Rosebud of the Month March 2019 | 3rd Eye Chakra
3rd Eye Chakra is the Instagram account behind the jaw-droppingly gorgeous digital edits of your faves like Solange, Bbymutha, Rih, FKA Twigs and even our February Rosebud of the Month Yeha Leung
! Their art celebrates the divine beauty of femmes of color. We're very proud to introduce this visionary artist as our March 2019 Rosebud of the Month! Read on for their interview. Art has been my such a big part of my life that it feels like I was just meant to create, in whatever form it was meant to manifest. Art is really my voice and says things I can’t say in real life and I love that. Since I was little growing up in NC I’ve been pretty much ignored socially because of my idiosyncrasies and quite personality. Looking back it was some what of a blessing because I could experiment artistically and express myself in forms other people couldn’t. My imagination was (and still is) pretty overactive and I think that’s why I had such a disconnect with the vast majority of my peers. Even the weird kids thought I was too weird! But now I’m so glad that I really got to develop my skills at an early age because it still feels like I’m that little kid daydreaming about aliens and fashion.
Most of my childhood I didn’t see black people, especially black women, in that sort of wild fantasy setting and it always used to bother me. They were never afforded the opportunity to slay alien queens or discover new worlds and I really wanted to make space for black femmes, so that it could inspire more of us and birth new ideas and creators. It’s really wonderful that my art resonates with so many people and lets me know I wasn’t the only one starving for something that was so necessary.
My biggest inspiration is my sister and mom. They knew and respected that I was a really artistic child and provided an environment for me to blossom, so I’m very grateful for that. As a teenager I was extremely open to any new ideas and concepts I came across, so naturally it manifested itself in my artwork. I love fashion and sci-fi so my affinity for creating androids and aliens is a big part of my aesthetic on social media. Everyone usually knows me for my androids and those are the most requested which is awesome! But because I am who I am I don’t stay in one box for too long so my art is all over the place. I don’t really have a particular “favorite” theme but my personal art consists of everything from witches, mermaids, human hybrids and angels. But the undercurrent of all my edits is strength. Even for my more softer creations I try and bring a form of self confidence and power to the theme of the piece. Black femmes (trans and cis) aren’t seen as powerful autonomous humans by society, so I’m always adamant to give a full spectrum of agency to the subject matter and keep the voice of the piece truthful. Femininity is so powerful and should always be in the forefront in my opinion and I will try my hardest to show people its truth.
