Conversations with Courtney D. Love-Curry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney D. Love-Curry.

Hi Courtney D., so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m just your semi-friendly neighborhood Blerd, playing this life game that didn’t include a strategy guide. By day, I’m a wife, a mother, and a member of the legal mafia. By night, I’m the effervescent and ever extra multidisciplinary artist CasualBlerdist. I’ve been a ham since birth so performance was my first love. Even when I went to college with a “sensible plan” I still ultimately picked theater as my major. Even my 1st 2 majors marketing and journalism still had performance dreams shoe horned into them so there’s that.

My visual art was a love that I kept to myself for a while. I drew on virtually anything that a pencil (or chalk—or a rock) could leave a mark on. It wasn’t until about 8 years ago when I picked up painting to cope with the stress of existing as a human on this planet that I asked myself what would happen if I put my visual work out there and acted on it. Definitely one of my better life decisions, and further confirmation that my “Do it scared” philosophy works. So far I’ve been in and created performances as well as shown my visual work and done live paints around Cleveland Akron and Pittsburgh.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of my challenges is managing multiple hats. I’d love to devote myself to my family and my creative work 26 hours a day 9 days a week each, but alas time doesn’t work that way. Plus, the bill gods are very selfish and ferocious deities so I have to sacrifice time to make sure they receive their offerings too. Having some semblance of a routine is crucial but being able to just roll with the punches is equally crucial because there are times when life doesn’t give an iota of care about your plans. Also make it a point to rest because if you don’t, your body will make you and that’s never the fun kind of rest.

Another challenge I have is my tendency to be hypercritical of myself which often translates into imposter syndrome. Like I’m not a real artist or I’m not doing as much as I should be. When those thoughts creep in I remind myself that I’m doing exactly what kid-me wanted to do. I’m an artist who despite her schedule doesn’t shirk time with her family. The foundation’s already been set and I’m just continuing to build on it. That’s a blessing.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My visual work is heavily gaming and anime inspired. About 80% of my work has an easter egg from an anime or a game, Even if it doesn’t, you’ll still get a healthy dose of anime eyes because I’m in love with how expressive they are. Creating is akin to meditation for me so a lot of my work is also very self-introspective. Some are really easy for people to get and others aren’t. To me, it’s a lot like expressing your feelings to someone you’re having a conversation with. Sometimes you’re understood, sometimes you’re not but at least you got it off your chest.

As far as performances go, if you got jump scared by some yelling that’s probably me. If it’s a facetious social allegory, it’s also probably me. If it’s both? Yeah that’s definitely me. I love satire and I love volume. Some of the players in this life game are playing with some particularly unscrupulous mods and deserve a healthy dose of trolling to help bring awareness to their madness and drum them out. I’ve done both film and stage work and I love both but I really love the stage. Live performances are never the same thanks to the audience and I live for the reactions.

What I’m most proud of is my willingness to always try something new in my journey. I went to school for performance studies, but on the visual front I’m 100% self taught and motivated by “Hmmmm, what if…” energy. I taught myself how to draw. I taught myself how to paint. I taught myself how to make digital art on Procreate and designed my artist brand on my own as a result. Recently, I just taught myself how to use a 3D pen and made 4 sculptures that became part of a larger collaborative project with my best friend. Now, I’m taking my 3D work further and teaching myself how to use Nomad Sculpt. From formal schooling to just giving it a shot, my creative journey has been one of perpetual learning and that keeps it interesting.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
My favorite thing about Cleveland are our metroparks. My secondary residence is in the various wooded areas of Cleveland and we have so many to choose from. If I ever leave, they’ll be the thing I miss the most. Another thing I like is our diversity. We have so subcultures here. There’s literally something for everyone if you’re open to look, and you know what else comes with that diversity? FOOD. Mama loves her food, and I’ll go on entire missions across Cleveland to try a new restaurant. The main thing I don’t like about Cleveland is how much we’re slept on. Cleveland is actually an amazing city. The sights, the people, how the atmosphere is so different depending on where you are. It’s really a gem. As a kid I didn’t really appreciate it because I was so dead set on getting away. As an adult getting away and experiencing different places is still great but there’s nothing like coming home.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://casualblerdist.myportfolio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casualblerdist

Image Credits
Suhaylah Hamzah, Kaitlyn Walsh, Jasmine Golphin