De’Auzhoni Woods is at home in the studio.
Photo courtesy De’Auzhoni Woods
De’Auzhoni Woods needs the right setting to create. That usually means a mixture of soul music, food and numerous scents such as jasmine or lavender.
One of her favorite works is a self-portrait where she expresses her rage when she was taken advantage of. Woods doesn’t compare her work to anyone else’s. That is the only way she is able to see her growth.
She is self-motivated but she credits the love she receives from those people who support her.
“Creating is my thing. Alchemy at its finest and that’s art to me,” said Woods.
Woods started drawing characters such as Betty Boop, Sponge-bob and Scooby-Doo at the age of 8. She drew periodically and used it as hobby. Woods considered it a way of life at age 22.
She started college as chemistry major at FAMU only because she loved the challenge. Chemistry is known to be one of the hardest subjects, although she was a big fan in high school. But the drive was not there, and the information was not retained. Woods began to think the classes were rigorous and felt she was just floating through college. She failed a couple classes and had to catch up.
Woods left FAMU to gain her associate’s degree at TCC. She returned to FAMU considering social work as her study. She soon recognized that being a social worker would not work because she believed she was too empathetic and would take on everyone’s issues.
Woods refocused on drawing and received support from her parents, who were also artists. She took a leap of faith and decided to trust her universe. Woods finally changed her major to fine arts. Her only fear was that she would run out of creative ideas and have “artist block.” Once she began to remove blockages and toxic people in her life, creativity began to flow. She fell in love with her major and classes. She has created so many artworks in her classes. Woods says she did not take this major for employment but for better instructions on how she can be a better artist for her clients.
Her classes are instructions on how to better her talent, so she can deliver quality material. Woods is focused on being an entrepreneur and plans to mix her artistry with her humanitarian attributes. Her goal is to spread love through art and travel internationally.
“De'Auzhoni really pays attention to detail. Within her work, you can tell she took her time to fully convey the emotion she felt when she was creating her art. After getting to know her, I can definitely say she's a very empathetic woman to the point where she's in tune with her own audience's emotions in her works. What I appreciate most in De'Auzhoni's artwork is the details she puts into it. She's very talented in putting value onto an empty canvas. It blows me every time seeing how talented she is,” said Jasmine Abazinge.
Many ask Woods if she is a sexest because a lot of her paintings are of naked women. Although she is not, she says, she loves women and loves empowering women. She admires the idea of women coming to her asking for a painting, which they become more confident with their bodies. She also has explicit paintings because she sees sex as a form of art.
Woods is experienced with many mediums such as oil, watercolor, pastel, pencil sketch, colored pencil, charcoal, and gouache. She loves making collages with magazine prints and experimenting with printmaking as well as screen-printing.
Woods loves attending FAMU. She says that she is surrounded by people that really care about her growth and feeds her creativity. Professors are interested and intrigued by her growth. Professor Liu Nan and Harris Wiltshire have both made a huge difference in her art.
“De'Auzhoni is as amazing an artist as she is a person. She has always been one to follow her own wave and not really conform to what everyone else is doing. Honestly, it is this free-spirited nature that also drives much of her art. I am a huge fan of De'Auzhoni's art. From the first piece she ever shared with me I knew that she was destined to be a great artist. She has a knack for capturing the human body in its most primitive state and effectively conveys that innocence to her audience. She's also a reliable professional who works extensively to ensure that her customers love the product before she considers the job done,” Calago Hipps said.
To view more of her artwork, visit her Instagram page @Zha.arstasy.