Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabella, Raven, Chass Gray-ross, Minor, Tiner
Isabella, Raven, Chass, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Chassidy:
I have always known that I was meant to create something. I can remember getting in trouble for talking in class or doodling on all of my papers during lessons. It’s not that I believed learning was unimportant, but my mind was always filled with dreams of doing something great.
2020 was not only a pivotal for the world, but one for me as well. From boredom to heartbreak’s.. I began walking in my creative “bag” and I haven’t looked back since.
Raven:
I was born and raised in St, Louis, MO. I knew I was creator as a young kid, making videos and making fun skits with my friends and cousins. I’m a music artist and photographer. I began making music in 2019 and have been expressing myself in an authentic way congruent to my self love and growth in spirituality. Photography has been my passion since 2017, but it was in the spring of 2023 that I began dedicating myself to it with focus and consistency. Since then, I have been refining my skills and building a foundation with the goal of becoming a full-time photographer, specializing in creative portraits, fashion, and editorial work.
Izze:
I’m 22 years old. I’ve lived all my life in Saint Louis. As a child I always wanted to be a scientist. Being an artist wasn’t on my mind at all until my sophomore year. My best friend decide we were going to be rappers because…why not!
Covid hit my senior year in high school and prohiome from having a prom or graduation. So just like that I left school one day and never came back.
I never liked school anyway so I didn’t go to college. I invested 150$ into a camera to ahoot my own music videos and most of my free time into finding out where all the creatives in my city were.
I stumbled upon this event called trap art and saw a guy with a camera making money from taking some girls pictures. I was broke so I decided to copy the hustle.
The next month I ran into a guy who throws a lot of shows in Saint Louis. Started taking photos at all his shows and meeting other creatives and taking their photo’s
Now I mostly take photos and videos and wanted a place to show off my artwork.
So I came up with the core and ask my friends to help birth this idea.
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?
Raven: It has not been a smooth road the whole time, there have been multiple seasons of doubt, depression and anxiety around creating my art. After finding Christ, I feel like I have been able to be renewed in my creations and executing and embracing my art in a bold and innovative way.
Chassidy: It’s been pretty bumpy along the way, but hope is not lost.
I’ve experienced heartbreak, substance abuse, job loss(2), multiple totaled cars, financial strain, mental health crisis, hospitalization etc
Izze:
I think my biggest challenge would be staying confident and learning to trust god.
My mom always told me the most important thing in life is a relationship with god.
And as a follwer of Jesus sometimes that walk can get pretty rough.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our goal is to help cultivate authenticity by showing vulnerability and to provide a theatrical immersive experience that cultivates creative and artistic curiosity of one’s own person experiences.
What sets us apart from others is that (1)We want God to get the glory out of everything we put our hands to.
What sets us apart is that (2) We see, promote and support the underdogs.
We want to impact society by creating a safe space for creatives to showcase their work, and to feel seen in a oversaturated field… Welcoming anyone who is anywhere in their journey.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Raven: When I starting taking photography seriously, I began reaching out to seasoned photographers through IG DMs and email just stating that I am new and looking to shadow and learn, my mindset was what’s the worst that could happen? They say no or don’t respond. But the best thing to happen is that they feel honored and excited to help a newcomer and that was my experience! I was blessed to have the opportunity to shadow four professional photographers and learning from their expertise has been invaluable to my journey. Take the inspired action and be brave!
Chassidy: My advice for finding a mentor is to first pray and ask God to show you the direction to go. I struggled with finding a mentor in the beginning because I was looking for anyone to help instead of seeking out specific characteristics that aligned with what I desired.
I want people to understand that networking is another word for talking. The word can be intimidating, but in actuality, being authentic is the key to building rapport in any relationship.
Izze: To be honest I never had a honest one true mentor. I had figures in my life who I looked up to. But god is my mentor through life. He places people around me and without them knowing they teach me a lot. It might be via a win I just saw them get or a mistake I got to live second hand through them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thecorestl.univer.se/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.corestl?igsh=MWdsZXNtaGxieDA5MQ==
