Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerami Sanders.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jerami. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At a young age, I developed the passion for art for many reasons. As a kid I started to develop skills that couldn’t be ignored. As a sibling of fourteen children I didn’t grow up with much and didn’t have much to my name, so to occupy my time I started drawing anything that I could see or imagine. Drawing helped me cope and deal with the pain. While growing up and dealing with the hardships that most children wouldn’t have dealt with or could imagine I set my mind to do the unthinkable. I remember at the age of eleven running out of paper so I would sit in my room and contemplate on how I was gonna draw. As I sat and thought about it, I looked around my room at my four blank walls and started to draw this nature scene around my room. Once I would draw something I would always show my mom and she would always encourage me to continue to draw but not on her walls. As a child I use to get brochures about SCAD and other art colleges, praying that one day I’d be there. My siblings and extended family always kept me motivated and to continue drawing no matter what. Arriving to the age of thirteen through seventeen I was taken away from my siblings and parents for different reasons, one being that there were things happening within the house that the government stepped in and intervened.
At the age of thirteen my life changed. There were many questions and things running through my head of why all this happened and when would be the next time I’d see my family. There were many hard nights, but one thing that I always remembered was to draw and let my art speak for me. With going through the system, being Foster Homes and Group homes I learned many things about myself as well as others. Through these years Id get to see my siblings in which this gave me the faith to go even harder, not just for me but also for them and for all the children that has been in my shoes through the system. While meeting many people and traveling the world, I realized that I loved drawing portraits and this was just something that made me happy and just seeing peoples emotions once I drew them made it all worth it. At the age of 17, I arrived back to my hometown Valdosta where I graduated high school at Lowndes High School. I was thankful for my art teaches at that time, because they really pushed me in my craft. Once I graduated high school I was faced with many things whether that was personal things, family, or friend things. I always knew education was very important and that I would need to get into college soon. I soon applied for SCAD wishing to get in but during that time I couldn’t get in because I wasn’t financially stable as well as I wasn’t on time to apply to get in.
During this time I didn’t know what to do and I thought it was over but I kept faith in God and applied to small two year college and got accepted into their program. During the two years of me studying there I keep the dream of painting and drawing. No matter what was going on in my life I kept a motivation and inspired other people and I kept a positive mind knowing that I could make it to bigger and better things. Shortly after I finished the two year school, I was accepted into the school of my dreams (SCAD) in which I just graduated from in March, and I’ll be walking in May. There are so many people along the way that helped me get here that keep me going. Id just say no matter how a situation may look there is a way out, you just have to stay grounded in what you believe in and the sky is the limit.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
While on my path I was faced with many challenges whether that was being separated from my family at the age of thirteen or losing close friends and family while dealing with the separation of my family and I. At the beginning of the road it seemed very dark but I learned to be a light within every situation, so that something good could come out of it whether that was for me or someone close to me. I feel like it was preparation for things to come and at the end of the day, I’m thankful for my situation because it helped me grow as well as it helped me become a mentor to the youth and the ones that can’t see the way out.
Please tell us about ArtJerms.
So my business is named Artjerms, I’m an Illustrator and most of my art is based mostly around portraits of people as well as many other different things. I arrived at this name because growing up many people would call me (jerms) like the word Germs. I thought It would be cool to call myself ArtJerms because I love art and when you hear germs you think about something being infested and surrounded with multiples germs and at that point, it clicked because you’re infested with art when you see my page and work. With all the work I’ve created Id say I’m proud of everything that I created because I have come so far within my life and I just know that this is just the beginning of something big. While seeing other artist, I’m always inspired but I feel like my work comes from the heart and when I paint someone I can feel their spirit in the piece and I try to always make a connection between the piece and person.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have kept the same Instagram, so everyone that I knew through my life could see how far I’ve come and to inspire them to live their dream no matter what.
Contact Info:
- Email: artjerms@gmail.com
- Instagram: artjerms
Image Credit:
Patrick Foley, Emily Sedmak, Brayden Montgomery
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