Conversations with Khaatia Vantiger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Khaatia Vantiger.

Khaatia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Art has been my voice since I was seven. What began as quiet expression has grown into a multidimensional life—blending poetry, beauty, painting, storytelling, movement, and food. Under the name Champagne Smoke, I tune into ancestral memory, lived experience, and mindfulness into everything I create.

For 16 years, I worked across the beauty and entertainment industry with top brands, before making history in 2023 with my first cookbook in Santa Barbara. In 2025, I led a workshop at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara—now an ongoing collaboration that grounds my work in community.

Today, I’m building Lotus Dynasty—a visual and cultural world that explores African and Asian lineages, legacy, and duality. I center myself through prayer, yoga, meditation, nature walks, and mindful living with my husband.

I believe in transformation. Like the butterfly, I’m choosing to bloom with ease, grace, and unwavering faith that my dreams are already on the way because I’m living a few now.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road hasn’t been smooth—and I no longer expect it to be. I’ve come to understand that the cracks were never mistakes… they were part of the blueprint, etched into the design of this life I’m living.

I’ve moved through grief, burnout, fear, heartbreak, and the ache of invisibility in spaces I once gave my all to. I’ve had to teach myself how to honor my worth, set sacred boundaries, and walk away from what no longer held me with care—even when the leaving came with tears. There were moments in my life where I had to rebuild from the ground up—body, spirit, and soul.

But now I know: those struggles were sacred. They shaped me. They called me deeper into truth and asked me to meet all versions of myself with compassion. I had to sit with my shadows, learn the rhythm of my healing, and listen to the quiet wisdom of my own becoming.

It’s refined my voice. Graced my walk. Given depth to my art. Taught me how to trust my intuition, protect my peace, and surrender to divine timing.

I’m no longer who I was. I’m softer, wiser, more rooted. More open to receive the blessings that are already on their way. The lessons were not easy—but they made me. And for that, I am deeply, eternally grateful. I bloom in both strength and sensitivity.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work is rooted in legacy, healing, and cultural memory. I’m a multidisciplinary artist creating through painting, beauty, poetry, storytelling, movement, and food. I move between mediums with intention—each one speaking from a different layer of my soul, each one a love letter to where I’ve been and where I’m going.

I’m known for my visual series Lotus Dynasty, a reimagined realm shaped by ancestral truth, intuition, and imagination. It blends African and Asian cultural influences into a world where lineage meets liberation. Through silhouette paintings, symbolic layering, and textured storytelling, I explore duality, softness as strength, and the beauty of cultural fusion.

In 2023, I made history as the first author to place a plant-based cookbook at the Eastside Santa Barbara Public Library. But Big Mama Mae’s Plant-Based Kitchen is more than a cookbook—it’s a tribute to my ancestry, a healing guide, and a flavorful celebration of Black plant-based living. It carries the soul of the South, the heart of the Midwest, and the spirit of the West Coast—all woven together in every recipe and photo.

What started as a personal tool to help my family increase our veggie intake turned into a cultural experience. I captured the process through photography, and before I knew it, the project took flight—supported locally and nationally by restaurants, businesses, and community members. I’ve since led food pop-ups, partnered with medical centers on nutrition advocacy, taught gardening workshops, and shared my story as a home chef and wellness advocate. The journey has shown me that nourishment is art, too.

What sets me apart is how I bring every part of who I am into the work—artist, yogi, wellness advocate, storyteller, and community cultivator. My art doesn’t just sit in galleries—it lives in the body, the kitchen, the coast, and the conversations that connect us. It’s a full sensory experience, designed to be shared.

I believe we were planted here to bloom. And I’m committed to blooming freely, with grace and community at the center.

I’m most proud of the moments when someone sees themselves in my work. When they feel held, softened, or understood—that’s the magic. That’s the purpose.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Believe in yourself and protect your dreams. If what you’re carrying feels different—but it’s rooted in positivity—lean into it. Explore it. Let it stretch you. Learn from it. And most of all, allow yourself to enjoy the journey. Every experience holds a lesson, and it will either nourish your growth or keep you circling old stories. You get to choose.

If you pivot, know you can always return. Your goals will wait for you. Life isn’t linear, and it was never meant to be one-size-fits-all. You uncover who you are through contrast—by discovering what feels aligned and what no longer serves. Heal the parts of you that once had to survive. Grow anyway. Bloom anyway. Give yourself grace and bathe everything in gratitude.

Real love does exist. You will evolve, and that’s sacred. Self-reflection is a form of love, and choosing to stay open—especially in uncertain times—is a strength that lives in the heart. (Those muscles matter the most.)

Speak up for yourself. Stay curious. Let nature remind you of who you’ve always been—go outside, walk barefoot, hug a few trees, watch the sky change colors. Let the sun rest its golden light on your skin and say, you’re still here. (But, not too long lol.) Be mindful of the world, but don’t get so consumed that you forget your own light.

When you laugh, laugh deep and loud. When you cry, let the river flow. And when you love—do it with clear intention and soft integrity. You are so worthy of the love you give and the love you desire.

The more you know yourself, the more clearly you’ll move through this life.
And always remember—
You are one of one.
There is no path more sacred than your own.

With love and light… take care of yourself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: vivrantbloom
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bigmamamaes

Image Credits
Sher, Peter Robinson, Vero