Meet Ivy Ebanks | Actress, Model & Blogger

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

Hi Ivy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I chose to pursue an artistic/creative career for many reasons, but most importantly because I want to inspire people to live colorfully and uncoventionally. As long as you’re not harming yourself or others in the process, do something that makes your eyes water and heart flutter EVERY DAY.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For a long time, back in college, I struggled with routine. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of waking up for the next forty years and doing the same thing everyday. I’m not a robot and I didn’t want to spend the majority of my life working towards someone else’s goals. As a child, I was always dancing and singing, but I was shy so I would do it behind closed doors. I was in Theater and Drama Club for most of my middle and high school years and had considered pursuing acting in college, but I was scared I wasn’t good enough or that no one would like me because I’m dark skinned. Stupid excuses looking back on it. I knew I was depressed in college and I couldn’t stay there. So, I asked myself, what can I do that I enjoy and will also allow me to sustain myself and my lifestyle? What can I do that will allow me to do something different everyday?

The simple answer is being a freelance artist, the complex answer is playing in the Barney Bag. Let me explain. If you watched Barney growing up or have child siblings, nieces or nephews, you’d probably watch the show with them. There’s a part of the show that only happened on occasion called, “The Barney Bag”. It even has a theme song. It’s this colorful, magical bag that has gizmos, gadgets, arts and crafts. All these fun things inside of it. The idea was that with your imagination you can create something cool from the Barney Bag. So, me playing in my Barney Bag simply means tapping into one of my several talents to create something new, cool and different on any given day. And that’s what I’ve been mastering on this creative path.

I started doing this via freelancing back in 2016 which I knew nothing about and (badly) threw myself into it. I was doing everything. Catering jobs, on call jobs, independent contractor work via staffing agencies, brand ambassador gigs, Postmates, Lyft, Instacart, you name it. If it allowed me to make my own schedule, I was on it. I soon came to realize that with the gig economy, you’re expected to work overtime for pennies. (More than 40 hrs a week, under minimum wage). So I ended up in the trap again of working for someone else, was able to make my own schedule and do something different each rising this time, but not making enough money. Even with all the jobs that I had because I wasn’t being consistent.

Once I started to be more consistent in one or two of my talents that’s when I started to yield more results. I quickly noticed my struggle with routine stemmed from my lack of consistency. I was doing too much simultaneously so I didn’t have much time to focus on one or two skills at a time. I told myself just focus on acting and modeling for a couple years and see what happens. If I like it, keep going, if I want to do something else, go back to the Barney Bag. And that’s what I did. I started on small projects (student films, industrial videos) moved into commercials and a few music videos, did local fashion shows, then I had my first lead role in a short independent film, got signed to several agencies on the northeast, did print shoots for local brands, started getting more call backs, became SAG eligible (although one of my agencies told me not to join yet.) Things were going swell, then boom, COVID hit. I had to go back to the Barney Bag and many others did in a sense too.

Today, my creative path looks like a lot of modeling, writing, food and self care. I get to work from home so I have much flexibility in my schedule. Getting to this point was DEFINITELY not easy (my IG says otherwise), but that’s what social media is for to make it look easy and good. I had to cut ties with former friends and family that were not supportive, I lost friends that told me I wasn’t on their level. I was in-between homes, in-between jobs and most of that was from, again, inconsistency and realizing I had a victim mentality. Once, I figured out how to hold myself accountable and reflect on my words and actions that led me to any particular situation, I started to do better. I started therapy and became better at making my own schedule. Covid allowed me to save a lot more and help me get rid of a lot of debt. I forgave many people that never apologized to me and learned how to engage and change my thoughts, so I would act better and eventually be better.

For the upcoming year, I most excited to implement the knowledge I learned financially during the pandemic, working more on vlogging and my YouTube channel, getting signed in other major cities and dancing which MANY of my followers don’t know I can actually do, so it will be fun to surprise them.

