Self-Portrait by Draculeia L. Sewick
1. For those who don’t know you, how would you like to introduce yourself?
My name is Draculeia L. Sewick, and I’m an emerging transdisciplinary storyteller who centers my artistic practice on expressions of intersectionality. My professional career began mid-adolescence as a self-taught illustrator and designer, but in my adult years, I’ve gravitated towards theater, film, and literature. My work often attempts to capture and articulate the nuanced intimacy of nonconformity, or as I put it, “saying the quiet thing, aloud.” And I’m most intrigued by analyzing the contrast of pop culture versus counterculture, including the oddly strange liminal space that exists between them. I’ve also been described as “non-disciplinary” or “anti-disciplinary,” but I think I have a lot more to learn and experience before I can live up to those titles.
2. Why are you interested in Los Angeles Performance Practice?
The transition from visual art to literary art was always meant to happen for me, but I think the way it happened was sort of an origin story for my artistic purpose now. My career started as an illustrator, and since I was a child, I wanted to be an illustrator or animator when I got older. However, even after graduating from high school with honors, the disillusionment of what was actually accessible to me hit. Restricted resources and my battle with chronic illness would limit Art School as an option. It wasn’t until one Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor helped me bend the system and allowed me to transfer to a BFA in Stage & Screen Acting — evidently around the time I became interested in theater & film.
Of course, later on, my artistic path diverged again when I discovered my passion for writing in film and literature, but that was my initial exposure to advocacy. The experience of someone else advocating for me and what I wanted to do in life changed everything. I became drawn to non-profit organizations that support the initiatives of creatives, and what Los Angeles Performance Practice, and the California Arts Council, does for such a diverse artist community here is unique. Making art accessible for the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability communities is crucially important to me — and I think the unrestricted aid and support for artists benefits these communities in a radical way. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with both organizations.
3. Can you share some of your recent work as an artist or maybe one you’re most proud of?
While I’m still pursuing my Bachelor’s, most of my work right now is student work or projects. Though before my program, I had self-published my first-ever modern gothic poetry and art collection, Death of the Strawberry Moon. The book is somewhat styled like love letters, using allegories of vampirism, religion, artistry, and reincarnation to explore love, loss, and grief — all with the charm of a writer before literary study. I wrote and illustrated the entire thing in about six months to express my experience of struggling with self-identity, the shared vulnerability of nonconformity, and then the inevitable loss of someone to assimilation. As of right now, I’ve discontinued the print of the collection, but I plan to re-release a revised version later this year now that I’ve gained more experience as a writer.
4. What or who inspires/influences your artistic practice?
Even though I’m not a musician, I’d say that music inspires me and frequently influences my artistry the most. Maybe it’s because I’m not a musician; I end up trying to interact with whatever I’m listening to through other forms like visual or literary art. But if you see art that I’ve done, it’s safe to assume that it was inspired by a song or artist that I was obsessed with at the time. I habitually listen to music any time I’m creating. And within recent years, it’s become a ritual of mine to curate playlists for my works, much like a soundtrack or score. My favorite artist of all time is the nu-metal band Deftones. There’s a lot of raw emotion in their work, innovative unique sounds, and beautifully crafted lyricism — and I think artists like them guide my hand, as if we’re in tune with the same frequency, but I had to participate in another way. Prayer in a different language, so to speak. My relationship with music is very sacred.
5. What is your mission or purpose as an artist?
I sort of touched on this when talking about myself and the Los Angeles Performance Practice, but my artist mission aligns with making art accessible to everyone. And that comes with exploring identities, self-discovery, and what it truly means to connect through community. Being a person of color, queer, and disabled — not only means that I subvert the norm, but it can also mean being othered by communities that were meant for one aspect of my identity because of an intersecting aspect. So I’m very much interested in unconventional themes, philosophical controversies, and contemporary challenges against conservative perspectives. To go back to “saying the quiet thing, aloud,” I think there are a lot of diverse voices that aren’t being heard or are having a hard time finding and connecting with each other. I want my work to reflect as an authentic bridge between those voices.
6. Lastly, if you could broadcast one message to the world, what would it be?
All artists, true artists — I say, devoid of pretension
Measured not by accolades, but an innate design
Those whose desire to participate in creation is palpable
Those who cannot touch without spinning to gold
They hear the same sort of unique frequency
The ones who, despite the powers that be
Must have a mythical, un-killable lineage of storytellers
Where they all’ve beat on the same ancestral drum
And after generations passed, they live now
They hear that same sort of undeniable frequency
The emergence of another artist renaissance
We must listen to what the cries and shouts are telling us
To be true, to transform, to transmute what calls
The revolution won’t be televised; It will be broadcast
Keep true to the frequency; The Artist Frequency
— D. L. Sewick
Draculeia L. Sewick is an emerging illustrator and author whose transdisciplinary practice explores the inherent nonconformity of intersectionality — particularly among POC, Queer, and Disabled identities. Their artistry began with illustrations and digital paintings featuring gothic, spiritual, and multicultural surrealism that portrays the unique textures of diverse narratives. Expanding into theater, film, and literature, they continue to develop their practice with an artistic mission to dissect the psychological, sociological, and philosophical contrasts of identity culture. Their first-ever self-published work, Death of the Strawberry Moon, catalyzed their decision to pursue writing professionally. Driven by the completion of their contemporary poetry and art collection, they enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing and, after transferring programs, they plan to complete a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Fall 2027. Their internship with Los Angeles Performance Practice marks the beginning of their career in artist advocacy, with the intention of continuing to support artist-centered programming while deepening their experience in nonprofit operations and outreach.
