Amariah has always considered herself to be a creative person. Like many children, she enjoyed art and always looked forward to projects at school. But it wasn’t until the pandemic that painting began to take on a more meaningful role in her life. Unfortunately, Amariah lost a family member during that time. Everyone deals with grief differently and, for Amariah, the best way to process her emotions was to paint.

Amariah’s new-found passion was a surprise to her mom, Javare’. “She just started painting and painting,” Javare’ said. The quality of the work was perhaps even more surprising. Even though Javare’ does not consider herself to be an expert in art generally, or painting specifically, she could recognize that there was something special about her daughter’s paintings. Javare’ knew they had to be shared with the community. 

Amariah had been volunteering at her local libraries for more than a year, and Javare’ encouraged her daughter to reach out to the librarians to see if there was an opportunity to showcase her art. The librarians loved the paintings! Amariah’s work has now been featured at both the W. Ann Gibson-Esmond Station Library and the Quincie Douglas Library in Tucson. 

Momentum is continuing to build for Amariah. Her artwork received such a positive reaction that she was interviewed by Pima County’s community relations manager. Look for the article about Amariah, her paintings, and her inspiration.

She’s also reciprocating all the support she has received from the community.