I started to paint in the year 2000. I never thought of going to an art school, even though I loved art.

I don't approach my writing or my work from an academic or analytical point of view. I do it for myself.

Everything around you can use. It's like your tools and your material. Whether it's in performing arts like dance, or visual arts, or poetry, a lot of those elements can come and help you, can trigger your creativity. But you have to be open, be aware, and you have to be ready to look.

I thought of the pillowcases as a symbol of love and loss, of retaining the memory of your loved one.

Every day you are bombarded by so many different things. When you sit down to process everything, it can become interesting visually. You can incorporate a lot of those things that you internalize.

I write and I write and a lot of times I go back to the American lens, though sometimes it's a struggle to come from that perspective.

When I was in the sixth grade my friend and I always won writing contests, and we read a lot of books. We were always the ones that read the most books in class. I thought about writing but visual arts weren't part of my vocabulary.