Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaima Akarue.
Kaima, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My background is pertinent to this chapter. 18-wheelers and Mexican food trucks decorated my streets. Not much going on but it is home. The east side of Houston afforded me opportunities to explore life through different lenses. I grew up in an area that wasn’t very affluent but still developing. I inherited privilege through my white mother and a rich sense of culture through my Nigerian father.
My initial aspirations stemmed from writing. I love words. After four”ish” years of college (need not to mention that semester of mistakes) and then a slight stint of self-discovery, I found myself in a classroom full of other people’s children. What began as a plot to acquire as much vacation time as possible, soon turned into a quest for purpose.
While every day isn’t rewarding, hell… even enjoyable, at the core, these connections are everything to me. Building relationships became the staple to my purpose, prompting me to seek a masters in counseling. The year of transition (as I refer to it) was when it all began, the itch for something more. What that was… I wouldn’t know until a year later.
The summer of 2018, anxiety and depression hit me hard. I hid it with a smile and threw myself into the great escape that is Hennessy and musical beats. The monotony of it all was a fantastic lie. After an intense bout of heart palpitations, I picked up my pencil again and faced my depression head on. Art saved me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’d love to say the haters motivated me (because that’s cool to say) but the reality is… I’ve had so much support. Definitely, I am by far my biggest struggle. While art is a huge escape, it also is a source of anxiety. The duality is pretty challenging, but I’m addicted to the process.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Well, as an artist my brand is me. I specialize in graphite pencil drawings. I would describe my style as realism with a smooth yet active stroke. It’s crazy the juxtaposition between my drawings and my paintings as my paintings are very active.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I want to organize my first solo show.
Contact Info:
- Email: kaimamarie@gmail.com
- Instagram: Kaymah_draws
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