Living life in the manner that connects with your heart, your soul, and your essence takes courage and courage takes belief. Belief in yourself, even when opportunity turns sour and leaves a sickly taste in your mouth, your tongue dry. Belief, even when past injuries resurface and try to inflict their pain again. 

My life journey has been a struggle, but I have never stopped fighting. I have survived trauma and have built myself into a stronger person; however, there have been times when I have stumbled and found myself in a place of weakness and doubt. Even in the darkest moments, I have believed in my ability to summon the courage to take another step forward.

The emotional journeys that I experience, especially in response to events beyond my control, directly shape my creative process and how I create my art. My art philosophy is that everything has artistic potential, and I want people to see and to understand the world from an unfamiliar perspective. To see the world through unfamiliar eyes, to feel what they might otherwise overlook. Everyone has a struggle that they should never stop trying to overcome. This is why I have chosen to put myself on display: to encourage others to continue their fight. To keep fighting.

I bring my artistic vision into everything I create. I incorporate my artistic vision into my writing, sculpting, building, sewing, photography, fashion design, and film making. My philosophy remains consistent, but the methodologies, the process, and techniques I use differ. This is true regardless of whether I am making a film, a series of photographs, or in my writings. Each project demands its own tools, its own path. Whether I am behind a camera, a sewing machine, or a pen, the process always evolves.

I am unable to change the past. I am powerless to alter choices made by others based on their remembrance of that shared past. Left with an echo of sorrw, shame, and a soul that sighs in silent contemplation, my art is an effort to display those feelings. This is my choice: to believe that I can overcome the fears, the pain, the loneliness, the heartache of being in a world where it feels like I do not belong or should not be. Yet her I am.

My art is a vision born from those fears. My fears have created my courage. I have the courage to bring into the world in thsi small way: my vision. My art. My art is my soul laid out and unaborted for all to view. The blood in my veins carries the strength of a thousand generations of female warriors and artists. Their dark whispers reside deep in my soul. They share words of power. Words like survive, strength, thrive, conquer, protect, and the most important word: share. 

I am Belle De La Chelle