@ILYRIKA
 
What’s your favourite color?
Purple. Specifically the cross between lavender and indigo. I find the color purple sooooo beautiful to me, the best combination of both warm and cool.
 
What self care habits do you intertwine into your daily routine?
I love taking my time to do my skin routine while lighting incense. It’s almost like meditating.
 
What's your favourite book? 
The time traveler’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger
 
Who can you go to when you need to get something off your chest?
I usually have a hard time explaining how I feel to the people around me. Letting it all out into my sketchbook helps me take the weight off. I believe that my personality and my art definitely go hand in hand. I can be very brash and harsh with my lines, the way I can be very loud and explicit with my words. However I can also slow down and render delicate shapes into my artwork, that way I can be very sensitive in the way that I feel. 
 
What’s your safe place?
Making art takes me to my safe place regardless of where I am. 
 
Have you ever dealt with anxiety? If so, how do you calm your mind?
Anxiety is a terrible thing that consumes my mind from time to time. Recognizing the problem and coming to terms with the things I can not change and changing the things I can has always helped me. I find that focusing on my breathing helps me slow down and rationalize my thoughts. I also think going on walks and listening to Lauryn Hill’s MTV Unplugged No. 2 album never fails me. 
 
Have you ever gotten yourself out of a dark place? Or have you ever needed to help someone else out? If so, how?
I think we all go through a dark place regardless if we admit to ourselves or not. It’s a part of life and it’s important to roll with the punches. My boyfriend once told me this wise saying that “after every storm there’s a rainbow.”  It’s important to accept that the only permanent thing in our lives is change. 
 
Do you think social media affects your mental health or has any other negative impacts on you? If so, how do you best deal with it?
I believe that social media can be toxic like any other thing in our lives. It’s beautiful and dangerous however it brings everyone together at a click of a finger. It has its pros and cons but I’ve learned to become more unapologetic with who I am  on and off camera. I view social media as a tool rather than an extension of myself. I believe it’s important to keep a level headed mind and to not take everything you see to heart. 
 
What’s your biggest fear?
Not living to my fullest potential and losing the people I love most.
 
What’s the biggest change you can identify within yourself in the past year?
I grew immensely in finding my purpose as an artist. I realized that as an artist it’s important to know what your mission is and the message you want to put out into the world.  I want people to notice themselves through my work. I would like to be the reason they are reminded of all the things they love and hate. I want someone to look at one of my pieces and be reminded to call someone they love or to bring comfort to someone in pain. Most importantly I want my art to remind people to remember how to feel.
 
What’s one of the hardest things you’ve had to go through in life? How did you get through it?
Struggling with my mental health since I was very young caused me to feel very unfulfilled with my life. Nothing ever seemed enough.  However burying myself in my art has helped me heal throughout the years. Regardless of what you do in your life, I always found that finding a productive outlet always helps things come to light. One of my favorite quotes is “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future” - Oscar Wilde
 
What advice would you give to your 16 year old self?
Oh boy are you in for a rideeee. 
1. love yourself first
2. apply pressure!!! never stop working 
3. being humble and kind to others will take you far in life 
 
If you could change one thing within society, what would that be?
Greediness, I believe that the true plague of our human society is our need for more. Greed is a curse that blinds society with money and prestige at the expense of your own health and happiness.