Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeribai Andrew-Jaja
Hi Jeribai, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in the South-south of Nigeria (Rivers state). After my high school, I was awarded a study abroad scholarship which made me relocate to the U.S,A for my university education where I earned a Bachelors of science in computer science and a Masters in Cyber Security. Despite being a scholar in the sciences, I have always been very keen on the creative arts. I grew up drawing cartoons and comic characters with friends, playing soccer, and all the outdoorsy stuff. Of all my hobbies, drawing always stood out and stuck with me. Most especially, I found a special interest in creating photographic drawings, my attention to details grew as i aspired to tell visual stories of my life experiences.
Although i majored in sciences, I always kept drawing to keep my childhood passion alive. This pure passion grew into an intense desire to tell my stories using pencil as a choice medium because thats the tool i was used to. Now, I don’t like to say i draw, i like to say i create emotions on paper.
After college, i started my career in IT as a Software developer and then IT Analyst. During this period (2018), i got diagnosed with a skin condition called Vitiligo. This is an autoimmune non-life threatning condition that creates lighter skin spots across your body. I wasn’t comfortable with the spots that had spread unevenly across my face, insecurity set in and for the first time i applied make up to conceal my spots. My self confidence was affected but i couldn’t let this phase pass without documenting it through art. In 2020 went on a cathartic journey with a goal to accept these new changes. I set out to create a portrait of my face as a start of a series titled : Black metamorphosis, my melanin journey. I spent about 200 hours studying and drawing every single spot on my face as a way of acceptance. This journey was very therapeutic and in the end, i used my online platform to reveal the art and tell my healing story. This was one of my most empowering moments and i was overwhelmed by how much this courageous step encouraged many people. My one message was, if you don’t love yourself, who will?
I was so inspired that i created more drawings in the same series expressing my vulnerability during my self acceptance process and i had a decent body of work. Coincidentally, in the fall of 2021 i was invited for the Bayou ARt show in houston, texas and while i didnt have experience with outdoor artshows, i was ecstatic to show my work no matter how shabby my display looked then. As long as i had a body of work i was proud of is what mattered to me. I was so thrilled for such an oppurtunity to share my story and to my greatest surprise i won the best of the ART show at that weekend. It was unbelievable.
This very situation opened a lot of doors for me. I got vital advice from other professional artists on how to apply for more shows and how to improve my display. I was immediately hooked and felt very interested in this path. I applied for another show for the following year (2022) to prepare for a better display and to my greatest surprise I did win another BEST of show as an emerging artist in the MAin street Fort worth ART fair and had my first live TV interview. It was at this point I knew there was a very big potential and I, for the first time considered I could be a full time professional working artist because of this potential. I went ahead to register my business name.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The mental shift and uncertainty to put my IT career on a hold for my ART career was my greatest obstacle. However, this journey i was to embark on, others had successfully threaded the path. I spent a few more months of 2022 doing a handful of part-time shows and asking a thousand questions to a few professional artist that were kind enough to advice me. I also found a few mentors that provided sound advice. After my few run of shows, i could tell i have an audience and a market if i dedicated more time to my craft and business.
Still with so much uncertainty, and with support from my wife, I took the leap, put my IT on a hold and I decided to invest all my savings and time for five months preparing to start 2023 as a full time artist primarily doing Art shows. I purchased a minivan to haul my artworks and display. I applied for shows across the country and prepared as best as i could and in the end, it was one of the best years of my life. It prove to me that I had made the right decision and i was very proud of all that i accomplished as a full time artist.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I create hyper-realistic drawings that tell visual stories and express beautiful emotions. I am inspired by my childhood and life’s constant positive changes. I mostly create with charcoal and pastels but beginning to explore with acrylics etc. what sets me apart from most is the raw emotions you can feel from my drawings due to its hyper- realism. That’s why I say, I don’t draw but I capture emotions on paper. I currently love using butterflies in my artworks because it symbolizes my positive growth/ metamorphosis which I am very proud of.
How do you think about luck?
As they often say, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Luck has played a major role in my Art practice. I have been privileged to have several live TV moments as TV stations covering the ARt show stumble upon my work and are blown away. Such Live TV interviews has brought a lot of clients who only came to the show because they saw me on TV and i have made great sales like that. Also, the very first show that i was privileged to win an award brought me some Art professional friends that gave me more vital information that changed my game for the better. I have been privileged to meet people from all works of life, social and economic class. These are folks i wouldn’t meet if i weren’t a full-time artist. I feel extremely lucky to get into top Art shows across the country and i do not take any of these for granted. Imagine this, I create a charcoal drawing of stories of my life, a total stranger resonates with my artwork and purchases it. Just like that, multiple times? I feel extremely lucky to have developed a skill that valuable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andrewjajaart.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/kiingjaja
