NotYourMuse starts a new project on an unframed canvas, starting with her signature flower heads.

In an atmosphere saturated with overstimulation, cynicism, and emotional fatigue, New York-based artist NotYourMuse chooses something softer. Something brighter. Across surreal compositions, dream-like palettes, and emotionally charged imagery disguised in playfulness, the multidisciplinary artist has carved out a visual language rooted in transcending — one where heaviness becomes color, vulnerability becomes texture, and everyday existence becomes something almost spiritual.

NotYourMuse casually describes her occupation as “artist and entrepreneur… and everything in between” — revealed a practice built less on rigid structure and more on intuition, faith, and emotional honesty. Her work feels ethereal at first glance, but underneath the vibrant surfaces sits something deeply human: an artist trying to metabolize life in real time.

“I always try to put an emphasis on the colorfulness and the lightheartedness of it,” she explained. “Even though sometimes maybe the feelings behind it were heavy. It’s a way to transmute that energy into something playful and joyful instead.”

That philosophy bleeds into nearly every aspect of their process. Rather than forcing concepts into existence, Muse prefers to let paintings evolve naturally — beginning with scattered notebook sketches before eventually taking shape organically on canvas. The unpredictability is intentional. For them, the strongest work often arrives when control is loosened.

“I do sometimes plan them out, but I find that the ones I kind of just let organically happen are my best ones.”

That openness to instinct extends beyond painting. Muse repeatedly returned to ideas of flow, divine timing, and trusting the unseen architecture behind opportunities. Collaborators appear serendipitously. Projects align unexpectedly. Puzzle pieces reveal themselves when they are supposed to.

“Sometimes I’ll be thinking, ‘Okay, I need this puzzle piece to put together with this puzzle piece,’ and then God steps in and introduces me to that person.”

Faith sits at the center of her daily life just as much as creativity does. Alongside parenthood and entrepreneurship, spirituality has become a grounding force in how they navigate both art and routine. Muse’s mornings are intentionally slow and restorative — herbs, mushrooms, long walks, jogging outdoors, meditation without music, sunlight, and time spent with her child before transitioning into the endless stream of artistic labor waiting later in the day.

There is something refreshing about the way Muse speaks about wellness: not as a trend or aesthetic performance, but as maintenance for survival. A necessary recalibration for an artist balancing parenthood, creative ambition, community-building, and internal reflection simultaneously.

Even her relationship to success feels unusually humble. Reflecting on her first museum exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2018, Muse admitted they often process accomplishments long after they happen.

“In the moment I don’t usually feel anything until later and I’m like, ‘Oh wow, I really did that.”

Since then, their work has continued expanding across immersive and community-centered spaces. They spoke passionately about creating with Lume Studios, a venue known for large-scale projection mapping experiences, as well as participating in MoMA’s High Society community programming — spaces that emphasize interaction and atmosphere as much as visual presentation itself.

What makes NotYourMuse compelling is not simply the aesthetic language she has developed, but the emotional intention behind it. In an era where contemporary art often leans toward irony or detachment, Muse is unafraid to make work that openly pursues positivity. Not superficial optimism, but a deliberate act of emotional alchemy.

“I’ve been really big on painting positive work and positive imagery and things that make people happy,” they said. “I think that’s the energy we need in the world right now.”

That same sincerity shaped the advice they offered to emerging artists trying to navigate creative careers today. Beyond technical ability or networking, Muse emphasized belief — especially during the years when external validation does not yet exist.

“There’s a lot of years of just believing in yourself and being the only person that believes in you.”

Equally important, she stressed the need for recognizability: developing a voice so distinct that audiences immediately understand who made the work before reading the name attached to it.

For an artist whose paintings already feel suspended somewhere between dream states and emotional recovery, that sense of identity is clearly already taking form. NotYourMuse is building a world where softness is not weakness and intuition becomes methodology.

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NotYourMuse will be live painting during Karley Wasaff’s “Growing Takes Time” — a real-life video game disguised as a dance performance — where the audience powers the world. Play hard. Grow harder. Taking place at Noo Arts Wildflowers Green Roof on Sat, Jun 20 at 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM (EDT). Learn more and RSVP here.

Photo & writing by Josh Sauceda.

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