Today we’d like to introduce you to Emilie Scalise
Hi Emilie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always been an artist. In whatever terms that may mean to anyone, art has been my way of expressing myself. The ability to create has gotten me through some of the toughest things in life, and without art, I don’t know how I would have made it this far in life doing what I love. I started off just drawing or painting on just about anything. As I grew up, my mom let me start to paint on the walls of our house. There are so many murals on our walls just because I had an idea and a paint brush. I have progressed in my art, from random designs to healing in art, and that process has been a very long and confusing road. My biggest goal in life is; “through art on the body and of the body, I want to empower people to be themselves and be proud of what they have become.” This is what I call my art elevator pitch, and it will ring true in everything I create. The world is hard enough sometimes, and knowing that we as people are art and can be there for others with what we can see and do is an incredible gift that I hope to continue to share with the world for as long as I can.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest struggle for me was sharing my art. I still struggle to this day to show all of my art, tell people I am an artist, and most of all put a price on my art. I know many artists can say that they struggle to charge for something that they created, but that is unfortunately how we make a living. When it comes to sharing my art, I don’t know how to show people hard topics, and that is what I make. I have found that through sharing my art over time I have been able to heal from the things that influence my art each day. In my family, we have gone through a lot. When I was 11, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, just a year after her mother had beaten breast cancer herself. I felt so many new emotions and fears all at once, but art became my safe place.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my life, art has saved me from fears of not understanding why and has become an outlet for me to heal and grow as a person, while sharing that with others. My biggest result of this healing has been my road to tattooing. I set my mind to giving back to women who have fought for their lives while raising new lives, and I am on track to learning to tattoo realistic nipples on cancer survivors who may not want to undergo another surgery. This is just one way I plan to help others heal with art while healing myself in the process. Along with tattoos, I do a lot of realistic drawings of pets and people. I have done some work to allow others to heal from their unwanted scars. Specifically, I drew my moms torso so that she can see the beauty that she has despite the surgical scars across her body. I hope to continue this project not only for me but for anyone who may need that next step in order to see their strength and beauty that they hold no matter what trauma has taken from them.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family deserves the most credit. They have supported me through just about ever random new skill I have wanted to pick up. My mom especially has supported me with allowing me to draw her. She let me take that very vulnerable step with her in her healing journey, and for that there is no thank you big enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emiliescaliseart.com
- Instagram: emilie_scalise_art
Image Credits
headshot – E.L. Clay Photography
