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ARTS
THE ART OF SHOWING UP WITH
SHOREIGH WILLIAMS & LIZ MEDARANO
Interview and Photos by Anitah Imani
Anitah Imani: To get started, I want to invite both of you to reflect on the two-year anniversary of Pleading Insanity Studios, and then we can go a little bit deeper into reflecting on the past two years. How was the event for you guys?
Shoreigh Williams: I think overall, it was solid. I feel like it showed a lot of our growth from where we first started. I think we had this little bud of an idea when we first opened up the studio. We kind of had the basis, you know? We're tattoo artists, we do artwork, we all agree that art is important, and that’s the start of everything. We all agree that authenticity is important too. Then we really just spent the last two years figuring out what those things mean to us and how we want to show that and spread that. So when we first opened Pleading Insanity with three artists, and then now we're a collective of 13 by our two year anniversary. So I think that really showed our intention.
AI: How about you, Liz?
Liz Medrano: It was cool. I feel like everyone who had to be there was there; it was just the art homies.Then everybody who came through was showing love. It was just very genuine. I feel like I had really good talks that day. Like everyone who came to my little booth ready to chop it up about art, it was very genuine. It just felt like my people, you know? Usually, after social events, I feel like I have a low social battery. I'm like, alright time to go home. But I kind of felt recharged and rejuvenated. Shoreigh said it felt like from the beginning of what it was to how it is now, that it's just shown a lot of progress. I'm grateful for everyone who came through, grateful for everybody who was present that night. It was good, definitely.
AI: That's great. I'm proud of y'all. That's a big feat, for sure. It's been cool to watch and also attend some of these events, and to participate in some of the exhibitions over the years. Kind of going to your point, Shoreigh, about how it started as this smaller idea of, ‘we're tattoo artists, we all foundationally believe in supporting artistic growth and things.’ Over the past two years, how has that ethos expanded? And if there have been principles that have been introduced beyond what you started with, what are those?
SW: Lowkey got this question last night. I've been in the studio for three years, Pleading Insanity has existed for two. They asked what I have learned over these three years in the studio. I do feel like I am learning a lot about what it means to be a leader, and a lot of that comes with one, the business has to be right, especially if you're working with friends. I feel like I've learned a lot about humility and humanity through working with my friends, because if we're going into business together, then the business does have to be right and correct in order for the friendship to also sustain. Or you're going to have to do one or the other. If you want to combine them, then there have to be rules and regulations for both ends. But then, on top of that, the humane aspect, like genuinely hearing people. Knowing what their concerns are, what they want to do, so that way, everybody is where they feel most comfortable. So I feel like that's one of the main things that I've grasped, and then also making things accessible for artists. I think Pleading Insanity is a stepping stone place. It's somewhere where if you are an artist and you're just trying to figure out how to be sustainable on your own, this is a place for that because we have affordable studio rent, which is one thing that I wanted to make happen, because these living rent prices are crazy. But on top of that, people are paying so much just to work in a space without gaining even as much as what Pleading Insanity is giving. This will be a little sneak peek, but every artist this year that's in the Pleading Insanity collective will have a solo show. Also, we give all of our artists a portfolio on the website, just in case they don't already have a website or real-life resources. It takes a while to build these connections. It's the relationships you build that matter, even if you don't get in, even if nothing happens right away; it's a bud until it just grows naturally. So I definitely feel like sharing resources. I've also learned a lot about quality control too. Gatekeeping and quality control are two different things.
AI: There's a lot to go off of there. I feel like the connection between building friendship leading to building community is a big thing. In terms of how y'all have actualized that in the art shows you guys have curated together this year. I want to dive a little deeper into that. So y'all started off the year by curating the 22 Angels Show with Pariah Pete, and you guys have gone on to curate other shows together later this year as well. I'm interested to know what excites you about the artist community in Phoenix, and the artists that y'all are interested in bringing through this space and helping to elevate.
LM: I think the artists in Phoenix have something really special. Truthfully, I feel like anywhere you go, it's always going to be ego. I think that's just like a given. But I think that when you're in Phoenix, people are very open to working with one another, and there's ego, but a lot of times it’s healthy competition. You’re not really going to see too much beef, you know what I mean? I really like that. And on top of that its quality work. I feel like Hope, for example, she went to New York, and she was standing out, she was rocking shit. She had her hair all cool, and she's from Phoenix, so it's cool to see that we can go to different states and still pop out and show ourselves as Phoenicians. So that just shows the value and the quality of the artists here, we're all special in a way. It's also important to give each other flowers, because a lot of us have been doing this for a long time, and we've been struggling through it, working jobs we don't want to work just to make ends meet so we could still make our art. And it's important that we see that in one another, and you're still at it. You know that hunger is still alive, and it's like you're making good quality art despite feeling burnt out from your day job or whatever it is.
