Boxologyart

I’m determined to find my voice again.

For a long time, I’ve been trying to escape the person I used to be.

People would tell me, “That hurt my feelings.” Or, “Jamila, I don’t think you realize how you come across.” I can even remember looking at my own kids and feeling the shame of knowing I’d said something I couldn’t take back.

So I made a decision years ago: soften everything…or say nothing at all.

I convinced myself that people needed to learn their own lessons and that it wasn’t my place to speak up.

But somewhere along the way, I didn’t just soften my delivery…

I lost my voice.

I stopped advocating for myself.
I stopped taking up space.
I started questioning whether my silence was really kindness…or fear.

My sister recently pointed it out, and it hit me hard.

The truth is, I grew up in a family that never held their tongue. If they saw something, they said it—not to hurt people, but to make them aware. The problem wasn’t the honesty. It was the delivery.

I wanted to do better than that.

But in trying not to hurt anyone…

I disappeared.

Now I’m learning that maybe the answer isn’t choosing between honesty and kindness.

Maybe it’s learning how to do both.

So I’m curious…

Have you ever felt like you made yourself smaller just to keep the peace?

How are you learning to speak your truth while still protecting the relationships you care about?

I’d love to hear your story.

Welp. I asked. Y’all answered. 🥴😂

I counted the votes and apparently my next Pop Icon is…

SPIKE LEE. 👓🎬

Good thing I already have some reading material. 🤓

Pop Icon No. 16 loading…

Let’s build. 📦🎨

Andy Warhol wasn’t just making art. He was redefining what art could be.

Before Warhol, many believed art belonged in galleries and museums. He challenged that idea by turning everyday objects, advertisements, and celebrities into fine art.

He blurred the line between popular culture and high culture, proving that inspiration can be found anywhere.

As I built this portrait, I kept thinking about what it means to be an innovator.

Innovation isn’t always creating something that has never existed before.

Sometimes it’s having the courage to see the ordinary differently—and trusting your vision long enough for everyone else to catch up.

Warhol made people look at soup cans and celebrities differently.

I hope my work makes people look at boxes—and maybe even themselves—a little differently.

Different mediums.
Different generations.
The same belief…

Art has the power to change the way we see the world.

Andy Warhol.
Built, not painted..
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* MixedMediaArt
* PortraitArt
* ArtistProcess
* CreativeJourney
* ArtThatStartsConversations

As I drove through the heat today in my car with no air conditioning, I couldn’t help but think about my ancestors.

If this heat is uncomfortable for me today, I can only imagine what it was like for those who had no choice but to labor in it from sunrise to sunset.

Today, as we celebrate 250 years of America, I’ve been thinking about freedom.

The Founding Fathers imagined a new kind of nation built on revolutionary ideas about liberty and self-government. At the same time, millions of enslaved people endured unimaginable hardship while helping build the physical foundation of that nation with their labor.

Those are both part of our story.

America is a beautiful country—full of incredible people, breathtaking places, innovation, resilience, and possibility. But I think we honor it best when we’re willing to remember all of its history… the triumphs and the sacrifices.

Freedom has never looked the same for everyone.

Maybe that’s why it’s still something worth striving toward.

🇺🇸❤️