Today we’d like to introduce you to Ri’Aasa Toppin.
Hi Ri’Aasa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started off collecting rocks in the water when I felt most isolated. I took time in nature a lot to be more gentle with myself. I learned about spirit science as a teenager And eventually got into crystals. I saw a man wrapping on the street in Union Square once, and he told me I have amazing intuition–they harmony in the crystals I stacked for him to wrap was lovely. I didn’t learn his technique. I practiced my own styles with copper. I started gifting my friends the energy until my mother told me it was worth money.
Things arent as important as practices. I became a Certified Therapeutic Art Life Coach so that I could teach others to create their own healing.
Some of my most beautiful pieces were sold for little to nothing because I like love and creation. This has not made my business successful. I took on a lot of transformative pieces, like funeral flower resins-grief compounded into my hiatus. My father died believing in my gifts, so that’s cool.
Fast forward, I still hate capitalism and I’ve begun bartering in addition to pricing my pieces. A lot of the value I get from creativity is the healing that comes through the process. I realized that money poisons the well. And people believe they deserve what they pay for… but there’s so much that goes into art. I have expanded to painting, woodburning, oil blending, herb blending, I’m a doula, a hairstylist, a model, I’ve written and produced music, I dance as much as I can.
I just require an outlet and I’m fine. Life can and will be beautiful.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Never a smooth road, but I told you, I collect interesting rocks along my path. I have been blessed by my trials by fire to transmute my pain into paint… burns into beauty.
I married young, jobless, lost a baby, mourned, got two jobs, quit them, became a doula, had a healthy baby, lost my car, covid+postpartum+half my family died, and then another awful pregnancy+healthy baby, insane plot twist in postpartum, unhoused, swingle motherhood and being an awful example of mental stability.
And the outlet is truly too make something better out of the messes.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Blending my many practices seamlessly. I have a host of activities and interests that people are always drawn to. I let my playful energy create the direction of my work.
Clients are encouraged and enjoying joining in on the joy I have to offer.
What does success mean to you?
Gratitude. All we have is all we have. And we all have more to do. The gratitude to continue is success. Dying with legacy is success. My daughters seeing my works and not having to feel the pain that allowed the beauty because I’ve done the work and it worked out. The ability to still say alhamdulillah. Because change will come, pivoting effortlessly… our efforts being rewarded in peace. That is success. Will I smile from my soul? Does God smile upon my works here?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/rarebabespacecraft
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/cWijkWU0jKyegGOhIQ
