Mia Sims demonstrates the versatility of a marketing major by starting a personal business selling her unique works of art. As a fourth-year student at UNC Charlotte, Sims looks forward to a future of artistry and further business and marketing ventures.
“With my art page, especially with my Instagram, I have to use things I’ve learned with my degree to find my target audience, reach the people I am trying to reach and draw people to my website,” said Sims.
Sims is a lifelong creative, drawn to art from a young age, specifically painting.
“I have been painting my whole life. I think my earliest memory is me sitting in one of my parents’ rooms and just taking the coloring page and Crayola watercolors and painting in there,” said Sims. “I was probably three, as soon as I could grab something.”
Not only has Sims been painting her entire life, but her entire life is also represented in her paintings. Sims draws inspiration from her experiences and the people and places around her, allowing her art to speak for her struggles.
“My art is an extension of me. I paint a lot about the things that I am going through in my life with depression and anxiety and trying to figure out where I am going to go in life and my experience as an African-American in a PWI,” said Sims. “They really say that ‘art imitates life,’ and I feel like when I have a vision for something, it is a lot of the time something that I am going through or something that I have seen.”
Sims captures the world around her in her art, but she is not just limited to the things she experiences. Sims’ fondness for capturing portraits allows her to connect with herself and those close to her.
“I see my friends [and] family. I just find them all beautiful, so I really love to paint that. I like to do self-portraits because I feel like I am connecting with myself through painting my face; I am connecting with my friends by painting their faces,” said Sims.
Through her art, Sims can connect with herself by reflecting upon her experiences, connecting with friends and family through the vulnerability of portrait painting and using her art as her voice.
“I have been working on an oil piece right now that is huge, because I love big paintings. I like everything big, everything making a statement. Overall, that encompasses my style; [I am] just making a statement,” said Sims.
Sims and fellow artists Harriet Ahu-Darkwah, Kristen Beaupin and Jennifer Mondestin plan to make a statement at their art showcase in April.
“[The showcase] is pretty much just all of our experiences going through college because [many] of us are seniors and about to graduate. So, we are just thinking about how UNC Charlotte really made an impact on us. How has it shaped who we are today? So each of our pieces kind of go through that,” said Sims.
Their art exhibit, ‘Hues of Higher Learning: A Black Scholars Palette,’ will be showcased in the Popp Martin Student Union art gallery from April 7 through April 26. A reception will be held on April 18 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Students can learn more about Sims’ art on Instagram @miainthemind.
