Studio visit with Adeola Lawal 🖼️ ✨
The February MUSE CLUB artist talks creative practice, self-doubt, and more
Welcome to MUSE CLUB studio visits!
We’re kicking things off with the February artist,
Lawal.
Katie: Hi Adea! First off, can you introduce yourself?
Adea: My name is Adeola Lawal.
Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, I have always taken pleasure in creating multifaceted expressions of art. I believe in art as a potent medium of interpersonal communication. I enjoy writing poignant short stories and creating visual art, while staying open to other forms of creative expression.
K: How would you describe your art to someone who’s never seen it before?
A: A playful explosion of colors—it’s vibrant, eccentric.
K: Can you tell us what your creative process look like?
A: I draw inspiration from the very act of living. My inspiration is a meld of my lived experience and my idea of a fantasy world.
K: What themes, emotions, or questions drive your work?
A: I am driven by excitement. I pursue concepts and ideas that excite or scare me.
I like to say that fear is excitement going the wrong way, so I strive to turn my fear around and go where it goes. This mindset has helped me create some of my most beautiful works.
K: What’s a small, unexpected thing that inspires your work?
A: I love to look up and see the sky. While it may seem like such an inconsequential act, it never fails to remind me that there is beauty in the most mundane things.
The sky is one of my biggest and most expansive lovers, and looking up brings me back to the realization of how small and insignificant my worries are. Looking up at the sky reminds me to breathe and just be.
K: How do you navigate creative blocks or moments of self-doubt in your practice?
A: When I find myself in a creative block, I know it’s time to stop thinking about creating. While that might seem counterintuitive, sometimes it’s all I need to do to get back into creative flow.
I think of my creations as individuals of their own. Too much time spent fussing over them might make them feel stifled, so I give them some space. When they are ready they allow me to continue our relationship.
K: What do you hope people take away from engaging with your work?
A: My only desire is that when you interact with or experience my work, you feel something. I always create from a place of feeling, so I hope that my art touches you like it touches me.
If reading a poem I wrote or seeing a painting of mine inspires you to feel even a twinge of something, then I know that you have received my message.
K: What’s the best piece of advice you have for others when it comes to fostering creativity?
A: Approach your creative practice with a touch of whimsy. Allow yourself to play! That’s all it really is, playing.
Do it to please yourself. Create what you wish existed. That way you allow yourself to always be in flow, to fulfill yourself so you can fulfill others.
Want more from Adea?
You can find her public artwork here, short stories here, and join her Substack community here.
That’s all for now.
More soon,
Katie