I want people to know that whatever you do in life, some part of it will be difficult, but the hard times are only temporary and you have to love it enough to see it through. Do what you love even if you don’t make money from it, if it brings you joy make the time for it.

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.
Funny story, I’ve actually never been to LA, but I do have a folder in my “Saved” posts on Instagram of the things I would like to do once I finally touch down. I’m from a place where it’s cold six to eight months out of the year so just being able to be outside in weather that’s above 40 degrees on average is a blessing for me.

I’ve never been on a ferris wheel and haven’t been to a fair or carnival since I was a child so I would definitely go to the Santa Monica Pier and have a carnival day or do a photoshoot in the House of Mirrors.

I’ve always wanted to go through the sunroof of a car on Pacific Coast Highway at dusk blasting “King City” by Majid Jordan and then do a dance video with the car on the beach.

From other friends that have already moved to or visited LA, Venice Beach always looks popping and we would rollerskate on the boardwalk.

We would then go to Sustain LA to pick up some all natural, sustainable self care items after a long day of rollerskating in the sun.

The foodie in me has bookmarked several food spots for when I land. I’ve been following, Popping Yolk Cafe in Hacienda Heights. My friends and I are diehard fans of Insecure so any restaurant featured on the show is definitely a go to such as, Stuff I Eat in Inglewood,and Earl’s on Crenshaw in Leimert Park.

Lastly, I would love to visit Runyon Canyon so we can get the best city views.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are several people that deserve a little credit in my story. If I had to pick three (3) people it would be my younger sister, Alicia, my seventh grade home room teacher, Angela Clement, and my recent partner, Jontain McClain also knowns as rapper and director, LawJQ.

My sister, Alicia is three years younger than me and is the realest person I know and my biggest fan. She’s one of a small select few that actually get and know me. I don’t have to have any walls up with her and if I do, she quietly takes them down. When we were kids we watched A LOT of America’s Next Top Model and she would always recreate shoots and runway practice from the show with me. I can confidently say she was one of the first people to actually breathe life into the idea of me being a model. She’s super analytical so when we would practice poses from the show, she was my Mr. J telling me what to do better. Her support is unmatched.

My middle school home room teacher Angela Clement is this fiery, petite Louisiana woman that again kept it real and was always on our side. I grew up in Mattapan, what our newspapers would call an “urban area” in Boston. They built this new middle school in our neighborhood complete with a community center and many people at the time in Boston thought the little brown kids in the area were going to run it into the ground. Ms. Clement didn’t think like that. She always spoke life into us and told us we were better than what people thought of us. Whenever anyone in our class started to act out in a way that didn’t align with the highest parts of ourselves, she would lecture the entire class. To me, she was holding us to a higher standard because she wanted us to know that’s what the world would expect from a class of black and brown children. At the time, I felt clueless when she would go on these bouts because no one had ever taken the time to explain this to me and to this day I appreciate her for that.

And lastly, the revolutionary himself, LawJQ. I met him on IG back in 2017 and it’s been a helluva ride since. At the time, I was still figuring out how to do something different everyday and love it and he taught me about consistency, integrity and balance. He would work full time then come home and stay up until 3am working on a script for his music video or writing lyrics for his next song. I never understood or knew how he had the energy to do it, but I soon found out that he didn’t always have the strength to work on his craft into the wee hours of the morning. With only a few hours of sleep under his belt too. But he did it everyday because he knew it would get him closer to no longer having to work for someone else anymore. He went from performing at local art shows in basements, to having a song with Black Ryno and DJ Pain 1 and next month opening up for Termanology and Chris Rivers. He not only worked harder, but smarter and if he ever has an opportunity to put me on he does. I actually starred in his music video for his most recent single, “Player.” He always keeps his word and never makes me feel left out. And I admire his discipline because I need some, lol.

Website: https://www.ivyebanks.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivymebanks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IvyE91

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVtIQJSXFqeKEWqZsMzW4yA

Other: Imdb and NEMG: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9046459/ https://www.nemg.com/divisions/female-31-plus/portfolios/ivy-ebanks

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