Meet Sherrae (Kehtten) Rucker | Visual Storyteller & Post Production Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sherrae (Kehtten) Rucker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sherrae (Kehtten), where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from Topeka, a relatively small town in Kansas. The slow paced lifestyle and being afro-indigenous in middle America allotted me plenty of alone time. Those many moments of solitude allowed my imagination and creativity to flow freely. I would get inspired by anything but particularly by nature and sound. Growing up I had time to look closely at the little details, the veins in a leaf, the texture of a moth wing, the hush of the wind through the grasses. I would spend hours watching the clouds go by. Or listening to music and watching the colors, shapes and textures that I see with my synesthesia. I consider slowing down like this a necessity and a gift and I still try to make time for it.

Despite these beautiful details my hometown is small with a dying job market and has a noticeable drug problem. I began to daydream of a life that was less bleak and more exciting pretty early on. I’d often get swept up in the glamorous drama of movies like 13 Going on 30 or The Devil Wears Prada, which is what eventually led me to my career path in the entertainment industry.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My main mediums these days are photography and post production. What makes my work unique is the influence of music as a visual aspect. Since I see sounds as color, textures and shapes, listening to an album or song greatly influences my creative projects. It’s a wonderful process to capture the energetic signature and messaging of a musicians work as a visual artist. I often weave elements of music, nature, and storytelling together in subtle ways that keep me inspired and the viewer engaged.

Becoming a fulltime artist was a long road. I will keep it short but I originally started down the path of going into medicine, but when I decided to follow my calling life became MUCH more enjoyable. It was really difficult in my first few years as an artist to shift the way I think and problem solve. In medicine, everything is black in white, but artistic expression lives in the grey area. I moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago and it was pretty turbulent trying to carve out a name as a Black non-binary person in a space that is so extraordinarily exclusive. After some time developing my voice as an artist in Chicago, I moved to LA last year.

Something that I’ve learned on my journey is that if you follow your heart/calling it will be the path of least resistance. Even though it will be scary and certainly have its challenges, what’s meant for you will come! I’d like people to understand that as an artist I’m compelled to create not only for self investigation but to promote connectivity between people of all backgrounds through highlighting some common threads of the human experience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ideally, I like to start my day being in nature, so taking a walk along Bluff Creek Trail is a great start, it’s super accessible and beautiful.

Then It’s always fun to go to the beach, to keep things easy and light I rent a bike and enjoy the sun and people watch as I bike along the through Venice to Santa Monica. There are some really good fish tacos along the pier if I’d want to grab lunch.

It’s a little bit of a drive from the west side but worth it for the atmosphere and views, but I like to hang at Soho Warehouse and lounge around by the pool and watch the sunset over the city.

DAMA Fashion District Restaurant & Bar is a delicious small plates restaurant that I absolutely recommend.

Then, if I were to wrap things up back on the Westside, I’d go to the Alley cocktail lounge, it’s such a vibe!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m immensely grateful for the Creative Futures Collective program for connecting me with my mentor Genevieve Lawrence and through her network I later met my mentor Bec Manson. It’s hard to know where to start, these relationships are invaluable to me. Every time I think about the impact they’ve made in my life I’m flooded with gratitude and emotion. They are both such incredible, positive people who really help me believe in myself and that the world is still a good place.

Gen is so open, kind, and intelligent. Her professional expertise has really helped me out in countless ways that could have caused me endless anxiety if I had to figure it out on my own. She has also helped me feel genuinely welcomed here as the new kid in LA!

Bec is whip smart and outrageously talented. They have such an incredible story and have achieved so much, it’s truly inspiring to me. I first reached out to Bec just hoping to get a few insights on how to get a foothold in the industry. They were kind enough to offer to mentor me, it still blows my mind when I think of the projects we’ve worked on at their award winning company The Post Office NYC.

Website: https://www.lynximageryla.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrae-rucker/

Image Credits
Headshot: Amber Estherpeace Doerr
Sherrae Rucker – Lynx Imagery