Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Gray.
Emily, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I spent many years at my community college learning every art medium I could and that became the foundation of what I built on with A Gray Area.
I started less than a year ago by trying to recreate a pair of earrings I saw that I liked. One thing leads to another, many, many trips to Michaels, and a few twists in the road later, here I am.
It was never something that I set out to do, it naturally evolved into what it is now, which is to say that in a year it could be completely different and that is how I want to keep it: open to change its focus.
Has it been a smooth road?
I think now I can say it has been relatively easy for me, but I wouldn’t have said that three months ago. Not because I haven’t paid my dues because I have hit some exceptional struggles, but because it’s the lows that make the highs so sweet. Which is crazy to think that it finally feels like the hard work has paid off, but it is really starting to. I’m learning how much life rewards those who just keep fighting back and keep doing the right thing. The easy way out is easy for a reason. If you keep your head down and keep going, even when you feel like you have nothing left to give, it’s in those moments that life presents those exceptional moments that make it all make sense.
There have been countless times that I have given up on opportunities because I didn’t believe in myself, but with the earrings, I trusted not in myself and capabilities, but in my love for creating to just keep going, even when I didn’t know the direction I was moving in.
I know people look at me who don’t know me and think I have things somehow figured out, but I really don’t. I’ve just finally realized that I am the only one holding myself back with my terrible habit of thinking I am not good enough. To all women: the opportunities are out there. Be strategic and smart in what you are trying to take on, but start trusting that amazing gut of yours. And be yourself.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I make earrings out of epoxy resin. I make my own silicone molds and cast mostly flowers and found objects I’ve gathered locally in North County inside them.
I do have other artistic outlets that I am excited to start having the time to invest in, but as of now, it is just resin accessories.
There are so many jewelry makers out there that are doing amazing things, but very few resin casters locally. It’s pretty difficult to jump into and I think many other makers don’t jump into it because it can be intimidating. And it is. It took a lot of patience to get to this point, but it is also a very versatile medium to work with when you get the hang of it. I am excited to see where I am with it in a year.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I think women, especially women of color, undoubtedly have to fight twice as hard for the same opportunities as men. I’ve seen it over and over again in the art community and it is really frustrating. But I also know that this issue is up to women to change.
There is a really supportive community in San Diego which I had no idea until I started taking myself seriously enough to put myself out there. If there aren’t opportunities for us, make them and make them accessible for the next woman too. We need to support each other in the times that no one else is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AGrayArea
- Phone: 7606919949
- Email: emilygray94@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisagrayarea
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisagrayarea/
Image Credit:
Caylee McFarland, Emily Gray
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