In middle school, Vanessa Faith recognized her artistic talents, yet suppressed them due to her low self-esteem. Now an interdisciplinary artist located in the Cleveland area, she debuted her artwork in an exhibit for the first time at the Uumbaji Gallery in Oscar Ritchie Hall April 6, inspiring women of color to “accept natural beauty.”

Faith first became inspired to create art by watching her grandfather, Willie Tarver, a well-known folk artist from Georgia, where she grew up. Once she moved to the Cleveland area, she began making art of her own. Even after the passing of Tarver, she still “feels his presence as the memory of his passion and creativity lives on through her art.”

She says without him sharing his creations, she wouldn’t have come so far as to display her work in a gallery.

Faith creates paintings, clay sculptures, pencil paintings and much more with the hope to build self-esteem for women, especially women of color.

“It’s me,” Faith said. “It’s a part of who I am.”

She creates sculptures as characters with unique features, identities and personalities. She creates sculptures of Black women with natural hairstyles and accessories that align with a chosen ethnic background and unique style and appearance. One of her sculptures, named Beloved One, is described as an “old soul, who is all-knowing yet someone to confide in.”

“She is a listener,” Faith said. “This is a person you can talk to. You can tell her all your problems and let it go.”

All of Faith’s paintings and sculptures have stories that she hopes viewers and buyers of her art continue to expand and carry on. She loves to see people respond to the art with original interpretations and stories of their own.

“It’s amazing to see the stories they come up with,” Faith said.

Through work and creativity, Faith embraces her natural beauty and strives to help others to embrace theirs too.

She wants women to be empowered by their natural features, like hair, by giving them representation through her art and focusing on bringing awareness to beauty standards and raising self-esteem for others.

“Hair is freedom,” Faith said. “And should be treasured as it tells a story of where we come from.”

Irene Bowser is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].