Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Isabella.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alexandra. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a San Diego based artist and rock climber. I coach a competitive youth team four days a week in between training for competitions myself, and amongst that; I create! I feel like the title of “artist” should be a subtitle for being a human. It’s this identity that lingers in every single person to exist, and it looks different for everyone, it means something different to everyone, which I think is so cool.
When I meet people, I always wonder what it would look like to dive into those parts in their minds; those dusty corners with piles of paintings, songs, inventions, theories, or poems that have yet to be created… I want to pull them out and display them in a museum, put them on SoundCloud, bring them to life! That’s the most magnificent part of humanity, is this subtle lingering of creative inspiration in every word we speak to each other, every color we see, every shape we see, it’s all tiny intrinsic pieces of a piece of art that has yet to be created. As for people who pursue these creative outlets, we’re the pendulum that swings between human consciousness and imaginative distortion.
Since I was a little girl, I’ve always been “different” than the rest of my peers. I was always that girl who stayed in the principal’s office or teachers classroom to read books, write fictional stories or draw. I have always been quite reserved, quiet and observant anywhere I go. For a while, this was a problem for me! I would look at these super outgoing kids/young adults as I entered high school and think to myself “should I be more like… that? Like them?”. To be really raw, I grew up in the middle of a gang-populated area of north Texas in poverty, A.K.A. “the hood”. A lot of my childhood was spent in a house where criminals would come in and out, bringing in robbed-goods, drugs, etc., so it was a pretty wild ride for me to transition from such a small town in Texas into La Jolla. Being raised in survival mode all the time and experiencing intense PTSD definitely shaped the way I perceived the world around me in a way that was constricting me from fully, and freely expressing myself. After developing a meditation practice, I began to rewire and reprogram my brain, DNA and genetic tendencies (depression, bipolar, addiction). When I began to clean out my mind, I started to notice the creative ideas that lived in my soul; all of which were inspired by the world around me. All those years of observing quietly led to an abundance of creation I didn’t even fully see yet. I soon realized my brain is always analyzing people, places, and environments and translating them into a poem, or a drawing.
Has it been a smooth road?
I spent a great portion of my childhood/teenage years in depression, PTSD from sexual assaults, and suicidal thoughts. None of that was easy, and the healing process was extremely ugly. When I started practicing yoga asana, studying yogic philosophy, embarking in a 200-hour teacher training, and developing a daily meditation practice I went through waves of being extremely happy, expressive and inspired to quite the opposite. Though about one year into dedicating my life to yogic philosophy, I started recognizing how much wisdom, emotional intelligence, and spiritual growth was beneath all of the sadness and discomfort. Honestly, if it wasn’t for art and yoga, I’m not sure I’d be alive still. The best piece of advice I could give any young woman starting her journey in exploring a career, passion, hobby or just any new chapter is that you should always choose what brings the most joy to your heart and body in each and every moment. Always choose what serves where you are at each moment, but also what will excel you into your future aspirations and goals. Ask yourself “does this serve who I am becoming? Who I am now? Or did this serve who I was yesterday, and I no longer resonate with it?” if it no longer resonates, let it go, accept the change and act accordingly! Don’t always follow the voice of reason in your head, the heart will speak to you in its own way. When we can put down others emotions, and disregard what we have been “told” or “think” is best for us; we make space for the heart to guide us, and this is a path of tender golden light.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Alluring Alchemy story. Tell us more about the business.
I mainly paint and draw. I draw visual philosophies and often lean more towards very simple, elegant line work. Almost all of my artwork comes to me organically. Often from driving, walking, conversing with someone and 3-4 lines of a poem just flood through my mind. I find inspiration in the combinations of words people choose to use when they speak. There’s a note in my phone containing a whole long list of short phrases and word combinations that I hear from people which I will refer to when writing a poem. So essentially, my poetry is a compilation of the collective mind, a universal collage of words. As for my art, the same concept applies. When I was a little girl, I learned how to lucid dream, which has opened so many doors for profound and clairvoyant visualizations to dance around my consciousness. I’ll have lucid dreams of a finished painting/drawing, me writing a poem on a piece of paper or a simple phrase will be printed on a doormat, wall, poster, whatever medium my dream state decides to display the writing or art on, it appears. First thing in the morning after these dreams, I jot down what I saw in my dream on my phone; sometimes this takes an hour or more. Then, I often explore the dream in my meditation, very frequently more details of the dream will pass through my mind as I meditate so I’ll look at it a bit more until it fades again, sometimes for good. That’s why I create what I do because I have to! I have to use my body to bring to life what my mind is so obviously communicating for me to create for the world before I let it slip through the cracks and crevices’ in my mind; which, unfortunately, a majority of the world does.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Absolutely. My childhood was a true blessing in disguise. Had I not had the experiences I did, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to see the world through the lens that I do, therefore wouldn’t have the extreme drive that I do to succeed in what I’m most passionate about and refuse to settle for less than what I feel serves me, or of what I am worth!
I am also extremely grateful to have a mother who is such a strong-willed entrepreneur, came from a similar background as me, and started up her own solely owned hair salon in Bird rock, becoming San Diego’s top voted hair colorist three years in a row. She’s a total boss, and I am lucky I got to watch her hustle every day before and after school. She would just wake up, make her healthy breakfasts, and then call 15-20 people and schedule appointments, work on her social media, marketing, advertisements… etc. while also handling two teenagers, putting food on the table, exercising, keeping a yoga practice, and gardening. I really learned from this type of day-to-day work ethic and definitely took it on at a really young age.
Contact Info:
- Website: alluringalchemy.com
- Email: info@alluringalchemy.com
- Instagram: @alexandraissabella
Image Credit:
Sophia Bacino
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