Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Donice Bloodworth of Decatur, GA

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Donice Bloodworth. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Donice, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I was doing some random facebook scrolling and saw a post of a football player changing his last name to his stepfather’s last name and telling him by showing his jersey. I commented on the post and a Father of one of my students replied to my very simple comment with ” you weren’t a dad or stepdad to my daughter but thank you for what you have done for her to get her to the woman she is today.” I’m paraphrasing heavily. But this year I’ve been called a Girldad directly and indirectly and knowing that girls feel safe around me in that way and their parents also respect me as a positive figure in their daughter’s lives truly makes me proud because I didn’t choose to be this to the young ladies in my life but I’m immensely proud they hold me so high in their lives.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m an artist, a brother, a father, a teacher, a coach and a friend born and raised in Decatur, GA. Well I’m a Grady baby too, I paint people, mostly people I find interesting and I paint them to continue to tell the stories of us as people. Black people are beautiful but there aren’t a lot of places where we are reminded of that so I use my art to say that as much as I can. It’s all about celebrating the beauty and pushing people to see themselves the same way they see my art. DaCre8iveOne was born out of the conversation about people and art and how that interacts in our society.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
The work has always been easy for me. It’s just what I do… but I had a coworker who’s one of my closest friends now. He was an artist all of his adult career but became a teacher later in that career so I asked him how he did what he did to be successful and he basically said he treated it like a job. He set a schedule and stuck to it. Some days you go to the studio and make masterpieces, somedays you just get to the studio because the schedule says so. Either way you are creating time for the work to happen and the routine keeps you motivated. I love that advice, and live by it. When it’s time to make the work we go to do it and keep going until the work is done.

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
I have these random moments with students who come back years later with days they remember and it’s why they do what they do now. I try to push my students who are creative to embrace that side of the brain. A lot of times they are pushed to quiet that side and be more business minded. But I want them to understand that even in business you can let your creative side thrive. Continue to make choices by listening to that voice. Specific time, I had a kid who was not that dedicated in class tried a lot of things but didn’t finish a lot of those ambitious ideas. He ended up with every little work he was proud of at the end of the year But about 4 years later he was producing commercials for big companies and told me about conversations we had when he was here, and how those conversations guide him down the road he on now.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
I try to make sure it is. I don’t want to be in business where I’m afraid to speak the way I do in real life, I don’t want to be seen as something I’m not. So I work hard at trying to show my heart and true intentions in my art, my posts, and the way I speak publicly. I never want to be seen as afraid to be myself because of what someone might think.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I think it’s what I was born to do. I have always wanted to be an artist… I never really thought about being a teacher until the opportunity presented itself. But I love it, If I won the lottery tomorrow and money was no longer an issue. I truly believe I would still want to go to work the next day. I’m not ready to leave this work yet. I love every aspect of it, I love watching my students grow as people, I also love seeing them grow as artists and love seeing what they do when they leave me. I hope they all see me as a positive influence in their life and if not I hope at least the vibes were dope when we crossed paths.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://DaCre8iveOne.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/DaCre8iveOne
• Twitter: x,com/DaCre8iveOne
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/DaCre8iveOneArt
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/DaCre8iveOne
• Other: www.DaCre8iveOne.store for products and prints.