Today we’d like to introduce you to Tokeli Baker
Hi Tokeli, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am the President of the Board of Directors of the Escondido Art Association, located on Grand Avenue in the Historic District of Escondido. I am also a working artist. I love marrying my commitment to service and helping my community with my own passion and love for the arts, which is why my role with the EAA is so ideal. The Escondido Art Association is an artist membership non-profit organization and a local gallery in Escondido. We have been around since 1959, making us one of the oldest continuously operating non-profit arts and culture institutions with its own physical gallery. Our member artists enjoy many opportunities through our organization: arts education programming for all ages, scholarships, special events like our annual Summer Solstice Soiree gala, monthly exhibitions in our gallery on Grand Avenue in the heart of the Historic District, our rotations program which provides artworks for many special event venues, and our partnerships with the California Center for the Arts, the North Island Credit Union Community Art Gallery, the Escondido Public Library, the MAGEC (Museums and Artists Growing Escondido Culture), the Downtown Business Association, and so much more. I am proud to have spearheaded many of these programs during my first tenure as President of the Board at EAA.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well… this is actually my second term, which is a bit of mistake. You see I stepped down after my first term to pursue more of my own art. No hard feelings or anything like that, I just wanted to do my own thing. Here’s the thing: even though the EAA has been around for a very long time, it was not until recently that we really started growing and developing all of these partnerships and programs. And I was very proud to be the catalyst for a lot of our fiscal, programming, and educational growth. But I wanted to do my own thing. I wanted to have the time to make more art, so I finished my term and stepped down. However, due to family needs and many other issues, the next person in this role had to step away, and so I’m back! I didn’t know it would happen like this, but actually I’m glad it did. I’m not done making positive catalytic growth for this organization happen. I’m not done bringing in visionary leadership where we develop new programming and make more opportunities available to local artists. I love supporting this community of artists! I love them and I want to keep helping to make the Escondido Art Association and its partners strong.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a multi dimensional artist, working in a variety of media, including painting, music composition, theatre, and writing. I am unique because of a traumatic accident and subsequent out-of-body experience, which shifted the focus of my artwork towards consciousness.
My perspective was transformed and expanded, after a traumatic fall down a flight of stairs, as I began experiencing outside-the-norm psi phenomena. This enhanced awareness to a multi-dimensional consciousness state has now embedded itself into the artwork. When people ask me what I do, I say that I paint consciousness. The story of my art is that I close my eyes, go into meditation, and find what comes next. I let go. I use a variety of media, including photography, mixed substrates, and unique surfaces. After my fall, I also realized that creativity takes many forms. It’s not just painting or music. Creativity can also be expressed through leadership and vision working in the community, such as my work with EAA. My energy level was greatly boosted right after this accident in a special way, as well as my source for ideas. I am grateful that I fell down those stairs and now I use this life experience to give back in service to my own artwork and to help other artists.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Sitting where your feet go underneath my grandmother’s piano and/or organ, she played both. I could hear the music she played, jazz or what they called in those days “popular standards.” She created in me a love for Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, all the legends. I learned music from her but I also learned concentration. She had long fingernails for a pianist. I can still distinctly remember the sound of the music combined with the click of her fingernails on the keys.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tokeli.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tokeli/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tokelimusic
- Other: https://www.escondidoartassociation.org
