Today we’d like to introduce you to Liliana Jeanine Epps.
Hi Liliana Jeanine, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born into an intellectual and musical family. My mom, valedictorian, and my Dad, classical guitarist, got together, fell in love and had four kids. By the time their 4th child, me, had come along, their other three kids were already enrolled in dance classes, auditioning for movies and television, and taking piano lessons. Naturally, my mom enrolled me in dance classes when I was two years old and piano lessons once I was five. I loved being artistic. I wasn’t drawn towards sports.
I took dance classes my entire childhood until I broke my foot in my senior year of high school. As I recovered, I had a lot of newfound free time on my hands, so I took it upon myself to learn Garageband. I’d seen one of my older sisters produce music before, so I figured I could do it too. Up until this point, I was used to making songs on the piano. But recording myself on a digital audio workstation opened up a whole new world. I had access to so many more sounds than the piano, and I could layer my vocals– I became obsessed.
As I continued to make music throughout college, I also started to write poetry. I had never heard people read poetry out loud till I started going to the weekly open mic on campus. I was in awe of how people spoke with rhythm as they read their poems. It reminded me of music but without the other instruments. There was a different type of creative fire being lit within me from my exposure to new art forms and new information. It was around this time that I decided I was an artist. Feeling less bound to just music and dance, I became confident in my creative abilities as a whole. This is when I started to make my first art book, What Is Love? By Playing Indigo.
At the end of college, I was dating someone who also made music and I was learning a lot from him. This is when my music really started to change, and I had more skills to create the exact sound I wanted to hear. At the beginning of 2021, I finished and self-published my first art book (What is Love? By Playing Indigo) and put out my first large body of musical work (The Power of Love by Playing Indigo) later that year. In 2022, I started releasing music on the 1st and 15th of every month under my other alias, Liliana Jeanine. Throughout this process, I’ve adopted another alias, 818 FEMME, and am still releasing music under all three artist names – Playing Indigo, Liliana Jeanine, and 818 FEMME.
Outside of music, I’ve also found a way to share my love of sustainable fashion and started selling vintage and used clothes through my Etsy shop, LILYLANDforUS. I love sharing what I’m wearing on a daily basis and do so through my TikTok and Instagram @liliana.jeanine.
Lastly, a few months ago, I self-published a small book of my poems and illustrations titled Words Without Context. This was a really big deal for me, considering I had the idea to make this all the way back in 2019. All of my art books can be purchased through my website, and I also have copies of Words Without Context for sale at Stories Books and Cafe in Echo Park.
So in short, that’s how I started and got to where I am today. I make art because I don’t see the point in living otherwise. I’m instinctively drawn towards music, dance, poetry, and performance because that’s what I grew up doing. But I am also uncovering my unknown skills and having a lot of fun pushing myself outside my comfort zone. Truly enjoying the work of art I am and the art of living.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not. I wish. Being an artist is weird. Also, collaborating with other artists is difficult for me. I’ve been taken advantage of, mostly by men, and have just had to learn the hard way in terms of who I vibe with and who I don’t. Having to post my artwork on social media as a way of self-promotion is also weird. I think a lot of the hard work is mental. It takes a lot of healing, compassion, and confidence to always be making artwork and presenting it in a way where you want people to take you seriously. It’s also difficult being so vulnerable. Everything I make is extremely personal and derived from my actual thoughts, feelings, and experiences. At the moment my biggest roadblock to creating my next art book is money. I want to interview people but only feel comfortable doing so if I can properly compensate them for their time & intellectual property. However, right now I just don’t have the budget to pay people. Hopefully, this changes soon.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in music and art book making. I am most proud of my ability to put out music consistently on the 1st and 15th of every month for the past two years. And my ability to change when I want! I am unique because I am a work of art; therefore, everything I do has an air of creativity to it. I know the possibilities are limitless for how I want to express myself, and right now, I am in a phase where music, fashion, poetry, and illustrations are my main outlets. However, I definitely can see myself making a cookbook one day, being an interior/set designer, and getting into sculpting or painting. I have my entire life to make art; why would I only choose one medium? That’s boring!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My type A personality, my sheer belief that anything is possible, and my confidence in that I can literally do anything. I also have a deep amount of trust and love for the process so my intuition guides me a lot of the time. I am a path of least resistance type of girlie. Everything that is meant for me will find me. And if something doesn’t feel right, I’m not afraid to say no, course-correct and start again. I don’t really believe in quitting or failing; I’m allowed to change my mind! All that matters is that I do my best for that moment in time.
Pricing:
- Words Without Context: Poems and Illustrations by Liliana Jeanine Epps – $10
- What is Love? By Playing Indigo – $25
Contact Info:
- Website: lilianajeanine.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/liliana.jeanine
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@lilianajeanine
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/lilianajeanine
- Other: lilianajeanine.bandcamp.com
Image Credits
Dayoung Lee, Ariel Mengistu
