Meet Amari Hines | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amari Hines and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amari, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Balance within my life continues to change on a month-to-month basis. I think it’s important to be passionate about your work. It is also important to have passions outside of work because if you’re only getting your passion from your work eventually it will become draining, you don’t have any outside passion to pour into your work. I definitely feel like balance is important. It’s important to balance, your physical health, your mental health, your relationships with the people around you & the relationship you have with work. For me balance looks like dedicating a certain amount of time to my work dedicating a certain amount of time to my body and mind, and then dedicating a certain amount of time to the people who I care about. For me balance is routine, Balance is consistency, balance is listening to my spirit. Finding love & passions outside of my work makes creating more fluid & meaningful.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The name of my brand is Mocha Things & everything I create has a story. My nickname is Mocha & I create a variety of things hence “Mocha Things”! I work with acrylic on canvas I build furniture, make coasters, pillows, bags, hand-painted, apparel, music, poetry, and so much more. I am more than a artist I am more than a brand I am a creative powerhouse!! everything I create comes from a piece of my soul I create to express my emotions I create to free my mind, and I create to inspire. I have a plethora of accomplishments, that I am proud of. I am most proud of the very first grade that I received with artbridge in 2021. I was commissioned to create a mural for my hometown of Staten Island. I was elated to see my art being showcase for the whole city to see. I got where I am today with hard work, dedication and focus. When I graduated high school, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life, being an artist, was not even a thought in my head. I went to college for one semester, and my major was communications. I was very disinterested. Through my disinterest during classes I would pass time by drawing doodles and sketches in my notebook. Initially, drawing was some thing I’d do to free my mind….I have no idea within a few short years I’d become a full-time artist. I ended up dropping out of college and immediately began taking acting and modeling classes. I pursued acting and modeling until 2020 when the pandemic began. during Covid in my free time I scheduled more and more my mom saw my interest in creating, and she and I started making apparel to sell at local pop-ups around Staten Island. I knew I always wanted to try painting, but I was nervous because what if what i painted wasn’t good enough? I struggled with self doubt for a few months until I finally just painted. I was consistent and I was persistent. I was determined to master my craft. I started off painting images of my friends then I branched off to abstract, art pattern, making furniture making and so on. I am completely self taught ! everything was a snowball effect. I never realized how everything is connected until I became more consistent and serious with my art career.
Creating is easy, finding motivation and staying consistent is where the difficulty comes in. I speak life and affirmations into myself every single day. My favorite affirmations are, “I am an abundance of creative energy” and “I trust & believe in myself”. I constantly meditate and give thanks for everything in my life staying grateful keeps me motivated.
This may sound cliché, but I truly, through art, learned that consistency is key! I want everybody to know that consistency and perseverance got me where I am today. I am not want to conform to others, ideas, beliefs, or plans. I want everyone to know that it’s OK to walk on your own path as long as you trust and believe that your choices and actions will lead you to your end goal. Other peoples projections and ideas do not matter. If you can dream it you can create it I am the definition of “Dreams can come true” every action I take, is intentional. Every action I take aligns with my dream life.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
While I was in college, I also worked at a a restaurant, and I often would have conversations with my manager. I wasn’t sure about my career path, and I would always talk to him about how I love to sketch, and I wish I could pursue art. I showed him some of my sketches, and I said, “I feel like I have potential”. He then told me that potential is just potential. Potential gets nobody nowhere without effort. Those words stuck with me, even today. I realized that I have to take intentional actions to lead to success. I learned how to set goals for myself, and turn my potential into talent. I then turned my talent into a career and then turned my career into a lifestyle. I am so grateful for that one conversation that we had because it changed the trajectory of my life.

Website: mochathings.com

Instagram: mochathings

Twitter: @mochathings

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@amarihines6528