EDITOR'S NOTE: Cellar Roots, published annually by the Student Media Team at EMU, released the 51st edition of its arts and literature magazine in late March, 2025. This article, one in a series, focuses on one of the artists whose work was selected for publication.
"If art is a hobby, then why is it offered at universities?" That is what Paris Stinson shares with those questioning her decision to be an art major.
"There’s an industry behind art," Stinson said. "There are jobs out there, you just have to look for them. Also, look around you, you’re surrounded by art. An architect made this building, and every logo has been made by a graphic designer. If you wanted it to be a hobby, let it be a hobby. It can be whatever you want it to be.”
An Ypsilanti native, Stinson is a senior at Eastern Michigan University. She is co-president of Intermedia Gallery Group, a student-run gallery and artist collective.
Her art piece, “Lick Me,” was chosen to be in the 51st edition of Cellar Roots, EMU’s annual fine art and literacy magazine. The publication was released to the public in March 2025.
Growing up, Stinson said, she was a theater kid and was always surrounded by art. Her mom was a graphic designer, and her dad was a photographer. As a child, she enjoyed playing with her toys, and because she grew up in Ypsilanti, people around her all wanted to go to an Eastern game or see what was happening on campus. That familiarity led her to choose EMU for her college experience.
At first, Stinson said, she aspired to be an astronomer. During most of her middle and high school career, she spent her time learning about space. When Stinson arrived at Eastern, she majored in Physics. She soon realized she disliked the topic.
"It just wasn’t for me,” Stinson said. “So, I was like what else am I interested in? It was art.”
Stinson said her parents weren’t disappointed when she switched her major.
“If anything, my parents wanted me to make a lot of money, but they honestly just wanted me to be happy,” Stinson said. “They were a bit shocked when I pivoted to art, but it wasn’t like a ‘Oh I’m going to disown you' shock.”
Because Stinson’s parents have a history of making art, they were open to her decision. Stinson used to make doodles of superheroes and comic-like fan art, but never the art she currently produces, which involve more mediums.
During Stinson’s time at EMU, she said, she has gained more confidence and learned that it’s OK to be outspoken and be yourself. Stinson said there are people who will like you for who you are, and you don’t have to cover up your true self.
Stinson said that at first, she found it hard to find people in the art program at EMU who looked like her. When Stinson finally found them, she was relieved to know that there were Black girls around her.
“Being in this program, it’s predominantly white, so you don’t see a lot of Black people,” Stinson said. “But my second year, I found my good friend Nia Crutcher and then I met this other girl Kennedé Thomas. So it was kind of a domino effect of finding my people.”
Stinson has a few favorites among the artwork she has created. One piece she made about her menstrual cycle titled, “Track My Flow,” won in the Annual Juried Student Art Show in March 2024, which was her first show. The medium in this artwork consisted of acrylic gouache and micron pens colored red-brown on nine pages connected in an irregular line shape.
Stinson’s self-portrait, “Lick Me,” is among her favorites, and was also featured in Nia Crutcher’s exhibition, “Black Girl Rising,” in December 2024, Stinson’s second art show.
Stinson said her favorite work was “The Hair Show.” It consisted of red-braided synthetic hair with braid jewelry wrapped around it on a blue-green acrylic paint background.
Though Stinson uses different mediums to create her art, she likes watercolor, and oil painting is easier for her. Stinson wants to try using fibers or cloth in her artwork because she hasn’t before.
“Acrylic dries faster, and with oil paint, you’re allowed to manipulate a lot more and quicker,” Stinson said. “If you don’t like something about oil paint you can paint over it and it won’t look weird. As opposed to doing it with acrylic paint, because you can still see the paint underneath the other paint.”
When it comes to getting inspiration for what Stinson wants to create, she looks at contemporary art rather than modern art. Contemporary artists are those who are working now while the term modern art refers to work and artists from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries.
“There’s nothing wrong with modern art, you gotta learn to get where you’re going, but I would much rather draw inspiration from people working right now,” Stinson said. “And a lot of contemporary artists are Black. That’s another thing. I draw inspiration from Black artists because other people don’t know how to depict us sometimes.”
Stinson said she rarely references other artists because she enjoys coming up with her ideas and doesn’t want to get into plagiarism territory.
Picking what art Stinson wanted to submit for Cellar Roots magazine was a difficult task, she said. Stinson said lots of people told her to submit her self-portrait, “Lick Me,” and she did along with four others.
“I’ve made a lot of stuff and art is all about finding your crowd,” Stinson said. “So you have somebody telling you that one piece is good and somebody else telling you it’s bad, but if you like that’s all that matters. I have a bunch of pieces that I personally like.”
Paris Stinson's end goal with art is to be a gallery director or an art curator. With her being co-president of Intermedia Gallery Group, she said it’s training her on how to work in galleries. Stinson said she wants to continue creating art in the future but it would be a side hustle.
“I want more Black people to get in galleries and I feel like with me being in a position of power it’s like, ‘Hey look at this Black artist working now. Don’t they deserve a show? Give them this space,’” Stinson said. “If I had that director title, I would just do so much for Black arts, and that’s what I want to do.”
Cellar Roots Volume 51 is available for purchase on Amazon or directly from the student media team by emailing cellarroots@easternecho.com.
