MENTAL HEALTH & THE CREATIVE PROCESS, A SERIES OF CONVERSATIONS WITH DREY MOTOH
DREY MOTOH
INTERVIEWS BY DREY MOTOH
JUNE 8th, 2020
Creating for the past 4 years, Drey has explored various types of mediums; from photography to painting, digital design, poetry, spoken word as well as she is always open to trying new ways to express her emotions, anxiety, depression etc.
Drey is constantly encouraging the conversation of Mental Health through her own journey of her transness, traumas and pain; to release the stigmas that are in our society, by having open conversations with herself, her family, friends and acquaintances she meets.
Artwork by Drey Motoh
Why is Mental Health important to you?
Mental Health has always been an important influence on my art. Through creating, painting, NFTS & wherever my art will lead me, Mental Health will always be my main priority. It has always been important to use my anxieties, depression, imposter syndrome, trauma, anger, pain etc., to fuel, influence and allow myself to release those built-up emotions, through my art.
What have you learned through Mental Health & art?
It has allowed me to do the deep internal work when needed and to not be afraid to have tough conversations with myself and others. As we continue to be vulnerable by sharing how we feel, this will allow for the stigmatization that comes with speaking about Mental Health to reduce and change into a free-flowing conversation. Through my day-to-day life as trans folk, I deal with a lot of emotions that are mostly out of my control such as dysphoria, imposter syndrome and many other experiences.
Being able to express how I am feeling through my art has allowed me to release, as well as grow and heal. It is difficult to do the internal work, but I know that the more I do so, the more it will be easier for me to face tougher challenges in the future.
RINIIFISH
Riniifish is an artist based in China. Riniifish loves to create odd and cute creatures. Through the different colours, shapes and textures, Riniifish uses her dislike of bugs to create beautiful pieces of art.
“Maybe dream is bonsai” by Riniifish
She is always trying to evolve her art by creating at least one bug a day. Being in the NFT community, Riniifish loves being able to share her story, through creation as well as living from those same emotions; to grow, heal & share.
DM: What led you to create your art? Inspires you?
R: As you can see, I create bugs, some weird-looking creatures. For me sometimes they look ugly but they also can look really cute. In real life, I am scared of bugs and I don’t remember when they started showing up in my art.
DM: What keeps you motivated?
R: I have always loved art. I am not someone that can express myself through language and I still want to tell stories, which I am able to do with my art. When I was a young child my family wasn’t really stable, so I didn’t know how to deal with the emotions but I can draw a perfect family on paper. This made me feel safe and it was kind of like my shelter. Growing up into an adult I started to go through complicated personalities inside; anger & depression. I chose to keep creating and to keep putting it all on paper.
DM: How important is mental health now in your art with the time we are currently going through?
R: I still think it's on the way and that it is curing over time but I still have to figure it out more deeply. As an introverted person, I have a hard time and get nervous when speaking with others. I can’t say that I have serious depression but with the help of my friends and my self-teaching, I have gotten much better over time. I still have a lot of anger inside that still bothers me sometimes, so I try my best to put in my art to continuously create.
DM: What brings you the most joy from the NFT community.
R: Doing something that I love and being able to feed myself through that.
“Sleepy Bug” by Riniifish
DIANA
Diana is a visual artist through photography or videography, as well as an activist. They are also a part of “HerStoryDao” which is a collective of artists that are dedicated to preserving and incubating black women artists and black non-binary artists in the crypto art space. They also help run “Towards Utopia” which is an anti-racist/trans-feminist initiative that helps raise money for different organizations that do grassroots work globally but mainly focused in New York.
DM: When did you start creating and taking photos?
D: I started creating when I was very young. My dad minored in art and has always been very into the arts. He went into engineering but raised me sketching and doing a drawing a day; to have it ready for him when he came home from work, so I guess I have been taking art seriously since I was around 9 years old. I started taking photos more seriously last March, of 2020 and had made a film a year before that in July, of 2019.
DM: When did you hear about NFTS? How & Why do you think it important for artists nowadays?
D: My timeline of getting into NFTS was about 3 months ago. My partner had just begun to create 3D art and in that community, they were speaking about it a lot. They then began to talk about it to me nonstop. I then met another artist that had a similar cultural background as myself, Ix (Ixshell) & she convinced me to start minting which was around mid-March. My stuff didn’t sell for a few weeks but during that time I was meeting artists and starting to build community.
It's important for artists who are looking to build a long-term community. To innovate, explore, meet other folks and get a global perspective on art and technology through NFTS.
DM: What do you do when you have a creative block?
D: I spend a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest, as well as, I have a folder of photos that have given me inspirations that I look back at when I have a creative block. Scrolling through Twitter helps when I see a specific part of a photo and it will inspire me to create another piece. I watch films sometimes and it gives me a lot of inspiration, even when it's not typically “artsy” films it has sparked creation because I am a very visual person.
ELENA
Teaching yoga and meditation for the last 22 years, Elena Brower has constantly created with the focus of health and mental wellness.
Ground of Being Full by Elena Brower
Elena is a multi-disciplinary artist from painting, to writing, to spoken word as well as running 2 businesses, “Doterra” & the other being a mentorship. Doterra focuses on the benefits and efficacy of plants for our health through essential oil and wellness products. The mentorship was created to share, build and evolve through a portal that expresses her personal tips and tricks that have been gained over the years. Elena also has created journals called “Practice You” & “Be You” with many beautiful watercolour colours and prompts.
DM: When did Mental Health become a focus? Why?
It would start when I was 15 years old and starting to smoke pot. It took me 30 years for me to quit. On and off, 2 years here, 1 year here, but when my kid was 6-8 years old, I found myself addicted. I was smoking every single morning after my kid was gone to school. I was blowing off my whole professional life. You wouldn’t know it from the outside, but from 9am to 2pm I was constantly fighting with myself, which after those times I would then start my work, I really hated myself. I couldn’t get out of my own way at all.
In 2014, I got sober, I had just turned 44. I finally got to see the effects of marijuana without daily use. I ended up with a body that was addicted to the feeling of being high. I have spent the last 6 and half years clean and sober. I can now manage all the moments of limitations and challenges more easily and readily. Then came the many creative breakthroughs. Learning over these past years that every single challenge is a clue, to love ourselves more, to love ourselves with deep respect.
DM: When did NFTS come into your scope? Importance?
I have known about Bitcoin since 2017. I learned about NFT’s in the past 4 months, so I started listening to different clubhouse rooms. It was such a sweet reception that I had received from the community. It's nice to have a space to move me to keep creating. It has led me to physical projects as well as a lot of direction with my work now. The NFT community feels like 1000’s of years ago when the artists were the most soulful, spiritual people, in any given place. Seeing artists coming together to create a community, I think is a very good sign for the future; so I’m all in.
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