Today we’d like to introduce you to Fredricka Fonta.
Hi Fredricka, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story began many moons ago, sounds
“Woo woo “ as they say, right, but It’s the truth. Not just for me, but for all of us. I think we forget that our journey begins before we even make it to the planet. I was an artist, even before I realized it. I can remember being a little girl in California, on one summer visit, and seeing a flower that I had never seen before. I remember thinking so deeply about that flower, how it came to be, why it was the color it was, why its petals were shaped the way they were, and on and on. I didn’t realize it then, but that was my artist brain focused so heavily on composition and creation. We have all, always been becoming, and there will never be a time and space we occupy where we are not becoming. At age 7, I won an art competition for a watercolor painting of a flower. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Our lives are threads; we just have to follow them. The earliest memory I have of being a writer and poet was at age 9, but it was an extension of the way I processed seeing the flower at age 3. It is about feeling or thinking something, and trying to understand it. I have always wanted to know the answers to things, so I think my desire to understand what I experience leads me to try and sort it out on canvas, the microphone, the dance studio floor, and currently on paper as a poet. My book Side Effects is a vulnerable expression of what we become when the lines of love and life intersect. It features 33 works of poetry and photography.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We all have struggles, but some of them define us more. The most defining struggle expressed in my book Side Effects is the ability to let go and accept people for who they are, not what you dream them to be. To enter a phase of life where you are free enough to be vulnerable for your own sake and no one else’s. To accept that two things can be true at the same time: you can love something or someone, but release it. I will be 47 in a few weeks, and the gift I give myself is the unburdening of my soul from fear, and I wish everyone the same. In the absence of fear, we are free.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a singer/songwriter, author, painter, photographer, business owner, and dancer. I’m currently working on my album that will also be a collection of spoken word, highlighting lyrics from my current book Side Effects and other poems. I’m proud of all of my work, but not based on public reception or exposure. I’m proud of the fact that in spite of all the obstacles that try to beset me, my art is what protects me. It is what gives me my strength, and I refuse to put it down. I’m proud of my purity in being an artist, and what that looks like in every season of my life. Sometimes being an artist is a challenge, because as any artist knows, it consumes you, but life happens too, and you have to try and figure out how to walk and chew gum at the same time. You have to live and take care of yourself, and art alone doesn’t always do that. Making time to create after long days of working in other spaces to keep the lights on, or battling people’s judgment of the life they think you should be living, it can all wear you out if you let it. Being able to be an artist day after day, trial after trial, that in itself is success. I’m also proud to be resourceful; I’ve learned how to use my talents to help others, and that has allowed me to have a business, helping creatives and entrepreneurs grow their dreams.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I won’t quit! There is something deep inside me; I know it’s God and the mission He has for my life, but even in knowing that, sometimes the humanity in me wants a break, yet my spirit calls so deeply to me that I can’t ignore it. My connection to God is truly my superpower. I’m anointed for what I do. I also want to see others win. We live in a world that champions division and competition, and tells the story of “there can only be one”, but that is a false narrative. I champion everyone living in their purpose, peacefully. There are so many amazing things on the horizon for all of us, and I pray whoever reads this remembers that nothing lasts forever, so if you are having a hard time, hold on because it will pass. A new day will dawn. You can follow me on my journey by staying connected to my email list on my website. Just Google Fredricka Fonta and you will find me. Peace,Love, and Blessings.
Pricing:
- Paper Back Book $37
- Hard Cover Book $44
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fredrickafonta.square.site/
- Instagram: @fredrickafonta
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fredrickafonta
- Other: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/side-effects-fredricka-fonta/1147299145?ean=9798317647704
