Isaiah Thomas

I met Isaiah back in July at the Parlor Gallery. He walked in and filled the entire gallery space immediately with his infectious positive energy! Isaiah dresses “to the nines” for no good reason other than, he enjoys dressing in suits and looking sharp. He was in wild awe of the artwork. When you see a young person so turned on to art, you stop what you are working on and give them all the time and attention to feed that inspirational fire. Isaiah is a caring, intelligent and driven model, photographer and conceptual artist living in Asbury Park.

Tell me about your art background? Art School or Self-Taught?
I am a self-taught artist with many inspirations around me. When I was young, my brother Fredrick Maldonado, used to draw and paint. Seeing what he created inspired me to follow in his footsteps. I was not as talented as him but drawing was always a great outlet for my emotions. I didn’t know how to process my emotions vocally. I would go into a dark place mentally and just sit in that dark place until I was ready to get out…but drawing was a source of light for me. I never went out my way to learn the details and tricks of artistry because drawing wasn’t a passion for me, it was more therapeutic. I loved how I felt when I created because prior to that, I didn’t feel anything at all.

What brought you to create the art that you make? 
It started with drawing to express my emotions. Hell, I even started making my own poems when I was younger to see if I enjoyed that version of expression. I never thought I would do anything more than that so to say that now I am a model, creative director, stylist, photographer, and videographer…..is absolutely insane to me! It all started with my brother, Joseph Bivins. He sent me a casting for a runway show that I completely forgot about. I never walked a runway a day in my life, so I didn’t expect much out of this casting. After meeting the organizers of the fashion show and demonstrating my walk…I got casted!

I am a creator that expresses feelings for people. Or make you think things that you never thought you would think of and giving you different perspectives using the visual arts. As a child, I used art to express my emotions and what I was feeling. In my family, we didn’t talk about feelings or talk about things, so I used visual art, painting and drawing, for that and I still do. I was passionate. It wasn’t so much that I was passionate about drawing, I was passionate about creating. At the end of the day, art is expression no matter what form it is, it’s expression. I spent a lot of time trying to do things that other people liked, but now I do things that for myself. It’s so much more freeing to do what I like! If people don’t like it, if they hate it, that makes me happy because it’s like, “Good, it made you feel something!” Being able to create that conversation is truly cool to me. Then I like to think, “What am I gaining from this for myself?” “What did I learn from this? and What can I learn for the future?

What inspires you?
I have a lot of peers that inspire me, my closest friends, family, Josh Spio, Bella Durante, Kashaun Covin, Justin Pack, Joseph Bivins, Freddy  Maldonado, and so many more. But what inspires me the most is my pain. I know that sounds pretty dark but it’s the honest truth. I have created concepts throughout my career. But the ones that are most deep to me are the ones that I created at my lowest. Life has a funny way of telling you that you are gifted. Instead of sitting in my despair, I woud much rather see what I can create within it.

If or when you get lost in an “art funk” (like writer’s block for artists), what helps you get back to creating?
Whenever I get into a Art Funk, normally I explore my world. I take a walk throughout Asbury Park, see the art out there. I’ll take a trip to NYC and get inspired with the energy there. Sometimes, I’ll even connect with my peers and see if I can get a spark from that. But one thing I’ll never do is stay content. Stillness is okay, but it must be done with purpose. Without purpose there is no drive. So, I try my best to stay driven with my passion even when I get into a funk. I may be low today, but I hope I’m not low tomorrow.

How do you think the community can better support their artists?
More communication of the Arts of Asbury Park. There are a lot of great opportunities in Asbury Park, but a lot of new artists simply do not know about those opportunities. Also, a lot of artists sometimes confuse their financial situations with opportunities. They block off the thought of being an artist because they feel like they can’t afford it and that’s simply not true. I feel like if we made that message clear within the community it can really help bring more artists together. Lastly, those that are connected in the community could speak up more. There is a lot of knowledge in our minds and if we share that knowledge amongst others, we can all succeed together.

Check out Isaiah on IG: @ISAIAHT722 and on TikTok: @isaiahet722 (at the time of our chat, he had 383,000 Followers on TikTok)