About

The founding of Sonya Kay Blake Gallery is the culmination of very long journey.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was a friend who inspired the creation of the gallery when she heard my poem, "Masterful Living". She said she wanted a way to share it with friends for their birthdays.  So I began to put the idea into motion and move the pieces into place over the course of three magical weeks. Everything came together with ease and grace. And then I remembered...

 

I had dreamed of owning my own art gallery as a college student some 35-years ago. I graduated from Yale College with a B.A. degree in the History of Art and a minor in Photography. As part of my student life, I directed a student art gallery on campus named Maya's Room while working at the Yale Art Gallery, where I had the opportunity to curate my first exhibition. I spent my junior spring abroad in Paris studying French at the Sorbonne, photography at a local studio, and interning at the Paris location of New York's Zabriskie Gallery. Then, two days after graduation in May of 1989, I came to Los Angeles on vacation and didn't go home until Christmas.

 

I loved the beach, the sunsets, the way people started their own museums like Norton Simon, Armand Hammer, John Paul Getty, Eli Broad, Henry and Arabella Huntington, the list goes on. When I decided to stay in L.A., I started writing letters to drum up a full-time job. I wrote four letters and landed a year-long, full-time internship at Security Pacific Bank (later purchased by Bank of America), where I helped curate art exhibitions in the corporate headquarters and track the bank's permanent collection. If you remember Jasmine Guy's character Whitley Gilbert on A Different World, I consulted with the writers to bring that character to life by sharing the details of that world. And once that internship was completed, I decided to get my MBA from the UCLA Anderson School so I could better understand business and start my art gallery. 

 

Having my own art gallery was an old fantasy has now come to fruition, closing another chapter victoriously and turning the page to begin a new one. With that as the backdrop, I want to share with you what the gallery is all about. 

 

Sonya Kay Blake Gallery is a virtual collection of museum-quality works of art on paper that I have created based on poetry that I have written in direct response to my life experiences and what I observe in the lives of those around me.

 

Oftentimes, we are so busy that we neglect to slow down, count our blessings, and relish the best aspects of life to truly savor and enjoy them. There is also a lot of sadness, anger, and fear in the world. Some of us never really learn to process negative emotions - to draw meaningful lessons from them and allow them to pass through. So we never get to the fulfillment on the other side. 

 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are those of us who are called to be creators, to share our observations and experiences so that everyone who wants to can see a way into a more joy-filled and productive way of life. 

 

The purpose of the gallery is to offer poetry art that uplifts others and illuminates a path to fulfillment.

 

What you will find here are insights that reassure you that you are not alone. And that I hope might awaken you to a fresh perspective that offers emotional freedom and fulfillment. It is a place of wonder., mindfulness, discovery, acceptance, community, and fulfillment.

 

It is a place where I like to say life becomes poetic, and I believe delightful. 

 

I do hope you will keep in touch and share any beauty or insights that you may find on these pages so that, together, we will bring joy to the world.

 

Here's where you can follow me on social:

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

 

If you know of a group that is seeking an Inspirational Speaker on emotional or financial empowerment, then feel free to share my  Speaker's website with them at SonyaKayBlakeSpeaks.com.

 

Lastly, please reach out to me at skaybventures@gmail.com if you are interested in commissioning me to write a custom poem according to your specifications. That should be a lovely co-creation.

 

Thank you for vising the gallery and reading all about it. Wishing you a delightfully poetic life,