Southern Culture Southern Charm

Feature of the month

The purpose of Southern Culture, Southern Charm segment is to feature an artist, activists, or someone that is pushing our culture forward through acts of service. These are people that I consider my friend/family or admire, so why not highlight their work. I want to display local talent of Black LGBTQ and Allies. I have noticed that there are a multitude of artists/creatives that are doing amazing work. Unfortunately, most of society’s focus tend to be on celebrities or gossip. We are here to change the narrative one blog post at a time.

For our first feature, Southern Cooper would like to present Erin Ross. She has been a supporter of my blog from the very beginning and encouraged me to step out on faith and live out loud. Our friendship grew from our days at Victoria Secret (folding panties), it has been 10 plus years!! Fast forward to today, I am excited to show her artwork and help in growing her business. Read more about her business and how she got started below.

 Everyone can agree, 2020 was a year we will never forget. Everyone had their own set of different challenges and new adjustments. In one way or another, we were all forced to change whether it was ourselves, our routines, the way we travel, or what we thought was a necessity. The thing about isolation, it’s all about how you perceive it. Is the glass half empty or, is it half full? What you do with your time is what makes the difference versus doing nothing at all.

In the middle of the lock-down artist, Erin Ross lost her beloved dog/son she had for 16 yrs. While others were trying to fill the void of missing their loved ones with new pets, Erin had to grieve alone. Instead of staying stagnant and withdrawn, Erin decided to channel her energy to create. She found a passion and joy for creating abstract pour paintings. Her inspiration is a combination of her love for gemstones and watercolors. The pour-paintings are on stretched canvas with the use of acrylic paints. Erin began sharing her work on her Instagram page, where others can enjoy her art as well. To her surprise, she received an overwhelming response of requests for orders. Erin is a commission artist who as well offers ready-to-buy paintings, which range in prices depending on the canvas size. To see more of her work, please visit her Instagram at Erinmichelleatl or her Esty page at ErinmichelleartShop.

If you would like to be featured in next month’s Southern Culture, Southern Charm feature of the month, please contact southerncoopert@gmail.com.

Thomas “Tommy” Cooper is the founder of Southerncooper.com. He enjoys traveling, cooking, meditation, hiking all things southern, and family/friends. Follow him on instagram- southern_cooper and duragmeditation. Like, subscribe and share southerncooper.com