Nichole Washington Uses Art to Create Her Own Language

Inventing symbols and entire languages used to be something reserved for writers like JRR Tolkien, but one person proves you don’t have to be a literary genius to do it. Nichole Washington, a visual artist from New York City, goes beyond just creating new symbols. For her, it is a medium for cultivating her voice and opening her mind to new ideas.

Find your own creative voice

Nichole’s exhibit is called “Leave Your Mark,” and was part of an art show in Brooklyn called 29Rooms. The event has gathered six artists so they could practice there. The organizers’ mission was to encourage patrons to create art of their own. Through her exhibit, she invites patrons to create their own language. As part of her work in the 29Rooms, Nichole also headed a workshop about the process of symbol making.

 

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Thank you @29rooms @refinery29 @pieraluisa for giving me the space to share my creativity! I led a workshop on symbol making and shared my process for creating the symbols you see in my artwork. I feel that creating symbols can be a great way to explore your spirit, heal and meditate. I will be leading the workshop at various times throughout the duration of @29rooms . I hope you will come create with me! #29rooms #symbolmaking #nicholewashingtonart

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Nichole Washington (@nicholawola) am Sep 6, 2018 um 8:39 PDT

Known for her big, bold designs that include custom symbols, Nichole uses Egyptian hieroglyphics and West African culture as an inspiration. She recommends creating one’s own symbols as “a great way to explore your spirit, heal, and meditate.”

Through her art, Nichole is cultivating her own creative voice that she uses to communicate with the rest of the world. Nichole says it took her a while to find her creative voice but it came to her when she began to honor who she is. This is why at the workshop, she tried to explain to patrons her motto, “Create from the inside out”. For her, this means honoring who you are on the inside and allow yourself to share that with the world.

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Last nights opening party for @29rooms was amazing! Thank you to everyone who stopped by my workshop and truly created from the inside out. I was so inspired by your creations and also hearing all the heartfelt explanations of your art. Can’t wait to do it again this afternoon! I will be leading my workshop at various times throughout the duration of @29rooms . I can’t wait to create with you! #29rooms #nicholewashingtonart

A post shared by Nichole Washington (@nicholawola) on Sep 6, 2018 at 8:52am PDT

Meditation for inspiration

Inspired by artists like Basquiat, her art gives her the power to open her mind to new ideas, opening new ways of seeing and believing. Nichole’s favorite part of creating is meditation – simply creating without any boundaries and seeing what comes to life. This process allows her to learn and find out things about herself. If you’d like to see more of Nichole’s creative work, just head over to her website.

Refinery29: How This Visual Artist Creates Her Own Language

Photo credit: The feature image “purple fashion tales” has been done by JR Korpa.
Source: Gianna Doxey (Refinery29)
Editorial notice: The feature image is not directly related to the report and serves only an illustrative purpose.