Arylic Joy: On a Mission to Create Art and Chase Joy
Acrylic Joy: The Creation Story
It all started with snack food … and snack food t-shirts. My dad, Bruce, owned a vending business in St. Louis, Missouri. During the 1990s and early 2000s when not in his work garb, my dad was repping t-shirts with snack logos on them, accompanied by white high-top Converse tennis shoes and aviator sunglasses — -wayyy before they were cool again.
My brother and I would try to persuade him to change his style. We just didn’t understand his strange look … until the hipsters were born … then it all made sense. He was representing his brands and his personal style and no one could stop him. He just knew better. He has always been himself.
The iconic Bruce tee was a wacky Almond Joy shirt. All of my extended family can still sing you the slogan that was one it “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t” because he was always wearing this shirt. In fact, I had a matching one.
My mom, Deb, also had a hand in my early t-shirt making days. She is an infamous artist and art teacher and throughout my childhood had groups of young people together making art. In the summer, we painted, sprayed and dyed t-shirts.
Beyond t-shirts, Deb also gave me art. After 10 years of hardly any drawing and painting I returned to a painting class in June of 2019.
“More creative work is one way to save the world…we creative people “tend to be more sensitive to feelings of others and to fluctuation in the social fabric around them. At the same time, they are often less equipped to deal with those things. The result can be withdrawl from the world. Defense mechanisms, depression. Creative production is not only a way to avoid these pitfalls, but a way to connect those people to the rest of the world” (Questlove, Creative Quest). Questlove said it best. I was depressed and had feelings that I had never experienced before, and somehow found painting. Beginning to paint again felt brand new. I felt I could control and control this medium in a whole different way.
Lastly, on the t-shirt movement, I was also inspired by the graphic t-shirts that comedian and TV host Chelsea Handler would accessorize with on her shows. Her outspoken stance on politics and humanitarianism were displayed on her fashionable t-shirts was this was the final stroke of inspiration to start producing words on clothes and art that matter.
Acrylic Joy is designed for people who give a damn. Please enjoy.
Get yours at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/acrylicjoyprints/
