Meet Adri Norris of Afro Triangle Designs in Aurora

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adri Norris.

Adri, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was five when my family immigrated from Barbados to the US, 12 when we moved to New Mexico, 20 when I joined the Marines, and 25 when I moved to Colorado for art school. I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was seven and I worked to make that dream a reality.

Education has not always been the focus of my work, but it has been a thread throughout my life. I was taught to read when I was three and I have read voraciously ever since. When I realized at the age of 35, how much historical education I was missing, especially around the work of women, I decided to use my art to help fill the gaps. This is how Women Behaving Badly was born. Soon I was invited to schools and other education centered institutions to share my work and to speak about what I have learned so far and what I continue to learn.

History is for everybody and should include everybody if we are going to truly understand this world we live in and affect positive change.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I experienced two major challenges in my path to building my art career. The first was a prevailing belief that art was not a viable career path. I spent years convincing my family, my employers, my clients and myself of the value of what I do in order to be paid the money and respect I deserve.

The second obstacle was my business knowledge. It was years after graduation and when I realized that I didn’t actually know how to run a business. Going out and seeking the tools I needed for success changed everything for me and now my art is more than just a side hustle. It actually supports my lifestyle.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
At the moment, Afro Triangle is about art as a tool for education. I am best known for my Women Behaving Badly series and I’m incredibly proud of the doors this work is open for me. I’ve gotten to educate the youth, speak before audiences of hundreds, even meet the occasional celebrity. I believe that what sets me apart is the positivity of my message. I reveal the ills in our society, not through a litany of the injustices experienced by so many groups, but through the stories of those who triumphed over injustice and showed us a better way forward. Without the knowledge of who these people were and what they did for us, we grow complacent and accept that which, from our perspective, has “always been.”

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The qualities most essential to my success have been my persistence and my curiosity. A lack of persistence would have led me to take the advice of others, and I would probably be working a nine-to-five in somebody’s office, hating my life. Persistence allowed me to dream bigger and create my own reality.

Curiosity has led me to seek knowledge in all forms about a broad swath of topics. I read books, watch documentaries, and listen to podcasts on everything from religion to human sexuality, to the history of war, to Neuroscience. My curiosity enables me to see the connections between various forms of human behavior and draw my own conclusions. I then turned these conclusions into my art.

Pricing:

• Stickers and postcards – $3
• Art Prints – $25-35
• Original Paintings – $150-2500
• Trading Cards – $16

Image Credit:
Photos of me were taken by Lisa Rundall of Lisa Rundall Photography.

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