Recovering The SelfA Journal of Hope and Healing

Arts & Literature

True Colours – The Art of Bekah Moss

by Michell Spoden

My guest today is 26-year-old Bekah Moss from Canton, OH. She is a professional artist and musician, running her own freelance company. She is currently a Music Tech major at Kent State Stark, with a focus in voice, and author of the book True Colours.

Bekah Moss

Bekah Moss

Michell: Please share with our viewers why you chose to write a book and what it is about.

Bekah Moss: My book is kind of its own breed. It is an illustrated poem, often mistaken for a children’s book. Although kids enjoy my illustrations, the message behind the poem is to remind persons of all ages of the consequences of being close minded. Artistically, the book was my own personal study on using shapes and colors to enhance storytelling.

In the story, a little monster named “Pangwin” tells you about his journey to find love. In his search, he actually learns a valuable lesson about his own perception of things.

Here is the link to by the book!

Michell: How long have you been writing? When did you realize that it was time to make a book?

Bekah Moss: I have been writing stories since I was a little girl. The stories were always about creatures that I made up. I have many other stories I wish to write. One of them I have been working on since I was 10 years old, and I still work on it from time to time. True Colours is the smallest writing project I have, so it’s really my test run. And by small, I mean that I have spent over 500 hours on it. People have really reacted to it well, so I am very pleased. It has been an incredible learning experience that has just begun!

Michell: You have many talents and they also include art and music. Can you please share with us how you work out all of these gift forms to combine them for your success?

Bekah Moss: Being an artist AND a musician can be overwhelming at times. I often find myself wanting draw pictures for the music pieces I write. It is almost like a bizarre form of synesthesia. The best way I combine the two is through animation. Animation brings art and music together in its own life. I think animation is one of the most beautiful gifts a human being can have- although I will admit, frame-by-frame animation can be quite maddening. The next project I will be working on is an animated music video for a composition I wrote in dedication to the rain, called “RainDancer”.

I am still working on mixing and mastering the audio track, but a preview can be found here. To me, simply finishing the project will be a huge success! To give you an idea of how long animation takes, it took me over 100 hours to create the character spinning.

Michell: Do you use your talents to help aid any humanitarian or environmental efforts?

Bekah Moss: Yes. I have donated art pieces to some charity fundraisers, such as raising awareness for domestic violence. I have done a lot of volunteer work for the humane society, and also worked on a wolf preserve for a little while. Once my company grows, I would like to get involved in a lot more fundraisers for animals, especially endangered species. I am a big promoter for recycling and would like to get more involved with promoting energy saving habits.

Another goal I have is to start a fund for a scholarship for Artists/musicians with type 1 diabetes. As a sufferer, I know of the financial and emotional walls the disease can build that holds back one from attempting his/her dreams.

Michell: Why do you call yourself “GirLilly”?

Bekah Moss: Most of my characters come to me in dreams. My favorite one is a winged tiger, who I’ve named Lilly, or TigerLilly. Originally, I wished for my LLC to be TigerLilly Productions. It was already taken by multiple companies. After staring at the name for a while, I thought GerLilly sounded pretty original, and “GirLilly” looked more appealing, hence the name formed.

Michell: What inspired you to create some of the characters in your animations?

Bekah Moss: As I said earlier, a lot of characters appear in dreams that I have at night. I have studied dreams for about 10 years now, and with some concentration, I can use them not only to create new things, but sometimes even see my creations breathe and live. I’ve had the privilege of becoming a couple of the creatures I have drawn. My characters tend to be non-human, simply because I’ve always found animals to be more fascinating to draw.

Michell: What do you live for?

Bekah Moss: I will tell you, and my friends will tell you- I live for creativity. Many people do art and music as a hobby. Others dedicate their night lives to it as a second job. The truly bold and insane do it full time, haha! I have sacrificed many things to have this lifestyle, sleep being one of the top sacrifices. But most of all? Time. My new logo is actually a clock- the “clockeye”. I created this symbol as a mark of importance for the time I dedicate to my talents, and the vision I have for my future as an artist.

Michell: What inspires you as an artist and why?

Bekah Moss: Nature. Creative people tend to fade into darkness at times, always criticizing themselves and trying to improve. In those moments where I’ve felt the most alone, I realized that things in nature – little phenomena were going on all around me. Nature brings a smile to my face even in the darkest hour. Music has also saved my sanity multiple times. No matter how much I learn about music in my studies, it never gets less interesting. Music is truly magical.

Michell: What are some of your future goals?

Bekah Moss: Although I feel that I have accomplished a lot already, I have so many goals! I have a couple more music albums I would like to finish. I have many animations to finish- one is a series based on my dream journal. I am currently working on an animation for True Colours.

I would like to grow my company into a true production firm, giving more artists, animators and musicians jobs. I want to travel the world, join the Peace Corps., learn Italian, and encourage everyone to follow their dreams! Someone once told me that you can live in fear, or live in passion. In today’s society, many things discourage people from attempting their dreams. I want to open those doors- especially to those who are seeking their passion, because life is too short to live in fear!

Michell: Thank you so much for your interview. We wish you the very best.

Visit http://www.girlillyllc.com/ to learn more about Bekah Moss and her work.

About the Author

Michell Spoden is the author of Stricken Yet Crowned and is also pursuing a transitional housing project for woman with an agricultural aspect. She has a degree in Business Science Administration and is finishing her bachelor’s in Project Management.

 

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Recovering The Self is a forum for people to tell their stories. Individual contributors accept complete responsibility for the veracity, accuracy, and non-infringement of their reporting.
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