How important is your name to you? It is the first thing people hear about you. It is the thing they say the most when talking about to you. Your name is like your brand. Parents pick out a name they think will suit you; the only problem is they dont really know what you will be like — you really can’t tell just by looking in a newborn’s face who they will be. I named my son Maximillian because I hoped he would grow into that name.
Sometimes we do not fit our names and they are actually not helping us out much when presenting ourselves to the world.
I am a big fan of choosing your own name when you know who you are going to be. People can get used to calling us something else. In fact , changing your name is a declaration that you know who you are now.
I remember when I was 10 years old knowing that I was not going to be Shari but Sharika. I got out my birth certificate and added the ka on my name. I knew at young age what I was going to be and this seemed right. Nobody called me that but I knew in my heart that is who I was. It was not until I was much older that I really started calling myself that.
I am glad I did.
I am a Northwest artist who is fascinated by faces and people. I work with a brush drawing of a face or human figure. Then I apply ink, paint and gel in various layers to create rich colors and textures. Along the way my images are painted, scrubbed, rinsed off, then ink and paint are reapplied until the final image is finally revealed. The process of discovering who the figures will become keeps me "intrigued and absorbed."