Chic Spotlight: Lyric of Lyric Originals

Cincy Chic: Have you always been an artist?
Lyric: I believe in destiny and choices. So, yes, at my core I have always been an artist, but I did choose to do anything profitable with it until I had children.

Cincy Chic: How did you get the idea for Optipictuals and can you explain exactly what they are?
Lyric: This is a very long story so I will give the shortest version.
God/The Universe gave me instructions in a dream. I simply saw it as a stress reliever; something to help me cope with the hardships of life. Thus comes the name "Optimistic" my hope, "Picture" my faith/dream and "Visual" your proof that if a person can "slow down" they can accomplish what they set their heart/mind to do. Mash it together and you get "Optipictual."

Essentially, Optipictual Art is a medium created with tiny pieces of magazine paper and often 3D objects.

Cincy Chic: A little bird told us that several celebs that own your work… tell us who!
Lyric: Usher, John Legend, Uncle Luke and Cincinnati locals Alphonzo Wesson and Q102's Jay Thomas.

Cincy Chic: How do you get the word out about your work?
Lyric: I get the word out about Lyric Originals through my Web site, public sites (i.e., my MySpace page), e-mails, promotional items, a variety of business cards, showings, silent auctions, merchandise and by pushing through my shyness to network.

Cincy Chic: What's the last piece you created?
Lyric: The last piece that I completed is Optipictual #117 titled "Rock Star." I was inspired by "Vaja" a real rock star that I met on MySpace. I recently received an email from "Her People" that said she loves my work. She gave me permission to use her name and will be posting an image of the piece on her official site with my company information.

Cincy Chic: What's your favorite thing about Cincinnati?
Lyric: My favorite thing about Cincinnati has to be summers at the River Front. Kids playing in Lytle Place fountain, people riding bikes, boats on the river and the fireworks.