Meet Alexandria Gray | Resin Artist & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexandria Gray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandria, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I pursued my creative career because as a kid, I’ve always been creative especially with writing & creative projects. I actually had to do kindergarten twice because I didn’t speak, I just wrote. All through school from then to highschool I’ve always created, & wanted more knowledge of other creative endeavors. Fast forward to my resin art business that’s been established for a year & a half now; I started that to reflect myself & other creatives, from healing pieces to home decor. I love what I do. I mostly started it for my siblings though, they inspire me & I want to inspire & motivate them, so every creative endeavor is a legacy that’ll be left for them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I’m most proud of is the fact that no matter my life circumstances, I still prosper in all that I do, with God in the center. I’m super excited about an upcoming class of adolescence I have the honor to teach. I’ll be teaching them resin art, & hopefully how to genuinely write out their feelings. I’ve always loved children, that’s always been my main ministry point so I’m extremely excited about that all together. As a kid, my mom always wrote, from poetry, to stories, to daily journaling she’s always been the writer so truthfully she’s always been the motive behind my writing. Growing up in poverty didn’t include resources I needed to elevate to where I am now, so it definitely wasn’t easy getting to where I am. I’m not where I want to be but I’m exactly where I need to be during this phase of life. There were plenty sleepless nights; trying to piece together everything so that it makes sense, there were plenty losses; mentally, financially & personally. Times I didn’t eat, not necessarily because I couldn’t but because I couldn’t take my mind off my plans. For me , I overcame those challenges & all the others by changing my mindset, I also knew I couldn’t ever leave my siblings in this world like that so with all that I realized it’s only one thing to do ; break these generational curses. Some lessons I’ve learned along the way is to not be so trusting, always loving but with caution, & to enforce my boundaries, I know so much about patience now.. it’s ironic. I’ve also learned that business is business & I have to separate business from personal life. I think the biggest lessons for me right now is time & money management. What I want the world to know about my story is that ; it doesn’t matter your background, you can heal from that ; you can transition into someone much more greater than the person you were caring trauma, I want people to learn from my mistakes & to know when it gets bad it’ll get good, you just gotta go through Hell first; that’s where you gain most strength . As far as my brand(s) I want people to know that it’s for us; as a community; everything symbolizes unity & love. I want them to know that even in the midst of storms there’s beauty. & it’s okay to go a different route, shape your own way (literally because I do custom pieces too) we can always find a way out of no way. For the most part; all my art signifies resilience & vulnerability.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So first things first, I hope they come here on a Tuesday because we’ll start at the circle poetry night; where there’s like minded people, small businesses to support & artists to meet. It’s my favorite place because everyone there inspires me. The following Wednesday morning we’ll go to 1 of my 2 favorite brunch restaurants ; breakfast at Barney’s or Nouveau; they both have bottomless mimosas & shrimp & grits which all tastes amazing & the customer service is great. That evening we’ll sip in paint in the city. Thursday we’ll go to my favorite closeby waterfall ; cascade reserve after that we’ll go to the Georgia aquarium it’s always nostalgic to me. Friday night we’ll probably check out Apache ; Friday shows are always exceptional & I love they’re food so much. Saturday we’ll go to little 5 points to thrift & support artists & small businesses. That night we’ll go to club Escobar or something around that area. Sunday we’ll wine down at the high art museum & then Monday we’ll just adventure from Andretti to Roswell’s waterfall , of course try new food (slutty vegan is my go to) & probably end climbing Stone Mountain.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
So, as far as names there’s so many; especially the connections I’ve cultivated over the last 2 years, I’m gonna keep it simple, my parents, my siblings are the main ones, they’ve always been there for me, supporting me, motivating me & pushing me more into my purpose. I wanna thank my friends too especially, even my distant friends, we’re all growing together but differently , I thank them for putting up with my shit cause sometimes I be trippin but it’s all love. On all sides even through anger. I especially wanna thank my small but more than enough community at the circle poetry night, each & every one of them inspire me in ways more than they know. I always want to thank my relationship I had over the last 3 years, he invested in me, motivated me to pursue something new, & showed me different perspectives.

Instagram: @hellxkat & @hellkatkreations

Twitter: @allixkat

Facebook: Alexandria Gray