Taking the Leap
Starting this journey 3 years ago, if you would have told me that I'd be trying to change the art world, I would have told you that I was just trying to learn how to do my nails. When I first started, I thought it could be a hobby first, then I'd attend nail school, (me and my man had many arguments about this! If he could have signed me up himself he would have!) and then I'd open my own salon. Now, the thought of sitting in a chair makes me sweat, and I don't even know how long I'll be able to sell press ons because I'll be too busy being a fancy gallery owner, *flips hair*. Seriously though, my dreams have transformed and I'm scared and excited for the possibilities. I've long since come to the conclusion that my brain doesn't work like anyone else I know, and sometimes its hard to express myself coherently, but everything translates perfectly through my art.
When I discovered nail art from the lens of an artist instead of a nail tech, my world opened up in a way that I still can't fully put into words. I still didn't even consider myself an artist until like last year, even though I spent most of my professional life teaching and working through art. Even now, when I create a set and I sit down to begin, I'm terrified I've forgotten how to create and my design will be horrible and ugly (this only happens sometimes!) I have reached the point in my journey, where I want to share not only my work, but other nail artists' work too. I want to give nail art a physical place to be celebrated and to simply be displayed. When I started getting obsessed with nail artists on instagram, I would go to their site just wanting to see more... instagram just wasn't enough for me. I'd just be hit with a store and reviews, nothing where I could just peruse the truly amazing art. I still wish to one day be as great as the artists I've seen, and to work alongside them paving a new way to enjoy and experience their own art.
xPRESSive Designs Gallery will start as an online exhibition with photographs taken and designed by me. I will offer physical and digital prints for a limited time (my nails are cheap but my art isn't!), and they too will be rotated with my online exhibition. You can view the photos from the Pilot collection, and even order prints and wall art directly through my website. I will integrate nail art with the mainstream art world, and pretty soon we'll have a physical gallery to enjoy the wonder that is nail art. I'm excited, are you?
