Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheyenne Lee.
Cheyenne, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Like others, my art practice began to reveal itself at a young age. I was always crafting something from oven-baked clay, jewelry, writing, or anything that was handed to me. I had an innate seriousness about my craft and the quality of what I was creating, which has stuck with me to this day.
Around 8th grade, I remember my practice becoming more than just going to art class for the day; it became a safe space and a world to process in. At the time, and throughout the years that followed, I experienced some intense, life-altering circumstances at home. In contrast, the support of my middle school and high school art teacher, not only as a creative but as a strong woman, made a lasting difference.
She took me to Detroit for the first time to see Heidelberg Street and the DIA. If you’ve been, you can understand the difference in spaces, but they both gave me this power and range of possibility. Later, she took me on a college campus tour at the College for Creative Studies, and I went there as a first-generation college student to study and refine my creative practice further.
I earned my BFA, with a focus in advertising design. My senior year of college, my idea of who I was as an artist and designer started shifting, heavily influenced by my study abroad trip to the Burren in Ireland. I took all fine art and experimental art classes to call back to what I once knew, with a polished understanding of art and design from CCS. I was heavily influenced and grounded by the rural landscape, the silence, and being in a place where no one had contact to each other. It was really a feeling of freedom, like anything I wanted to do was possible.
I graduated in 2019, worked in the advertising industry for about a year while still developing my fine art practice, and reached my breaking point, fully leaving the corporate 9-to-5 advertising world around 2021. It simply isn’t made for me. I am hands on, I love touching materials and creating something that isn’t simply for someone to consume. I would be silly to say that my practices are separate. They absolutely influence each other. Since then, I have been pursuing my own practice and have been a part of Dive Studios, an artist collective here in Detroit.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It defiantly hasn’t be a smooth road.
Being a first generation college student, is as you can expect, a big hill to climb. I was living with my grandparents all of high school, so I left there to go to college. I did everything alone from applying, loans, scholarships, planning classes, figuring out housing and everything else that comes with it. At the same time, navigating who I wanted to be as a creative, and a human. I was under so much stress at the time, I can reflect on that now. I feel like my decision making when it came to finances and choosing a major at that time wasn’t fully flushed out due to the lack of educated support.
Another big challenge was my “conversion” into the fine art world. It was almost like I was beginning again since I wasn’t exposed to certain things while studying, as it wasn’t in my field. I had to discover the art scene here in Detroit, familiarise myself with gallery spaces, art institutions and build relationships with people in these spaces. Early on I struggled a bit with feeling like my practice wasn’t “real” and feeling uneducated because it wasn’t fully what I got my degree in. I really had to learn to be comfortable taking up space that I had no ground for yet. I really just went for it with this attitude of there’s nothing I can loose.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is predominantly focused on interpreting and challenging how we see environmental spaces, the places we inhabit or that hold a lot of impact; bedrooms, living rooms, hotels, entryways, etc. I visualise these spaces with a sense of joy, using bold, bright colours, and only line and square to shape these ideas.
I work making traditional wall hanging works, large-scale installations, and functional objects; all working with multimedia: textiles, acrylic, wood, and ceramics. My approach to material is something I take a lot of passion in. 75% of my practice, if not more, is created with second-hand or discarded materials. This challenges me a lot to problem-solve with how I am adhering the material, finding new solutions, and exploring techniques. This also allows limitations to inform composition and meaning, letting the material have more control. I don’t really have the ability to become obsessed with a material; what I have one day is gone days later, and I really don’t know if I will ever source it again. This lack of control for me allows me to explore more and continually reinvent new ideas. It is also very financially sustainable for me. It proves quality, and interesting work can be made without spending an arm and a leg.
My most proud work to date is in my installation work; I have directed a few editorial photoshoots where I am collaborating with local photographers, clothing vintage shops, hair and makeup artists, models, etc. I love working on a team; there’s always something to learn from others who lead with a different art practice, and something I think a lot of creatives need to understand: you can’t do everything alone. I enjoy narrating these environments I am building; it really taps back into my advertising experience with campaigns and productions.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Nope!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cheyenne-lee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__cheyennelee__
- Other: https://linktr.ee/cheyenne.lee
