We had the good fortune of connecting with Missy Burton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Missy, alright, so let’s kick it off with a deep question: what’s the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
There is no honor in being a starving artist. Don’t be afraid of a steady paycheck that will afford you the ability to focus on your craft. You are at your best when you are not focused on survival.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I use photography and poetry as my preferred mediums to express my interpretation of life, love & the world around us. I consider myself an Artivist. My inspiration comes from my perception of the effects of social influences on human rights. As a woman of color, my vantage point tends to hover around women and more specifically women of color. I want people to know about our history. I want people to see our humanity. Most of all I want to convey the magnitude of women’s contribution to humankind. As a female artist, I have to deal with a lot of discrimination but I get around it by creating my own lane. I don’t wait for opportunity to knock on my door. I make sure opportunity knows where I live. I do that by creating my own lane. I finance my own solo shows, I look for opportunities to strengthen my brand as an artist and more recently my husband and I are the proud owners of Msanii HOUS Fine Art located in historic downtown Carrollton, TX. My grandpa always told me to “go around it, go over it or go under it…just keep going.” That’s exactly what I’m going to do. I have learned so many lessons on this journey and as long as I keep going the lessons will continue. A couple of my most impactful lessons are: 1) Always be true to yourself and never let anyone tell you that you are not enough. You are enough and the only thing you should be concerned about it being the absolute best version of yourself that you can possibly be. 2) Let your light shine because that gift you have inside of you is divine.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Houston’s in Dallas is one of my favorite places for dinner. I love their Hawaiian steak and the key lime pie is insane! One of my favorite places for brunch is Ida Claire’s which is also in Dallas. The vibe there is very chill and I love their chicken and waffles! When you finish there take a 10 minute drive to Msanii HOUS to see our beautiful gallery and walk around the square. There is so much to do here in Dallas. Whether you’re looking for an art exhibit or live music you can find it here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my husband for always pushing me to be unapologetically at my absolute best.

Website: www.msaniihous.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iluv2bmissyb/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/missy-burton-331271165/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iluv2bmissyb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iluv2bmissyb/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/missybphoto/

Image Credits
Photos of me in yellow shirt: Photographer is Classi Nance All of the other photos are property of Missy Burton