to the community. Daniels said, “ I want to sell my own work and make my own hours. I want to be self employed. It’s just hard to find places to do that because there are art shows and conventions that I could go to because commissions are harder to get. I know it is a very lucky and hard thing to get to.”
One of the most important parts of becoming an artist according to Daniels is having support from your family and friends. Without support from peers, an individual does not feel success. Daniels’ mom, Marla, said, “When she wanted watercolors or markers, we got them for her. When classes were offered to her, she didn’t want them. We love her stuff, so that is encouraging to her.”
Her dad, Ken, said he enjoys seeing her pictures when they are completed, and he enjoys seeing the benefits that art gives Daniels. “It gives her an outlet to express things. I think it has helped her focus. It has been a great benefit to her and us because we get to see her awesome pictures,” he said.
Art has benefited Daniels and her family in a variety of ways including ways to express her emotions and thoughts, ways to apply her passion, and spread the joy of art to others. “It’s really nice to have that outlet where I can present myself to other people in ways that others can’t. It’s nice that my passion isn’t frowned upon. There are people that are performers, and they can’t perform every second of the day; whereas, I can do art in class. I have that privilege. It’s nice that I have the freedom to be an artist whenever.”
To see a gallery of Daniels’ work you can visit Coffee House Ten24, or you can visit her Instagram page; peachy.arias.art