AI: I definitely agree with that. I think it's dope that y'all are providing alternative exhibition spaces for artists in the community who might not have the opportunity to exhibit in these higher art spaces, you know what I mean? Also, just doing it as black and brown women, I'm interested in what that experience has been like for y'all, too?
SW: It's a necessity at this point, to be honest. Like a lot of these galleries and places, they all want the commercial shit, or they don't really want to take it there. Like they love the culture, until they just don't. Also, I feel like Arizona, we're still a very young state, so we have a while to go until we are really set in our culture here. But the artists that are here, we make do with what we have. And also, there's a reason why so many people move here. Yeah, you can come here, and there's a lot to give and a lot to get with Arizona. I feel like we don't even try to work with people if the vibe is not completely there, like we just don't even go for it. There's sometimes where we are trying to challenge ourselves in different ways that we haven't before, but if we don't feel welcome right away, like we're not going for it, which is cool that there's two of us, you know, because it's like, ‘okay, are we thinking the same thing?’
AI: I want to build on that tangent of y'all's friendship, but also business partners in cultivating this space. We'll start with one of the most recent ones that I've been seeing that I love: the Sunday sketch nights. So tell me a little bit about what made you guys want to introduce this additional third space into Pleading Insanity, and how that environment has been for the both of you, and what you guys have enjoyed about it.
LM: Initially, I just wanted a place where people - like a third space - could just come and chill and not feel like you have to buy a $10 coffee and do all this stuff, and just could come and chill. At first, we were charging and it was mainly because we had a whole table full of snacks, so it was to try to pay that off somehow. But then after that, we're just like let's just make it free, because it's better to be accessible. It makes people want to show up, knowing that you have people who've been doing this for years right here, and you're interacting with them and learning from one another. So I think we just wanted a place where artists can come and feel embraced and like they can grow over time as they start showing up more and more. Mostly giving back to the community. I think that was the main objective of why. We have the resources to, let's do it.
SW: Yeah. And going back to that's why it's cool to have two of us, because Liz had the idea for running the sketch nights. I also wanted something that was consistent. I feel like that's the main thing that we've been going for is just staying consistent because we’re talking about Arizona, you could get a lot of it out of Arizona, right? So you can make something happen, quick. But like, how do you continue that? Because there is something called the dip. I don't know if you heard of the dip, but when you get on a high, you throw your show, your exhibition, or whatever, and then shortly after, you're like, ‘Damn, what the fuck do I do now?’ It's like the balloon deflated. I feel like a lot of people don't know how to come back from the dip.
AI: Got to be able to adapt on the fly a little bit, but I like that you mentioned consistency as a part of your art practice and building Pleading Insanity. I want to dip off a little bit and talk a little bit more about your individual art journeys this year, and talk a little bit about how you guys have been able to balance consistency within this space, but also sustaining your own practices, because y'all both have produced amazing visual works this year on top of also being tattoo artists too.
So before I ask y'all a little bit about some individual works, I want to understand a little bit of y'all's take on how you find balance between multiple passion areas that you delve into on a weekly basis, both as business partners, but individual artists of your own that need space and time to create their own works.
SW: Ideas are always the easy part, right? So the idea to open up the studio? Oh my gosh! But then, shit gets real. You just got to figure out what you don't know until you know. New ideas, new things, new problems. So I feel like, ultimately, how I've been able to balance different things - because as a creative we're getting called to do different things all the time, and I do think that it's important to listen to those - One: do what's calling you, but also to every day just prioritize what's important for that day. Some things can be procrastinated, some things you're going to need help with, but it's figuring out those things so that way, you can keep everything in balance.
I don't think though, that this last year of creating, like physically creating, for me, has been very balanced. There's been a pretty fast pace. So I think my actual art creating has been put on the back burner, but I've been trying to just juggle and balance other things. I will say prioritizing every day what matters helps for sure, and then knowing that the idea will get executed in the right time, and just trusting that.
AI: Yeah, you definitely have to trust your own individual timeline as an artist, because that's really all you have to go off of in order for these things to come to fruition in the truest way that you envision it. It's gonna take time, so don't rush anything.
