The Fresno Feature

Kambrya Bailey / Kám AB Studios

Phone (909) 239-5653 Email: ka.bailey1999@gmail.com

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The Fresno Feature Shahara Montgomery

Interview by NeFesha Ruth

We met in the African American Historical and Cultural Museum of San Joaquin Valley, where artist Shahara Montgomery's work has been on exhibit. Shahara comfortably sat on the floor in front of her artwork, creating an enclave with the familiar feel of a young child creating in their room. I followed suit and sat next to Shahara, who goes by @harajanae_art on Instagram. There was one piece that I asked her to speak to me about called Righteous, but before we got into that discussion, we chatted about Shahara's upbringing as a Fresno native and what brought the 27year-old self-taught artist to where she is now. I was always a very shy and introverted child, so my Grandmom would always have a pen and paper because she would always find me in the corner doodling. They realized that it was something I could always do. I would draw.

Do you have any of those old doodles?

I do! I have to find them, but I definitely have some.

Self-taught. I feel like painting is not an easy thing to teach yourself. What was that journey like?

Around 2016, I began painting, and I realized that I liked it more than drawing. Although I would look up stuff here and there, you know, "what colors are best,” or “what kinds of paints are best for me," for the most part, it was just trial and error. I did my best to express what I was trying to express. I didn't like painting at first, but then it became one of those things that I almost became more passionate about than the drawings I would do for all those years.

What is your goal artistically??

I know God gifted me to do art, and I know that He wants me to use this gift and bless others with it, so for me it is whatever He would have me to do. I don't have a set goal; it's just doing it as long as I know that I'm supposed to, and whatever impact that has on others, that's just a blessing in my opinion. It's just something that I truly enjoy.

It wasn't until recently, now that I have the space and time and opportunity, where I'm actually trying to see what it is in me that I want to convey onto the canvas. What makes Shahara's art different? And that is something I'm still praying on. As far as a lot of the paintings that I have done, a lot of it was me challenging myself, challenging my gift, trying to learn something and do something I hadn't done before, or it was commission and fulfilling request that others had because I was able to do it. I knew I had the ability, and I wanted to use that ability, but it wasn't until recently that I have really been trying to find what art means to me.

On "Righteous"

I knew I wanted to paint something else, but I didn't know what exactly. I knew I wanted it to be organic, and so I began to flow. I started with the color of the skin tone, and I began reflecting on my own relationship with God, and it just started to speak to me. I felt like God was showing me something and speaking to me. I began thinking about the verse, "His strength is made perfect in our weakness." The painting, to me, means that regardless of how different we may see ourselves, it doesn't change how we are seen in his eyes. We are righteous whether we are in our weak state, whether we feel strong, there's no difference. It's a reminder. We see the difference; We see the skin tones; We see the black and white; We see the dullness. We see areas in our lives where we feel weak or stagnant, but either way, we are still righteous. It doesn't change, and the colors in the back are me expressing God's glory and His strength that remains. I didn't think of the name at first, but I named it righteous because we are righteous regardless of how we feel. We're righteous regardless of what state we may feel we are in, and that is what I feel God wanted me to convey with this painting.

Ultimately, I know that this is a gift that God gave me, I am passionate and grateful for that. That's what keeps me painting. A lot of what I choose to paint is what I've grown up around. I've grown up around my Black family. My Black cousins. My grandfather. My mother. And how God wants me translate those things onto the canvas. That's what keeps me inspired. This is something I feel I am purposed to do.

Righteous, Shahara Montgomery, 2022

Shahara Montgomery

By NeFesha Ruth

I was a child when my mother read to my siblings and me Faith Ringgold's book, Tar Beach. I remember the colors and the imagery. I am forever thankful to my mother for introducing me to such a monumental artist at a young age. That experience, paired with growing up playing in my mother's sewing room, fabrics and colors accompanied my imagination and led me to this moment.

In this inaugural issue, I honor a living legend that has paved the road for the many artists that walk down her trailblazed path with an intention to extend the path, go further, and continue the struggle. As I began to conceptualize BlackFolkArt.com and this zine, I thought about the persistence that it took for Faith Ringgold to create and make space in a world that continuously rejected those whom she represented; creative, bold, Black, courageous women that believed in themselves, their culture, and their community.

I took all that energy and decided to create a magazine that would tell the stories of the Black artist that are, with a critical consciousness, shaping our culture. It is with gratitude that I dedicate this inaugural issue to Faith Ringgold. Daily, I glean from and find strength in her words, "You have to persist, and eventually somebody is going to be interested in what it is you are doing. Persistence is exceedingly important. Anyone can fly; all you gotta do is try." Faith Ringgold: Tar Beach #2, 1990 Courtesy www.FaithRinggold.com

Opposite Faith Ringgold: Early Works #25: Self-Portrait, 1965 Courtesy www.FaithRinggold.com

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