381 - Honing Strength
“An experience like this in my mind or memory hasn’t happened here.”
Kolan Snider started drawing as a 3 rd grader. When his mom got a good job in a different state and after she got settled in a small one bedroom basement apartment his grandparents brought him to her as the new school year had already started. From that very first day and the rest of his time at that school he was introduced to racism by older kids while teachers and staff did nothing to stop it, he was the only Native American kid in that school that he knew of at that time. He remembers the teachers trying to make other kids play with him at recess, but no one would ,and it ended up being a very lonely time. He can remember one Saturday his mom, who was at the time one of the best pencil drawers that he can remember till this day, she would draw lions and other wildlife and her shading was really high level. So that morning he remembered crying and finally told her what was happening ,so she hugged him and had him sit down and showed him how to trace one of the ‘Pound Puppies’ coloring books, he traced a picture once or twice if that, Then he just started drawing whatever he had seen ever since.
Since that time he went onto win art contests throughout grade school and high school years, he never really had any teachings. He is all self taught. He draws with pencil, pen, colored pencil, marker, painted walls ,drums ,caskets, animal skulls, leathers, doors, basketballs, families seek his support for memorial/funeral drawings, he designed a headstone, and for the past 9 plus years he’s been tattooing.
Art/drawing is for him a way to do something he truly enjoys and throughout the years he loves to use his art/drawings to help bring joy and whatever Happiness he can to his family and friends in times of loss or to show appreciation.
He’s always open to learn something new, and for the most part he knows tomorrow is never promised so he’s currently drawing as many pictures as he can and putting them away for my daughters to have and to be able to look back at them someday years down the road and after I’m gone and know how much they are loved.
My name is Taylor, I am a self-taught visual abstract artist based in Denver. My creativity and art is inspired by my connections with nature, my mental health journey, and feelings I gain from meditation and dance. My passion is creating visuals that illuminate mental health in art form, sparking feelings of love, well being, and inspiration. Sunsets, mountains, water, and the feelings that come to me during experiences in nature spark my creativity, and a huge part of my process comes from those moments. These are the moments I want to share with the world!