SW: Yeah, I also think that you can have a schedule, but be flexible. That shit changes, especially when you're working with other people. We shouldn't change it for everybody all the time. So I think being flexible is a big one.
AI: How about you Liz?
LM: Yeah, honestly same, definitely need flexibility. I actually sat down yesterday and made a whole board of my art vision for the first half of next year, and I think it's just like sitting down and doing stuff like that. I got a little planner, and I just plan stuff that I need to be working on, things I need to prioritize and put first, and then, move accordingly. But honestly, just organization and flexibility at the same time and showing up for what's important. Because like she said, you're just going to get opportunities thrown this way, that way. But what do you want to align yourself with? What is calling to you? And then prioritizing that, because I'm learning how to say no. I used to be like, ‘Yeah, I'm down,’ but now I'm kind of like, ‘Okay, is this really that beneficial? Like, how is this gonna help you progress?’ Like, is this something that you're aligned with other people you're working with, people you would want to continue working with? Do you see longevity in this? And I don't think I have really asked myself that in the past. In the past, I was just trying to be cool, say I'm down and show love. But now I'm at that space where I'm like, no my energy is important and my time is important. The art that I make is very important. So it's like, I need to prioritize it. And I think that's what's been helping me dictate where my time goes moving forward and stuff.
AI: I wanted to allow both of you to reflect on your favorite piece or a recent piece that you've done this year. You both have shown multiple pieces at the Pleading Insanity events this year, the 22 Angels event, Money Ain't a Thing If I Got It, and most recently, the two-year anniversary event. I have some that I'm interested in talking to y’all about. I loved Slow Burn, and I really loved Greened Out as well. So if you want to reflect on either those pieces or a different piece, you guys have shown a lot of work this year.
SW: So those are actually the two that I was gonna reflect on. So what I love about “Slow Burn” is that she exists in the future, like, that's where she's at. Because the point of her is, it's that feeling of yearning, right? Longing for something, and then once you get to that point, you kind of realize, you actually got way more than what you thought you needed prior to it, so it's also saying what's yours, is yours. Trusting divine timing, slowly but surely. But her heart is on fire, because it's also like passion. I can see it and I can feel it, the yearning, the constant irony, because it's like different areas in life too. So that's where she exists. I like to say she exists in the future.
And then “Greened Out”, I feel like that one was felt, for sure. Like a bitch is tired and like on her phone, it says “the money was calling”. Like what Liz was saying, what’s in alignment? Like, it can sound cool, what actually makes sense for me? Sometimes, when you have a lot of energy, when you have a lot of passion, when you have a lot of loyalty, you over-extend yourself, then start to feel guilty when you know you're prioritizing yourself. So Greened Out was just kind of like a testament to all of those.
AI: I really loved both of those pieces, and I feel like similarly the themes in both of them are in conversation with each other. Like the yearning and then also burnout as a result of this constant yearning and constant going towards your passions. A lot of beautiful work, though, and the money show was a really beautiful curation. I feel like the theme was very consistent there across everybody who showed. You showed a piece there as well too, Liz I had a list of some works from you this year as well. You had that one,”Me or Us”, which was the self-portrait that you did at the 22 Angels show. One of my favorite pieces from you that you just put out this year was “Salvia”, the blue girl, and also “Godspeed”. Those are some standout moments for me from you this year, if you'd like to reflect on a couple of those or one of those from that list.
LM: For sure. “Me or Us” it's just an ode to little me. That’s literally what I do it for, little me. Some people got it and some people missed it but if you look, there's three reflections: me in the present, me in the past - being little me, and then there's a sliver of future me as an old lady. But it also could represent my ancestors, my mom, my grandma, like all the women in my life that came before me. Then little me is not just me, but also the inner child and everyone who fuels us. I feel like the people in my life are still very playful and very much embrace their inner child. I like being around people like that, because it just makes life not that serious, calm down.
So I think that that piece was very important, just because a big theme was inner child, and also women in general, like the older version of me being a representation of my mom and my grandma, my great grandma, all these women in my life. It's called “Me or Us” because it's either I could do it for myself or I could do it for us, and including little me and older me, which essentially is still kind of me. We're gonna strive for whatever it is that we're going for. I really like that piece a lot. Then the colors purple and green are just kind of nostalgic to me. Green is my current favorite color, and then I used to be obsessed with purple as a kid, so I try to use both of those colors to emphasize me presently and me as a kid. Definitely just keeping that kid alive and very much still here with me.
AI: I love the color palettes that you use in all of your works, they're very bold. They definitely invoke feelings of nostalgia.
