I. LILAC

|| The Way Home

You could very well walk into this room and just see flowers, and that'd be perfect. Flowers teach us so much about life. They teach us how to form bonds, how to show love, how to find joy – For me, they are a way to communicate.

"You should be able to look at me and see my work. You should be able to look at my work and see me." - Roy DeCarava, 1970.

|| The Medium is the Message

Charcoal is such a messy medium. Humanity is never precise. People are not clean and perfectly lined and measured, and if they are, it's likely a mask. We all wear masks – be it self protection, preservation, fear.

But humanity is designed to be messy. It's charcoal on paper. It is chaotic and tumultuous and audacious, but it is also incredibly beautiful.

When I began creating these pieces, it was a way for me to experience myself flawed at a micro scale with charcoal stroke landing where it chooses. There was so much freedom in allowing space to make mistakes, but it evolved into a representation of how I aim to show up in the world and an intimate connection to my body in the physical realm – because my canvas has alway been an extension of my skin.

I think we all strive for this idea of perfection, or at least as close to it as we can get. But when is the last time you allowed yourself to be human?

"Chasing lilac became synonymous with chasing joy because lilac showed me what it means to be home."

|| A Home In My Skin

Skin has been a consistent theme in my life, as most Black Americans. There's so much to say around something as fundamental as pigment. Through any belief system, or conversation, or controversy around pigment, I built a home in my skin through picking up a pencil and gaining an understanding of what it means to live in it.

Regardless of what any express opinion anyone might have of who you are, it is your choice to have a life that is beautiful for you - to see flowers and recognize joy, to see a sunset and be grateful for the Earth, and to look in the mirror and understand yourself in a way that is full and vibrant. For the moment in time we exist here on this plane, be full and vibrant. Surrender to who you are. Don't hesitate.

"You don't paint what you see, you paint what you feel" - Romare Bearden

II. SURRENDER

|| It Is All Within Reach

I spent a lot of time not creating anything. There was always some obstacle. I put limitations on myself that didn't actually exist and in effect, I wasn't operating the way I was meant to. Often, we may all go through bouts of searching for the point of it all.

We are at the mercy of our own ego. Purpose is not given, it’s chosen. The difference between living with purpose and living on purpose is you. So if you must create, create. If you must learn, learn. If you must give, give. If you must love, love. Each day we live on this Earth is about more than just an echo of a soul. It is our choice to let go and surrender to find the things that light us on fire – to let them set us free.

Orchids: The Path Forward

We all have symbols in our lives that drive us forward. Mine is an orchid. And no, orchids are not my favorite flower, but they were my grandmothers. In childhood, I'd spend so much time at her home drawing. She'd display my art on her coffee table for everyone to see and throughout time, one thing remained constant: she always, without fail, had an orchid.

I carry that memory with me always. Life can get complex. There are many things that capture our attention at a moments notice - innovation, new learning, growth - but when you strip everything down and go back to your foundation, what I found is that the way forward is the way back.

The way forward is in your personal surrender to experience your soul journey. It's in remembering what that is and being able to supercharge it. For me, it's in every orchid I see. What is it for you?

III. ALIVE

|| Romanticize Life

When is the last time you felt truly alive? What does that mean for you?

It is so easy to get stuck looking through a critical eye. To sit in disappointment, or pain, or regret and let it distort the way you view your world. I live by the notion of creating stackable moments of joy. Each day is an opportunity to find a small pocket of purity - the best of the world. And day by day, as you continue to find pockets, they compound and become an expanse beyond what we imagined could exist. The first step in that is to romanticize your life in a way that makes you feel everything. Because what life would we live if we could not feel.

|| A Universal Language

When I learned how much flowers could really say, I wanted to share that with others (and still do). Communication is the greatest barrier we have. An arrangement can say so much and intuitively we all understand no matter what background we come from. We are all looking for common understanding and value. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a person is tell them you love them, you're happy they're here and you wish them well.

There's so much love in this room. I'm happy you're here. Thank you for joining me on this journey. See you again soon.

-JAZ