Rolls On a Canvas feat. Ike Slimster

Sunday February 19th, I attended an art exhibit in Harlem. Just like most art exhibits, there are various pieces that allowed me to dive into my artistic palate. Pieces that played with color, pieces that played with textures and at this specific exhibit, you could find pieces that played with your emotions. For me there were two pieces in particular, by a young Nigerian artist, Ike Slimster.

Ike Slimster is a very very talented young man and someone who you can say really uses his art to express who is he, his likes, dislikes, and his idea of beauty. And this was evident in these two pieces.

When I  saw his work, I saw myself, I saw my body as appreciated art. My body, my rolls, my curves, my folds, swimming in a pool of roses. His work spoke to me because that body, those curves he contoured into canvas that I was once told to change, to fix, to hide, and I fell in love.

My body is not perfect, and I get reminded of that every day from the ads on the trains, to the comments from my closest family member and distant Instagram follower. For an artist to remind me that my body is beautiful is a breath of fresh air. That this size 16 body with stretch marks running from the right corner of the curves on my waist to the left crease in my arm doesn't have the “Most wanted” slim waist and wide hips but those rolls that love to stick out in dresses deserve my love.

I want to thank Ike for reminding me that just because my beauty is too big to be advertised on a billboard, does not mean I'm less than. I want to thank Ike for reminding me that my body isn't disgusting. I want to thank Ike for publicly approaching a body most men appreciate in hiding. And most importantly I want to thank Ike for being himself, a creative soul who prefers to show you who he really is then to pretend to be someone he's not solely for approval.

Thank you Ike!

Make sure to follow him on instagram, @ikeslimster and on Facebook (Ike Slimster). Apart from being an amazing artist, he's hillaaarrious!!!! Trust me you'll be thank me later after you check him out!!

Enjoy the rest of your week and remember, Love You Live Now!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️