Thursday Night I went to Boston to hear Laylah Ali speak at Boston University. I relate so much to her process, to her relationship to drawing and painting. Also the simplicity of her work and the way she has developed her own language through her creation of various characters. With her characters she makes comments about identity, violence and perception. I like that they appear fun and whimsical at first and underneath their approachable exterior they are expressing and doing very real things. In my own work I look for that same quality. Characters that have ears and seem like a cross between people and stuffed animals. For me they recall childhood and though they feel like the safe whimsical characters that I created as a child they are more knowledgable and they behave the way I see things as an adult.

To learn more about Laylah Ali and her work check out Art 21. Though she said they presented her as a bit more obsessive compulsive than she really is, it gives really nice insight into her work and her process.