I met Raphael when she was a graphic design intern and I worked in the box office at Centerstage in Baltimore. Both creatives just out of college, it was always incredibly refreshing to meet Raphael and take time to talk crafts and drink tea with her. I've always known Raphael to find innovative ways to express herself through making creative tangibles. I used to save plastic bags for Raphael. She would iron them together and stitch them into anything from pencil cases to purses (those of which have traveled all the way from Baltimore to Santa Cruz and every place in between with me). 

When I think of Raphael, I think of someone who makes time to listen to her pure creative spirit an actual priority. As she shares here, it's often challenging to carve this time to create from a whole-hearted, truer than true, authentic space. I admire Raphael for acknowledging this and doing it despite distractions.  And of course, continue to be inspired by her profoundly keen & clever visionary soul. -emidobz 

-

There are so many distractions that exist and attempt to make you lose sight of the stillness and/or under represented moments to be appreciated. Being overwhelmed by these kinds of challenges can often stifle your individuality and the energy that you want to put forth to others. In today's world, it remains extremely difficult to feel comfortable and confident enough to share your perspective while understanding that it’s different than others. 

As a graphic designer, I'm behind a computer all day and sometimes I feel it can suck the life out of me. For balance, I look for creative projects that involve tangibility and more fluidity for my thoughts and expressions to be articulated. 

I find solace / peace in expressing my own challenges I have and these ideas of the language of beauty through imagery, texture, and calligraphy. 

As unconnected as these are individually, they all ultimately fulfill the same goal: expanding the idea of who I am as a black creative female by using these specific mediums to explore, express and find balance away from a computer screen. -Raphael Davison