Fanta Celah, painter, jewelry
artisan, and vocalist, was recently added to the list of Who’s Who in Black
Chicago. Her journey started as a youth in Wisconsin, where she participated in competitions and exhibitions
which paid off. At age fourteen she received her first commission, a mural of
Tiger Woods. This commission allowed her mastery of realism to be viewed
by a wide audience. She was rewarded with many more portrait commissions which put
her career on the fast track.
After moving to Chicago, Celah studied at Columbia College for two years. “I decided to just work in the field.
I know a lot of students wait until they graduate and get an internship. Since
I started my career at such a young age and had been selling my art since I was
14, I jumped right into the field. I was showing at the South Shore Cultural Center, and the South Side Art Center. I was showing with artists like Andre' Guichard
at such a young age. I was 21 amongst people in their 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. It
was an amazing experience.”
Celah’s paintings are filled
with passionate expression about spirit and Earth. “It really takes a true
artist to be able to do landscapes. When I first started and I was looking at
Van Gogh’s painting, entitled Haystacks,
I didn’t really get it, but once you are
out in nature, once you break free, you become yourself. I live on the 28th floor and
I see the sunrise and the sunset everyday. That is my source of rejuvenation.”
Celah realizes that this is a luxury, something many people don’t get to
experience in these busy times. “I feel if I do these images I can help them
restore their spirits, motivate and heal them, so they can feel the way that I
feel.”
Gateway of Eternity (Obama), copyright 2009,
Fanta Celah
Gateway of Eternity (Obama), is a portrait of President Obama, and his likeness is set in a
seascape. Fanta was inspired to paint
him in this manner because of his global impact. “He has spawned a whole new era of thinking
and motivating the world. I felt like everybody else has done Obama. If I do
Obama I’m going to do him my way, he’s going to be in a seascape.”
Fanta Celah’s art is created to
be healing. As a jewelry artisan, her creations are often made with copper, a
metal she enjoys working with. Healing crystals are incorporated into these
masterpieces which assist one in opening up the chakras, allowing Divine Wisdom
to flow through.
In our quest to find out how
the arts can strengthen the immune system of a neighborhood, town, city, or
globe, we found Fanta Celah. She is a Chicago treasure, but through the internet she is a global
resource for healing. All one needs to do is log on to her site, commune
with nature, break free and become yourself….
To learn more about Fanta
Celah, find out about her exhibitions, or collect her art, log on to her website www.fantacelah.com.