Meet Wisdom Washington | Artist & Forever a Student

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

Hi Wisdom, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am born and raised in California, specifically the Bay Area. I grew up half in Richmond and Hercules, and the rest further inland towards the delta. I would say that where I come from and how I was raised has been integral to how I am today and how I look at the world. Since coming from different corners of the Bay, I grew to love and appreciate everything there is to offer here, from Downtown Oakland to the Antioch suburbs. But to look at my upbringing specifically, I would say it definitely started chaotic and shifted into something that I might consider more firm but an stable environment. With that transition to something with a lot more structure, it did leave that desire to seek the ever changing (that I also constitute to being a Sagittarius) that would manifest into my open need to explore. It feels silly to say that there’s many things I haven’t experienced or seen living in the Bay despite me living here my whole life, but it just means there’s so much possibility in front of me to learn about the place I truly call home.

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.
I enjoying creating illustrations based of things that brings me joy and what I’d like to see. As a black lesbian, I feel like I have to navigate the world in a very specific way, and have to be meticulous in what moves I make if I want to survive in this world. Living isn’t easy for sure, but it can definitely be tiring to having to live out in the world that way, so through my art I am able to focus on what brings me joy, what inspires me, and whatever fleeting thing that has caught my eye that I can make space for with a pen and paper. My dreams and passions that I’ve grown to collect as I grow everyday is what leads me through my artistic path, being open to where it’ll take me. Art is something that is integral to what makes me, me, and is important to who I am. Ever since I was a little kid and found out I could draw, it’s something that’s driven me since that I know I will do til the day I die. And even then, I know I’ll find a way to continue to do so in the afterlife. As with growing up in age and living life, my skillset in my art develops with me, and with developments always comes challenges. These can range from figuring out the pricing to selling my art and how to submit to art shows, how to use my art as a tool for connection, to even something as simple is how to use a new program I wanted to try out. My way for overcoming any challenges in my art, is by connecting back to my desire for it. It burns within me like fuel, and with knowing my end goal will always involve at, it helps me overcome any hurdles by just keeping going. Like I said, I will be doing this til the day I die, so until then, I will just keep making art. Life will always provide hurdles, and I’ve decided to look at it similar to the passage of time; time will keep going and doesn’t wait for anybody. So will I stop and let it pass me? Or will I get up and ask “so what’s next”? Time will keep going and I’ll keep making art along with 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.
My first answer as to where to visit is kinda a silly answer but is genuine, is bring them down to Antioch. Though things are pretty suburban, there is actually some nice nature available, and the one I specifically want to highlight is the Antioch Dunes. Over by the delta there is sand dunes with a little beach area, which houses a lovely ecosystem including a species of butterflies that migrates there. In highschool we used to go often as a field trip and it’s honestly a nice place to be. A next place that’s more exciting is taking them to a drag show. Drag is an art that I’ve started to really appreciate and gravitated towards in the past couple of years, and I’m truly starry-eyed for it. It’s an integral part in the communities I share, and there’s so much to love about it. There’s 3 places I could pick to find a good drag show: San Francisco, Oakland, and Walnut Creek. The drag scenes from each location always have something different to offer that keeps me coming back and I enjoying bringing people along with me. Next place, is anywhere you can see the sunrise or sunset from. I love a good vantage point to just slow down and really appreciate everything that’s around me, whether it’s overlooking the city or taking in the moving waves of the ocean. And if we’re lucky enough, there would be a clear open view of the night sky where I can take the opportunity to show the constellations I still remember.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s so many people that comes to mind when I think of who to thank. I’m someone who will always have a connection to my community, for without them I wouldn’t know where I’d be. But to name a few, I would like to name the people that has been integral to the version of myself I am now, and to the people helping me become the person I wanna be tomorrow. First is my family, but specifically my siblings. I am one of the eldest of 6, and even though we had our differences growing up, as most siblings do, I am thankful for their company then and especially now, and looking forward to continue growing closer with them. The second, is Amadeus, a photographer with a brilliant vision who’s also the production manager of YayAreaThrifts, a rising thrift and production company. Along with helping with the pictures of myself you see here, they’ve been a major help in my pursuit to model and desire to become the jack of all trades to how much art I’m capable of doing. And lastly and certainly not the least, one of my closest friends Lucca. Through all of the years we’ve known eachother, they’ve seen so many different versions of me, some who has grown, who have crashed and burned, and have hit rock bottom, and they have accepted every version with love and patience. There’s many things I don’t think I could’ve done without their encouragement and support, and I can’t thank them enough.

Website: wisdomw.carrd.co

Instagram: cinnadad

Image Credits
Amadeus Medina for the main picture.