Tamia Spinks’ art reflects a positive perception of life

The walls in her studio are adorned with paintings of family, friends and self-portraits of her own experiences in life.

It’s the life Tamia Spinks knows and the only one she can identify with.

“Whether I use my family, friends or myself as the subject, my work explores my identity, my perception of life, and what it is like to be Black in America,” she wrote in her artist statement, “I use the word ‘Black’ very loosely for the simple fact that though I am a Black woman, I cannot speak for all Black women or Black Americans in general. My life as a Black American is different than another.”

Spinks is a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing. She hones her craft in a studio located just behind Patten House, which sits across Palmetto Street from the Fine Arts Center.

“My practice is focused on the beauty and aspects of Black life, showing people in a positive light versus the stereotypical lifestyle—like gang affiliations, drugs, no father figure—that you see in the media. I didn’t grow up that way, so it was very hard for me to relate to that,” she said.

Spinks thinks of her art as a journal. Working on canvas allows her to express and convey her personal stories. For example, her current painting is inspired by a childhood memory of shelling peas at her great-great-grandmother’s house.

“She would have these buckets of them, and they stunk. They would turn our fingers purple, and we just sat there for hours shelling those peas,” she said with a laugh. “It’s those small, intimate moments I like to express through my paintings.”

Spinks grew up in the small West Tennessee town of Milan, located just north of Jackson. Sports, particularly football, are popular in Milan, she said, and art is underappreciated. It was art that spoke to her, though. It was soothing. It captivated and inspired her.

“I have dealt with social anxiety, and art was just my way of coping,” she said. “It’s how I relaxed and expressed myself when I was overwhelmed with social experiences like big events or settings.”

In her hometown, art isn’t considered a way to make a living. But after beginning her academic career as a criminal justice major at Jackson State Community College, she decided it was time to prove those people wrong.

“Even though I had an interest in criminal justice, it’s not what I was excited about. Art was what I was passionate about,” she said.

With her parents’ encouragement, she finished off her Gen Ed requirements at Jackson State before transferring to UTC to pursue her passion.

“I had heard great things about Chattanooga,” she said. “My uncle (Nicchaeus Doaks) went there to play basketball. This other girl that I knew went to school there. And I knew the art scene here is appreciated. That’s what really drove me to come here.”

Spinks has tried her hand experimenting with different art forms during her time at UTC, laughing as she talked about her stint painting abstracts.

“I enjoyed it at first because it was a way for me to vent and get my feelings out there,” she said. “But then I ended up straying away from it because, after I said what I needed to say, that was it. I had nothing left to vent.”

She ended up moving toward telling her stories on canvas through old family photos.

“They are of a stable home, of a family that supports you, of healthy relationships,” she said. “They focus on my perception of Black life.”

She plans to be a role model to inspire others and show the naysayers in small towns like Milan that art is more than a hobby, she said.

“Back in high school, I would see some really good artwork from seniors that had graduated. I remember the teacher telling me, ‘They never came back to get it,’ and I never understood why,” she said.

“So I want to go back to my community and have a show, or something like that, as an example that art can be a career. You can make money doing this.”

Her eyes have been opened to a lot of experiences during her time at UTC, “and it’s been amazing. I just wish more people knew about art,” she said.

“I want to go back to my town and be that example for younger students and people my age that just don’t have that support. There are a lot of African American contemporary artists out there and they are very successful.”