00:02Art has the amazing capacity to start a conversation. It's not limited to what you
00:08see with your eye. It takes a step further. I feel that my art empowers other people.
00:14They see that there's this female painting, this really big mural on the
00:19wall. So by being the example of how I do it is something that empowers them to do the same.
00:37The idea of coming together with nine other artists with our own respective skill set is
00:42really about celebrating those diversities and highlighting the beauty of each of these
00:4750 states. Also working with Adidas brands, the whole active healthy lifestyle and inspire
00:53others through our art. Being active it's a way for me to refocus, start the day with a
00:58clear head and a clear vision of what I want to create for the day.
01:03America is the place where my family came to live out their dreams.
01:07Independence means that you can get up every day and you can live your life the
01:11way that you want to. Being a female, feeling independent, it's the most
01:15incredible thing and I value that and I'm so incredibly grateful for it.
01:23So the inspiration for each shoe design is what directly inspires me from each state.
01:28For the Massachusetts shoe, I drew from the varsity theme idea as well as some Americana
01:36iconography and colors like stars and stripes. For the New York shoe I pulled from my own
01:42direct experience with the graffiti culture. Brownstone buildings, gray paint, a lot of just graffiti
01:48kind of elements into it. The Ultraboost X, it's a little bit untraditional of a canvas
01:54for me to paint on but that's what made this so exciting was the idea of challenging myself.
02:01First time visiting California was a few years ago. The wide open spaces, the water,
02:05the vibrant punchy colors, Venice Beach. I really wanted the shoes to sort of represent the
02:11landscapes that women would be running through if they were to visit these states.
02:16This project is for women, by women, and I'm very proud to be part of that.
02:20Whatever I can do with my platforms as an artist to speak up for myself, to speak up for other
02:26women,
02:26I just want to see us as individuals who are empowered to do what we want to do.
02:32It feels really great to be part of this collective of women artists and it's all
02:37about unity and community. There's a saying that a candle doesn't lose its light by lighting another
02:44candle and I think that's exactly what we're doing with this project is that we are shining a light
02:49on one another and celebrating the diversity of this country.
