Today we’d like to introduce you to Bella Bishara
Hi Bella, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m not sure exactly where to start, because I honestly cannot pin a single point or moment when I began creating stuff, but it’s since I was a little kid. Although I did well in school, I really didn’t like it up until my last years of high school. I was always kind of labeled as weird and stood out from my peers without ever trying. I didn’t know why or how I was different. To me, I was just being myself, but it caused me to get bullied a lot during middle school and early high school.
Due to all of this, I never felt like I had a place, or home away from home. I had a lot of trouble making meaningful connections and good friends, and I honestly felt really isolated from the world. Through all of this though, I would continue to create. I would draw whatever I felt like; anything that interested me. I would post my work online for fun, and it was honestly my escape from the world.
My last two years of highschool were spent at the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville. which I will always be eternally grateful for. This was the first time I felt like I had a place. To be completely surrounded by incredible artists left me inspired and energized, ready to take on the extremely demanding cirriculum. I learned more than I ever thought I could learn in 2 years, and I made so much work that I am still (to this day) struggling to find the space for all of it. I could feel myself changing, and growing, and I felt like I was finally figuring a lot of stuff about myself out. I definitely still had my struggles and dark times while I was there, but the difference was that I was supported by an absolutely incredible group of people who would continuously support me to the end. The people around me are still, to this day, some of the best people I have ever known. Without the Governor’s school, I would not be the person I am today.
The next thing I knew, I was graduating high school, and not long after that, I started college at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta with a major in Illustration. SCAD was definitely not where I expected myself to be, but it felt right at the time. I attended for only 2 quarters (about 6 months) before I quickly discovered that this was NOT the right path for me. It was an extremely difficult realization for me to have, because my whole life I have been told to go to school and get a degree, and here I was, freshman year, dropping out. This was for many reasons. I was miserable there and felt like I wasn’t learning anything in my foundation classes, which I could not get out of, even though they were classes I had already taken at the Governor’s School. I also realized I didn’t actually need a degree for the career I wanted, which has always been to be an entrepreneur/freelance artist. I have always hated the idea of working for a company, which is exactly what SCAD pushes for its students. Lastly was the money. SCAD is RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Beyond anything the average person or family can reasonably afford. Meaning I had to take out loans, which more likely than not would’ve put me in debt for the rest of my life.
So, I left in March of 2024. I decided that if I don’t pursue my dreams now, I will never get the chance again. So since then, I have been building up my business and taking the steps towards my dream career. I have been doing social media as a way of marketing and it has been an amazing thing for me. I also very frequently do art markets, which I have been doing since last year. I have a lot of big dreams and goals, like a solo exhibition, or new products, but I am trying to take things one step at a time to allow for careful thought and execution.
I can confidently say that leaving school was one of the best things I could’ve done for myself, and I am happy as ever. There have been endless ups and downs but I am not going anywhere. I know I’ll get to where I want to be as long as I continue doing what I am doing. I truly feel so blessed and thankful for all I’ve been able to do thus far.
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?
There have been lots of challenges, between the bullying I faced in school hurting my self image, to getting hurt by people who have been in my life, nothing has been easy. Dropping out of school was incredibly hard on my mental health and for the last couple weeks I was at SCAD I cried a lot, almost every night. It was really damaging to feel like I was letting the people in my life, and myself, down, even though I KNEW it was the right choice. Even now that I’ve been out of school there have been a lot of struggles. I’ve faced a lot of rejection from galleries and art opportunies for various reasons, some out of my control. A lot of places won’t give me opportunies simply because of my age, being 19. I am not taken seriously as a professional artist and am often looked down upon. Trust me, I know there is still SO much for me to learn and develop but that doesn’t discredit my current work and skill.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
It’s been difficult to sum everything up in words but I’ll put it this way: my artwork has always been like a physical timeline of my life. Through the different periods, eras, and events in my life, I have always made work about it to help me through things. I can go through phases where I like/dislike certain mediums, subject matters, and styles, but it all comes down to me, my experiences as a human, and how I have changed. The act of making art in itself is a way for me to find out more about myself.
A lot of my past work has been about spirituality and identity. I am Egyptian but have lived in the U.S. for basically my whole life. This has caused me to feel pretty disconnected from my identity and I have had to rediscover it and explore it through art. I also explore spirituality through my art, but also through reading, learning, and experimenting, I really love research and making new connections. I would say the one thing all of my work has in common is how playful it is. I love bright, vibrant colors.
A lot of my newer work has been incorporating crochet into it. It’s something I experimented with a couple years ago and have picked back up again. I love the way it looks and I feel like it distingueshes me from the crowd. I’ve also been doing a lot of illustration work for products, like stickers, bags, etc. It’s been really fun getting to make lighthearted, silly stuff that people really love too! I’m still trying to find a balance between fine art/illustration because I truly love both so much.
What does success mean to you?
To me, success is happiness. Which comes from being at peace with myself and the world. Of course I have lots of huge goals in terms of business and career, which I know I will achieve, but those things don’t matter at all if I am not genuinely happy with myself and my life. A good career and money can definitely contribute to happiness, and take stress off of you, but it is not all about money.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bellabishara.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellabishara/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bellabishara
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bellabishara
