Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Martinez.
Hi Alexandria, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always been creative. I picked up doing nails as a child on my aunt’s & grandmother which started off as something so small but serving my Tia’s & mom & whoever else needed their toes painted was so fun for me. I love helping people, and serving any way I can, especially if I can use some form of medium in the process like nail polish. Making people feel better & bringing a smile on their faces is very important but something I learned later as I grew is that I could even bring healing in their hearts. Art has always been a part of my life, many of my cousins, and my father’s people I was inspired by were artists in different categories, such as tattoo artists, painters, hairstylists, bakers, makeup artist,s etc. I took alot from several of those categories & tried each category as I found where I thrived the most. As a creative, at times it’s hard not to do everything! As I got older I would put fake nail tips in middle school I would just use glue & blend the tip in so well that it was natural looking & from there everyone wanted me to do theirs as well. I would get those kits they started selling in the stores and just practice all the time, I did nails as much as I could & however I could. I was also drawing & learning new art techniques, trying to tag people’s names, draw characters, you name it anything to keep me drawing. In middle school going into high school, I began to really love skulls, sugar skulls & morbid things mainly dark art or anything to catch the eye & really push limits & that basically became my go-to up until my life was changed forever. I had a long road of healing from anxiety, depression, & deep wounds from childhood. I struggled with alcohol & just identity crisis. I was very close to ending my own life. Then I was saved & gave my life to Christ Jesus. Major game changer & something I never really saw coming. I thought that at first, I had to just get rid fully of everything that was a part of my old life because I was desperate to just truly live but I realized that nails & art could actually bring healing & serving people is serving the LORD. He had created me & given me these talents & tools for His glory. I continued to serve and volunteer my talents downtown at thriving ministry I would go and take my nail polish where the homeless community gathered & just serve, talk to people, and pray with them & later I ended up going back to college & graduating at Vogue College of cosmetology. I got my nail tech license & I continued to paint, I learned alot about prophetic art & just painting while worshipping & how much I didn’t even realize about my creativity & serving people. As a nail tech, every client is so important to me, I always do my best to serve them & cater to their needs, I take my time & listen. It’s their time & sometimes they just need a quiet place to relax & listen to some worship music. That’s what I have playing in the background & I have several genres as well. Sometimes they need advice, sometimes they need a listening ear & sometimes they need laughter & I’m just blessed to be able to be that person. The bonus is the beautiful nails I get to create but there’s nothing like sharing the love of Jesus with people. In my art now I paint inspiration & I’ve learned how powerful art can be. One small picture cay a thousand words & have meaning for a person that can touch the heart. At a time I was lost & I came to Christ I took up painting again in a new way that brought healing, I was able to put into art the love I felt & what I learned.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road I really hoped for something a little easier but I guess that’s what makes it mean alot more & it has definitely taught me alot. All the mistakes got me here just as much as the easy or “good” moments. There have been times that I wanted to just give up art & nails & hating that I was a creative & then I would realize it wasn’t always about me. I could’ve just stayed doing nails on the low hidden but I made the decision to go back to school after a few failed attempts & it was hard, I’m a wife I have 4 kids at home & I was doing children’s ministry along with working & trying my best to ignore the people with doubts against what I was doing, I had to push myself & pray & really remember that God was going to use this for His glory. I remembered why I started & that there were going to be people being blessed because I didn’t give up & I wanted my children to see that through it all I kept pushing for this dream. My husband & my mother were my biggest fans, my biggest support system. I cried some days, my vehicle broke down, I had money issues but through it all God brought me through.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work as an artist and I call it “artist” because I do create art in my nails as a nail artist & my art my craft or paintings is definitely an art. I specialize in being creative. I literally take something a foundation of some sort & build it until something amazing comes out of it. I’m proud of the growth that I’ve had from the beginning of my journey to now. I don’t feel like I don’t know what I’m doing & even though I’m always learning I now have an idea of where I’m going with a project or explaining things to clients & also teaching them as I go. I think something that sets me apart from everyone else is that I really enjoy what I do & I pay attention to details whether it’s my client’s taste in the look they want, making sure the atmosphere is right for them, or even just being confident in what I’m doing because I want to serve them and leave them with satisfaction & they know even if we’re in my laundry room/nail room they’re leaving with amazing nails, joy, peace, love & inspired.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Finding a mentor for myself was kind of hard, I knew nothing about networking whatsoever but I learned to look for the people that are where you would like to be that you can see yourself at least utilizing what they have & ask questions. Observe the way they do it & develop a technique that works for you. Also, don’t be afraid to step out & share what you’re doing because you never know who you could bless or who could be waiting to bless you. It’s not about being a copycat or using people because there’s nothing new under the sun and all of us can learn from each other in my eyes when we work together we build stronger.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @AlexandriaMichellenails | @AlexandriaMichelleart
- Youtube: Creativadness13
Image Credits
Alexandria Martinez
