Art Mediums: Visual Artist and Muralist

www.perrirhoden.com

Perri earned her BFA from Howard University in 2013. She’s a trained figurative painter who has evolved into a mixed media artist and muralist. Perri has flourished over the last nine years by expanding her palette, portfolio, and skillset. She is now entering her third year as a full-time artist.

Perri is progressively making her mark in Seattle. She has installed several public art murals and exhibited her work in businesses/galleries across the city. Her passions for community, mentoring youth, and experiences in Seattle’s non-profit sector speak to her dedication to preserving Seattle’s arts and culture. She has worked with several local NPOs and schools leading art programs and classes and has worked in the development and program sector for Artist Trust and the City of Seattle. While she continues to develop her career as a public muralist and portfolio in her studio, Perri mentors high school students interested in developing a career in the arts through programs offered at Urban Artworks, TeenTix, and Y-WE.

“My work reflects my experiences, a celebration of my heritage, and, in essence, a form of protest and activism. Black American women are rarely credited in mainstream media as sources of inspiration for creative industries. We are overlooked and often imitated for our creative self-expression. One of my goals is to use my art practice to honor and celebrate Black women and increase our representation in fine art and public art spaces.”

“Most of the figures in my work are self-portraits or sketches of Black women. I actively try to represent the female body in the nude, not to provoke, but to celebrate the beauty of our full figures and reiterate that a woman’s power lies within her. I love feeling good in my skin, I love being Black, and I love being a woman. My art practice is the embodiment of self-love expressed through paint.”

“I want to empower the audience to feel what they feel when they view my work. That is the essence of why art is so important in this world. People bring their own experiences into how they see and interpret information to our shared experiences. So we can both look at the same image and have two completely different perspectives on what we see. I bring a lot of passion, curiosity, wisdom, and love into my work. If the audience picks up on that, then awesome. And if they have their own experience, that’s ok too. The discussion is the best part.”

“My creative process begins with selecting materials and colors based on my mood, intentionality, and the emotion I want to capture on a canvas. I often use graphite, watercolor, ground coffee beans, fabric, feathers, glitter, gemstones, and color pencil with acrylic paint and canvas as foundational elements. I enjoy creating implied and actual textures using vivid color combinations and materials, much like textile design.“