SONYA LUCAS 

Artist Bio:

Before my roots settled in West Virginia, I wandered through a patchwork of places—Alabama, Wyoming, North Carolina, and Virginia. At twelve, I found myself back in West Virginia, raised for a time by my grandmother. My journey into art unfolded thanks to the kindness of a retired lawyer and his wife, who, through a serendipitous connection with my high school science teacher, opened the doors to West Virginia University for me. By seventeen, I’d found a new family with that same teacher, who welcomed me as one of their own.

 

From those early steps, I went on to earn a master's degree in art & technology (multimedia) from The Ohio State University and later taught there. Today, I navigate the world of corporate multimedia and videography, yet my deepest passion remains painting.

My art:

 

Art, for me, is storytelling. It’s about finding beauty in disparity and catharsis in creation. In my work, I don’t just create; I seek release—from depression, from the weight of memory, from the things we hesitate to speak of, but which connect us all.