Meet Trailblazer Ieesha Abdur-Rahman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ieesha Abdur-Rahman.

Ieesha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. I have been drawing ever since I was a kid. I had several notebooks full of sketches and characters that I made up in my head. I didn’t start exploring my artistic abilities until my high school art class. Art was always just something I did when I was bored. I remember when Rihanna dropped “Rated R” in 2009… I sat in my bedroom for hours and sketched the album cover. Outside of my art class, that was the only time I actually made a real effort to pay attention to the details when drawing. And I enjoyed it so much. It was a very fulfilling moment for me. Once I left Chicago to attend college at The Florida A&M University, I put art to the side and focused on obtaining my business degree.

No one in college really knew that I could draw. It was something I wanted to keep to myself. My mother always encouraged me to actually do something with my talent. I always brushed it off because I didn’t think it would be lucrative and I definitely didn’t want it to feel like work. Once I graduated and moved back home, I realized that I didn’t like how my life was playing out. I was working terrible hours, barely eating, feeling extremely lonely and starting to become depressed. I thought job hopping would solve long term problems and I was completely miserable.

At the end of 2014, I started drawing again. This time, it was for therapeutic purposes. I would like to say that my life changed in 2015 because I took an impromptu trip to Michael’s and bought paint, canvas and brushes. I didn’t know what I wanted to create but I knew that I needed to try it out. I created a few paintings (which I think are pretty awful compared to my work now lol) and actually started selling them to family and friends. That gave me the courage to submit my work for a Raw Artists showcase. I had my first showcase in September of 2015. After that, I created more work and sold more work. I was starting to feel like myself again because I was happy as long as I was creating.

Fast forward to 2016, I started to fall back into this dark place. I was still unhappy with my career choices and I was always feeling complacent. My friendships and relationships with some people were struggling and I didn’t know how to cope with all of the growing pains. I made a bold decision to quit my job and move to Dallas, Texas around February. In July, I was jobless and alone in Dallas. I saved money to help me live until I figured something out. I participated in my second showcase that summer. I took my first commissioned piece that fall. I also found a new job. Of course, me being me, I took the job because I was panicking and thought a new city with a new job would solve my career problems. I became more stressed and unhappy. I cannot tell you how many times I sat in my room and cried for hours, maybe even days. My art was finally taking off and I had finally found my niche. I was booking more shows and selling my artwork for a few hundred bucks. But I was still miserable.

November 14, 2017… I will always remember this date. That was the day that I said to myself, “Enough is enough. You have to stop trying to find temporary solutions for long term problems. You have to find your happiness. And if that means you have to go through hell to get it… that’s what you have to do.” I left a very stable and well paid job… I saved $11,000 before I left and made a promise to myself that I would never again compromise my happiness for other people’s satisfaction. I made a promise to myself to fight until creating is what I do full time. I held my first solo art showcase on February 3, 2018. Back in April, I participated in three shows and made a profit of about $1,600 from pure art sales. In previous years, that’s how much I would make in a year from art sales. I’ve been featured in a few magazines & blogs and have built a solid following on social media. I look back on everything and realize that I’ve come a LONG way in such a short amount of time. But I am happy that I decided to take a chance and truly explore the amazing gift that God has given me.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This journey has not been easy… and I like to make sure that those following know that. I have never been the type to sugarcoat anything. Fighting for what you believe in and what you want is never going to be easy. I’ve “quit” art probably 100 times this year. I’ve cried myself to sleep plenty of nights. I’ve doubted myself more times than I can stomach to admit. People have to realize that I am a self-taught artist. I didn’t go to school for this. So, I’m literally learning as I go. And you don’t realize that simple things like figuring out shipping costs or how to respond to inquiries can be extremely intimidating and frustrating. I started out wanting to please everyone and feeling bad if I didn’t accept commission requests. I started to feel like I couldn’t be myself as an artist. And once I found my style I really didn’t want to lose that momentum.

