Meet Kayla Eloise | Multidisciplinary Artist

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

Hi Kayla, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I didn’t always have the confidence to pursue a career as an artist. When my friends and family encouraged me to offer creative services I dragged my feet, thinking I wasn’t experienced enough. Imposter syndrome settled in quickly. I had no background in finance or running a business, so I was quite intimidated and sorely discouraged. But after a while, I realized that there are so many people doing what I do with no experience at all and profiting from it. So why couldn’t I? For as long as I can recall, I have always had a passion for all things art. The people around me could see that and saw enough value and appreciation for what I could do to ultimately entrust me to bring their ideas to life. From paint to poetry and DIY to graphic design, my life has always been full of creations. It’s a part of who I am so it just felt right, I just had to believe in myself and my talent the way other people already had.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am the most proud of my journey as an author and poetess. I’ve been writing since I was 11 but I’ve always been afraid to share my poetry because it tended to be kind of dark, it was never positive. So I didn’t want people to read it and become concerned about me. It wasn’t until recently that I was even able write more uplifting poetry.

During the pandemic I really struggled with depression and anxiety, and I almost didn’t survive it. The idea for the book began in October 2022, when I opened up about my experience on an IG post. I’m generally a private person but that post was really a way for me to disregard my anxiety, I just wanted to take away the power it had over me. When people started opening up to me, and I couldn’t believe how many people related to me and were moved to share. So I thought, maybe I should share my poetry. “My Favorite Color is Yellow” was born.

Being as though I had never written a book before, I faced a lot of challenges in my decision to self publish the book. But I’m so proud of the way I educated myself and powered through in order to accomplish this major project. Researching how to format a manuscript, clarifying certain unfamiliar terminology ie. Prelude, prologue, preface, because to me those all just meant “intro.” lol
Writing the back matter, which is the book description and author bio. But the biggest challenge for me was working with Amazon KDP. As a self publishing author who is very meticulous about her art, there were some quality concerns that sometimes were just out of my control. But all in all it was a humbling, yet exciting experience.

What sets this poetry book apart from others in my opinion are two things. 1: Each poem has a full page, full color illustration to really capture the essence of the poem. This was an opportunity for me to include my creativity through visual art as well as words. 2: It’s not just collection of poems, really, it’s a memoir written in poems. As I was going through years worth of poetry, I decided to arrange them in a way that could tell my story. The honest story of a young woman’s struggle to conquer the darkness of depression.

Each poem portrays a different emotion or realization within my personal experience and does so in order of occurrence. The beautiful thing about this book is that even though it’s told the viewpoint of a young black woman, the majority of the themes and messages found within are universal and there’s something that everyone can relate to in it.

My work as an artist is raw, vulnerable and authentic. It also ignites a sense of community and understanding among people whose brains are trying every day to convince them that they are alone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Pittsburgh is a small city with big city energy, and it’s evolving every day. New and exciting things are constantly popping up in every nook of the city. I’ve lived here my whole life and I have to admit I wouldn’t be the best person to show you around. But I have enjoyed a good girls night at PA Market’s second floor wine library located in the Strip District. There are tons of things to do in “The Strip.” Local souvenir shops, tea shops, food markets, as well as activities too.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My close family and friends. Including my hardworking mother who taught me hustle and my wonderful husband Quentin, who has continually proven to be the fire that keeps me going. He is always been so encouraging and supportive every step of the way.

Alumni Theater Company in Pittsburgh, an organization dedicated to encouraging and providing the community and opportunity for young black performers to grow and thrive.

Website: https://Kaylakreates.com

Instagram: @_kaylakreates

Image Credits
N/A, I own the rights to all photos.