SW: Liz went crazy this year, for sure.
AI: And then, you teach too, right?
LM: I sometimes substitute for Shoreigh.
AI: Are y'all both at the same school?
LM: We're at the same school. To take it all the way back to what she was saying, being around Shoreigh, you'll meet a lot of people. I met Antoinette through guest list. But I feel like because her and Antoinette are really close, and it's just that bud. With me and Antoinette it's kind of grown over the years, where Antoinette would reach out to me for opportunities. So she asked me to do an after-school art club at that same school, and then at the same time, I'll substitute for Shoreigh when she's out sometimes. So I think that itself is a really dope opportunity, because you're teaching the universe. That's the whole point of this: to pass it on, and hopefully create a spark in the next generation of artists and kids.
AI: That's actually a really good pivot to round the corner on this discussion. I just want to talk about y'all’s friendship and y'all's relationship as business partners, but also friends, just supporting each other as artists. I want to give y'all a moment to reflect on how you guys have been able to contribute to each other's artistic growth within this friendship.
First of all, it's hard to find somebody that speaks the same language as you, for real. And you don't really have to overexplain, and it's a comfortable environment for y'all to create and understand each other, but also having the understanding of I'm also here to challenge you as well, too, in a very subtle way. So I don't know if your guys' friendship extends beyond the time that you've come into Pleading Insanity Studio, but within that timeline, what growth can you take away from this ongoing friendship?
SW: Communication, sure. I feel like opening up the studio with Liz - because Liz apprenticed, she's the first apprentice of the studio. First of all, we met in 2017.
LM: At that fashion show for Nipsey.
SW: And then Liz invited me to a couple of shows. There was one that was on the south side, and in that house. And then in LA. And then from there, we ended up working at the same tattoo shop. So I was apprenticing, and then Liz was working like the front. So we spent a lot of time there together, and then that's why when I had the idea of the studio, I was like do you want to learn how to tattoo, because I knew that she wanted to learn anyway. But I think when we got in here, and we were in here every day together, is when things got real. But I will say, I base a lot of my other ways of going about business and communication, and the humility, on Liz and my relationship, because at the end of the day, what matters to me most is the friendship. She mentioned this too on our two-year anniversary. We've had the hard conversations, but it makes everything easier afterwards, it clears things up. It keeps us on the same page, and it keeps us on the same frequency. So when we're going to talk to these people, we're like, ‘Alright, did you clock that? Are we clocking the same shit?’ It keeps us there, and then also challenges us, because in some ways, we do work very differently. Liz's fucking chill, right? I'm not so chill, when it's crunch time, I will low-key freak out. Like, the 22 Angels show I was like, hold up, we have to show 22 pieces of artwork? But at the end of the day, we will both go and get it. That's what we have in common, for sure. So I feel like there's that battle you have a yin and yang.
AI: Yeah, can I know y'alls signs?
LM: I'm a Gemini.
SW: I'm an Aries.
AI: I kind of love that, fire and air. I love that y'all are able to mirror each other's hustles in that way. What about you Liz?
LM: Yeah, communication, honestly. And sometimes they're hard. Sometimes it gets a little emotional, but after that, it makes it easier, because there's no question no underlying emotions, like everything's out on the table. We're being honest with each other, and then on the same page moving forward. I wish all my relationships in life were like that, bro, like that easy and that communicative that we could just sit down and be like, ‘Okay, cool, next.’ So I do appreciate the relationship that me and Shoreigh have formed over the years. It’s been about to be nine years.
AI: Awww, bestie anniversary.
LM: Like she said, we work very differently, and sometimes, I need to be more like Shoreigh, like I need to be on my shit. Not everything's so chill. I do think it's a good balance. It's a yin and yang, you know?
AI: Yeah it's great to see that the minds behind Pleading Insanity have such a solid foundation, and y'all are both like such strong, independent artists on your own. So it's really beautiful that y'all have been able to come together this way and produce something greater for the community.
Is there anything else that you guys want to leave as a takeaway, maybe anything for what 2026 is looking like? I know you already mentioned in the beginning, that you guys are extending the art collective and having solo exhibitions for each artist.
SW: Shout out to the community for just showing up. Because we want to make things where people can't just show up. I feel like it reflects because we've been having all different types of cultures at our events. And then secondly, stay on the lookout for us being elsewhere besides Arizona.
LM: I'm just working on my solo show, and I think it's gonna be a banger, honestly. So that's where all my energy is going, and I think it's gonna be huge. I think it's gonna be my best work yet. I think I have something to say.