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Something Good: Chicago artist celebrates hairstyles of Black women

(NewsNation Now) — Tyler Clark, a Chicago-based artist, has hair that can be somewhat unruly, and that led to her brush with artistic greatness.

Clark, the visionary behind Inspire by Tyler, got her own inspiration organically enough.


“I have very long and very thick hair that has been very difficult for me to manage,” she said. And that led to her artistic breakthrough, which has powered her work for the past five years.

Clark paints Black women and uses actual hair in her work.

“I really wanted to create artwork that uplifts Black women, and I love hair,” she said on “NewsNation Prime.” “I realized that I wanted to find a way to really showcase the beauty and versatility of black women.

“I think historically, Black women and black hair haven’t necessarily been the beauty standard, and I wanted to change that. Beauty comes in so many different ways, and I think that it’s important for young girls to see beauty in very visual ways that showcases their hair.”

The actual hair adds body, if you will, to her art.

“I add hair to my artwork to make it 3-D and so it’s really almost like it’s going to come to life.”

And there is no shortage of areas for Clark to grow her art.

“I add as many different hairstyles as I can. I’m always looking for what’s trendy and what’s new on social media.”

For more information about Clarks’s work, go to Inspire by Tyler on social media or visit inspirebytyler.com.