Give people their flowers while they can smell them

Every year there's a wave of prominent public figures that the world mourns, and every year there's this sense that "something about this year is different." I always see the statement that it feels like so many celebrities are dying in a short time span.

But death is inevitable, and it reminds me of the importance of giving people their flowers while they're alive.

In January alone, we've seen the deaths of legends Sidney Poitier, André Leon Talley, Ronnie Spector, Bob Saget and many more who have shared their art or given the world their hard work.

But it's not just about giving flowers to the people who will receive them on a stage for all to see, but to those on smaller stages in our homes, at work, in church or any place that we hold dear.

That's something I hope to do more of — honoring my loved ones and letting them know how much they mean to me.

— Laura Nwogu, quality of life reporter at the Savannah Morning News

Follow me on Twitter at @lauranwogu_ or email me at lnwogu@gannett.com

Pulse of The 912

Najja Elon Lawson's journey from the Navy to studying art at SCAD now has her tackling stereotypes, telling her truth and fighting for what she's worth as she shares her art throughout the Southeast.

Laura Nwogu: You were in the Navy for five years. Can you walk me through that transition from being in the Navy to enrolling at SCAD to study graphic design?

Najja Elon Lawson: “All my life, I’ve loved art. I've always been passionate about it, and I was always very experimental as a child. I tried a bunch of different mediums, but just the environment I was raised in, I didn't know that it was possible to really sustain a career off art. I joined the Navy, and I didn't have time to be creative. That was pretty shitty, to say the least (laughs). But the small time I did make towards the end of my term, I knew then. I was like, I don't know how imma do it, but I got to figure out how to keep doing this somehow and making money off of it.

“I started doing some research on art colleges and different majors that are available nowadays. At first, when I applied to SCAD, I was a painting major. So, I was a painting major the first two years I was here, but then I wanted to learn some skills that, not only were more lucrative but were more with the time. Everything's so technical nowadays. I just started surveying different majors that related to that like animation and illustration and graphic design. I was never entirely sure like what that meant, and not only what it was, but just how much it influences the way we live our lives. I really liked the idea of being a big contribution to the way we live our lives just from signage to how we identify as not only people but as brands. I think that's really interesting to me.”

LN: Was there a learning curve going from being a painting major to mostly doing graphic design and stuff with Adobe.

NL: “Absolutely. I never even opened Adobe (laughs). Kids nowadays, as you already know, they're so smart. These kids are already doing Adobe in middle school and high school. I didn't even. So, going into these intro classes, these kids, when they're presenting ideas, I started to feel an imposter syndrome. I was like, well, who am I? What am I even doing here? But I have a really good support system with me and I just kind of took it in stride.”

LN: I'm sure you traveled a lot during your time in the Navy. Did those travels influence your art or how you looked at your art?

NL: “Of course. I think my travels not only humbled me but humbled what I thought was art. In my mind, I thought art was something that's likely, something that has to look like something or has to be aesthetically pleasing. From my travels, I see a lot of truth in work around the world. Just people being so raw and so honest in their languages in their own way, and that really inspired me to take the direction that I do with my work — just telling my truth in my own way, in my own language. People that speak the same language as me may not understand my work, but what I like about it is people can interpret it their own way. And I like that. I think that’s pretty cool.”

LN: I like what you mentioned about telling your own truth. I know your gallery showing at Sulfur Studios was titled “Mysoginoir and Other Synonyms.” You talked about confronting the moods, thoughts and emotions that you deal with as a queer woman of color. How important is it for you to kind of share those different lenses that have shaped your life through your art, and what do you hope people take away from your shared experiences when they view your art?

NL: “I think that talking about those things was a transformative period for myself. It helped me accept myself just as a person. Even from researching other queer artists in different countries and different states, I just like the idea of you don't have to hide when you're creating. I never had that. I never had to have that experience where I had to hide who I was or anything like that, but I think I'm a naturally quiet person. I think my work gives me a voice that I don't normally have for things. It's like activism to me.

“And what I want people to take from my work? I know there's stereotypes that maybe a queer lifestyle is very sexual, hypersexual. I don't want people to see my work and immediately think that it's about that or about those things that we were in embedded to think about gay people, but also, that we lead normal lives and have real things that we experience just like everybody else. I think, also, that our existence is just as valid as anybody else's.”

LN: A lot of the art that you shared with me was either self-portraits or self-reflections. Does that play into what you were telling me?