I learned REAL QUICK that learning how to say no will actually get you far instead of hurting you. No, you don’t have to take every request you get. No, you don’t have to paint what others want you to paint. No, you don’t have to take disrespect from those who don’t understand the concept of pricing artwork. I have always been an outspoken woman but I’ve become more confident in standing my ground since I’ve taken art seriously. I don’t want a pretty face to overshadow my talent. I don’t want you to think that it’s ok to complain about my art prices and think that I will compromise my prices to appease you. I spend hours, even days, on sketches alone. There’s no print screening or stencils of my work. I leave my heart on that canvas every time I paint because that’s how I heal myself. So no, you won’t get Ross Art prices (sorry Ross… shrugs) for my work. People will only do what you allow them to do. And I think that with women, especially black women, we try to censor ourselves to prevent us from being put into a stereotypical box.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at a show and a guy friend is sitting at my table and people come up to them and compliment them on my work… lol… and when I tell them that I am actually the artist… I see shocked faces and the typical “wow… really?” responses… as if all dope and amazing artists are men. I’ve even gotten the “you don’t look like an artist” responses. What the hell does that even mean??? Lol… So, I really want to erase this weird narrative of what an artist is supposed to look like along with what we actually create. I’m making a name for myself so that I can show other women that your looks shouldn’t determine how successful you’ll be. I want my art to speak for itself and not because people see a pretty face, so they want to buy art from me. That really irritates me when people do that because my talent is separate from my looks. Don’t buy from me because you think it’ll potentially get my attention for a date or something. Buy it because you actually think my work is dope and that you support the creative movement.

I just want other women to know, no matter their hustle or dream, that staying true to yourself will always be the best route to take. It’s going to feel like hell most times because we live in a society that always wanting to appeal to the masses. But I can guarantee you that your biggest supporters will understand and commend you for your authenticity. Fight for what you want even when it doesn’t seem like you’re getting anywhere. There is always someone watching your journey. I know that I have a long way to go but I also know that I’m working towards something greater than myself…. and now, I realize that everything that has happened to me in life has been preparing me for the moment I can finally be ok with who I was truly meant to be…. a creative…

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Ieesha Naeema – what should we know?
I work primarily in acrylic paint. I started off creating whatever my mind wanted me to create, which really didn’t give me a good idea of my style. In early 2017, I started creating pop art paintings of my favorite music artists. That pop art styled then carried over to my interpretations of black love, black women, and black culture. I am truly happy that I was able to find my niche because it allows me to dig deeper and find ways to push myself artistically. I’ve been in a very dark place for quite some time now and my art projects the feelings I wish I felt in my own life. That’s why my art is always so colorful. I often don’t see that reflected in my own life. It’s sorta like my inspiration to turn my real life into a vibrant one… if that makes sense. But most of my inspiration comes from the music I listen to. So, I’ll hear a song and dissect the lyrics to come up with a theme for a painting. Or I’ll create something based on the overall message of the song, or even the song title. I don’t think my art would be what it is without music. So, I like to pay homage to those who inspire me through my work.

I think I’m most proud of how well I’ve been able to get my name out there. Marketing yourself is so hard to even with the help of social media. You have to show others why you deserve to be a topic of discussion. I went from not wanting to show my work to anyone, to showing my creative process through Instagram videos and photos. I went from barely getting likes on my artwork posts to having over 1,000 people approve of my work. I went from wishing that I could get some very influential people in life to see my work to having those same people see it and comment on it. I am damn proud of being able to constantly pick myself up and keep pushing through while dealing with depression. I always find a way to motivate myself and keep working to get my brand out there. Most importantly, I’ve been able to write my own narrative on how to be “successful” in the art world.

And I think that is what helps set me apart from others. I don’t want people to only see the good side of my journey and the creative world. I need you to see everything because it’s never going to always be good. I’ve had a lot of people thank me for my honesty and the rawness of what I post. At the end of the day, I am human and I have feelings, I want everyone to know that you can be stubborn at times, sad, angry, etc. and still be a bomb ass person.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
I wouldn’t necessarily say my childhood did… but my teenage years definitely did. A few months ago, I reflected back on my life so far and realized that I have generally been unhappy since high school. I’ve had high expectations and I’ve been let down over and over again. From family to friends to romantic interests, etc. I have been disappointed… and I think that now, as a 26-year-old woman, I’ve finally had enough of feeling sad and let down. I had to realize that letting other people control your happiness and dictate how you view life is not healthy. So now, I’m more vocal about how others make me feel or treat me. I don’t tolerate half of the things I would when I was younger. I’m finally doing what I want and not asking for permission or seeking validation. And I think that has given me far more confidence in myself than I could have ever imagined.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ieeshanaeema.squarespace.com
• Email: info.ieeshanaeema@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.am.naeema/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creationsbyina/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ieeshanaeema

Image Credit:
Samuel Randall, Mehgan Clemons

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