Rising Stars: Meet Tomesha Faxio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tomesha Faxio.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I used to be a lawyer. In 2019, I quit my job as Legal Counsel for Spanx to pursue photography. The seed was planted years ago. I realized after almost ten years of being a lawyer that it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It wasn’t my passion. It was like wearing clothes that didn’t fit. I knew there had to be something that was better tailored for me. So, I started looking for what that something might be. This search led me to take a closer look at what I really enjoyed doing … creating. At that point, I was ready to take the leap. But I didn’t quite know at that time what I was leaping to. My journey toward figuring this out took me to a place called The Creative Circus (yes, it’s a real place) where I studied Art Direction for a bit, then Copywriting for a bit more. But before I was able to finish at the Circus, life happened. “Life” being that I was laid off from my job at a law firm and had to withdraw. At that point, I hadn’t gotten far enough in my creative education to land a job that would pay the bills, so it was back to the legal world for me. Sigh …

After a long search for a role that wouldn’t bore the life out of me, I was offered a legal counsel role with Spanx. At the time, I thought that perhaps this role would allow me to somehow marry the legal and creative sides of my brain and maybe, just maybe, make me happy. And it did … for a few years. But like anything else you bury, the creative in me was suffocating. So much so that I started to hate my job. I was working in an incredibly energetic and creative place, but that wasn’t enough. I started dabbling in videography, clothing design and art when I wasn’t at the office. But the dabbling didn’t satisfy the part of me that wanted to be creative all the time, not just on evenings and weekends. A few years ago, a friend randomly gave me a Canon Rebel T3 camera after I randomly mentioned that I wanted to try photography. I was shocked and tried to reject the gift, but my friend insisted, and I eventually accepted. After watching a few YouTube videos, I snapped my first pic … I. Fell. In. Love. It only took me a month or so to determine that photography was the thing that fit. My perfectly tailored suit. And I’ve been taking pictures ever since.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
One of the most difficult parts of my transition has been facing the fact that I was leaving a career I had worked so hard to start and was still paying student loans for! I sometimes still struggle with that. I don’t miss being a lawyer, but it’s hard, at times, to avoid feeling like a large chunk of my life was invested into something I don’t love. But I remind myself often that there was purpose in my time as an attorney, and those experiences are mine and can be used for my benefit if I allow them to be. And another thing. I left Spanx not too long before the pandemic hit. Starting a new business right before the world shut down wasn’t great. I wrestled with that decision but finally concluded that I could not have predicted any of this. I believe all things work together and that the timing will eventually work out for my benefit.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
COVID forced me to make some pretty abrupt changes to my photography business. Social distancing and other changes forced me to rethink how I wanted to approach my photography career, not only long term but short term. Pre-COVID, I knew I wanted to eventually focus exclusively on documentary and fine art photography, but financial demands said otherwise. However, during the long months of reduced paid gigs, I realized it was the perfect time to start working on documentary projects I had been dreaming about. Now, I’m currently working on two documentary photography projects highlighting the beauty of natural hair.

In addition, during the summer of 2020, I decided to start making mixed media artwork. I’ve been wanting to do it for some time but just couldn’t find the time to sit down and start. But being home day after day in 2020, I realized the time had come. I also needed some way to release some of the anger and frustration I was drowning in at the time. My mixed media pieces center around the issues of racism and the Black experience. Recently, I’ve started a mixed media series entitled “Repurposing Nappy,” where I create afro art pieces using repurposed materials. I love being able to tell the stories of Black people through art and photography.

What makes you happy?
Right now, there isn’t a whole lot that makes me happier than that morning coffee, lol! That probably sounds sad, but I love starting my day quietly sipping on a cup of coffee (well, as quiet as it can be with two virtual schoolers …). That’s my time to pray, think, consider, contemplate, chew on new ideas, rethink, reconsider … lol … and whatever else. There isn’t a whole lot I can control, but the simplicity of that morning coffee is something I can look forward to every single day.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.meshaphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snapsbyfax/; https://www.instagram.com/meshafineart/

Image Credits
Personal Photo: Ashley Duncan Additional photos: Tomesha Faxio