NL: “For sure. A lot of my recent work has been about decision-making based on who I am as a queer woman of color. How I want to pursue certain things or how those decisions will affect me and my lifestyle.”

LN: Your art was also on display at the Augusta Regional Airport. What was that like having your art on display for the hundreds who come through the airport every day?

NL: “Oh, it was very monumental for me. I've never experienced something like that. I'm not even from Augusta. I heard about the opportunity from a friend of a friend. Especially just that part of Augusta — to be forward — it's just very right-wing. So in my mind, I was like, what? How does this even happen? I was like, why would they pick my work of all things? When you think of an airport, you think of horses and babies — just very conventional things. So, I just couldn't even wrap my mind around why it was picked. Not in an imposter syndrome type of way, just confusion.

“Who was a part of the decision process? And surprisingly it was a group of cisgender middle-aged white people. And that was even more surprising to me. Their thought processing behind choosing my work was that my work was evocative and it told some story. The colors. Just everything. They just had so many feelings towards my work. They can actually look at it and feel something; it wasn't just something just pretty to look at. They liked that it challenged social and cultural things. They kind of felt like it was just time to show some something new, something that would spark a conversation if you will.”

LN: It sounds like it resonated with them. I like that.

You're currently a graphic design intern at Savannah Bee Company and you graduate this summer. Where do you hope to take your art after that?

NL: “I'm going to be with Savannah Bee for a while. It's not one of those like three-month, six-month things. It’s one of those companies I plan on taking with me long-term. I really like it there, honestly. The culture is really nice. Everyone's really accepting, and it's been a really good transition for me. Right now I'm actually working on some work for another exhibition coming up in Beaufort, South Carolina. The show will be called “Worth It,” and it'll be a survey about my experiences with self-esteem and self-worth. So, that's what I'm working on right now.

“And then in terms of the graphic design community, I want to stay with Savannah Bee for a few years and I want to get some strong advertising and marketing skills because I have some bigger goals than just being a designer for so many years. I want to take some leadership positions like art direction or something like that; I’m a natural leader. I see that for myself, and I'm not really willing to accept less than.”

LN: All of that sounds very cool. With the exhibition, is there a date for that?

NL: “It'll be June 25. The gallery that I’m exhibiting there is called the Gullah Art Gallery.”

LN: Got it. And why do you love the 912?

NL: “(laughs) Savannah has touched me in a way that I definitely didn't expect it to. I moved here without any research. I just kind of came here for school off a whim right out of the military, and I had a lot of experiences here where it forced me to learn a lot about myself. With Savannah, you have to just get up and explore, and that was one of my favorite things as a kid. Just exploring the city, walking around for hours, learning the history and things like that. So, in relation to your question, I love Savannah because I feel like it connects with my inner-child almost. It makes me do things that my younger self would like.”

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Art of The 912

The 912 newsletter will highlight a local Black artist every two months as the header image for the weekly issue. This month's artist is Antonia B. Larkin.

Follow Larkin at her website and on Instagram:

Website: https://antoniablarkin.net/home-goings

Instagram: @niablurkin and @thicc.reads

Stories of the 912

1: Chatham DA reflects on first year in office: New crime units, record restricting and backlogs

Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones reflected on her first year in office and praised her team’s successes, acknowledged their challenges, and revisited why she ran for office: to reestablish equity in the justice system.

2: Rainbow Girls are bringing their happy-go-lucky sensibilities and rock music to Savannah

The Rainbow Girls play two nights in Savannah — Feb. 2 and 3 — on a double bill with Americana boot-stompers, Dead South, at Victory North.

3: Here are 20 of the top baseball players to watch this season in the Greater Savannah area

Here's a look at 20 of the top players to watch in the Greater Savannah area as the baseball season is set to start in mid-February.

4: Bradley-Glenn, other veteran football players have unfinished business at Georgia Southern

It should surprise no one that Todd Bradley-Glenn is returning for another year — his seventh — to play football for Georgia Southern.

It would be more surprising if the inside linebacker wasn't coming back from a torn left biceps muscle that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021 season.

Cancer couldn't beat him. He has survived a rare form of skin cancer, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. This guy really loves to play football.

5: Breyer retirement lays groundwork for historic nomination of first Black woman to Supreme Court

Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's expected retirement later this year hands President Joe Biden a chance to make Supreme Court history by fulfilling a campaign pledge that was central to his election: Naming a Black woman to the nation's highest court for the first time.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: The 912: Give people their flowers while they can smell them