Phresh Ingredient

Me and @variopicasso met around 2010. Two creatives who saw something in each other before the world caught up. Learning ourselves, leaning on each other’s art and intelligence through some of the darkest and most formative years either of us had seen. Life did what life does. Distance happened. Not beef, just growth pulling people in different directions. We tapped back in recently. Both of us on different peaks now. Him: husband, father of 2, 5 years deep as an assistant principal. But more than any title, Devario Hawkins, a.k.a. Casso, has been the person in the building making sure kids who look like us knew they were seen, smart, and more than their circumstances ever suggested. Growing up in Petersburg meant holding two worlds at once. What school said you should be and what your block already made you. One teacher tried to push him into special ed. Another welcomed him in, and he flew. That moment never left him. It still drives every decision he makes for kids who need somebody to make that same call. His grandfather dropped world wisdom between fishing casts. His father told him street credibility ain’t worth what people think. His mother made a deal, bring home good grades, get what you want. Now Watching books get banned, DEI gutted, programs defunded and still walking into Monday mornings composed enough to lead takes something most people don’t have. Then he said something that stopped me cold when we were together “The one thing I need to get me through is the one thing that could get me taken out of here. And that’s my passion.” That’s what it means to do this work as a Black man in America right now. I asked what he’d do with the keys to the Department of Education. He said bring vocational programs back. Invest in early literacy for Black boys. Build schools that serve families on weekends. Teach emotional regulation before suspension is ever the answer. Make schools feel like the center of something again. The biggest buildings in the poorest zip codes are schools and churches. We should be using them like it. #phreshingredient #storytelling #education #brotherhood #petersburgva

Brianna Pippens, aka @bpeppersart . Fort Washington-born, DMV-forged, one of the most intentional creative voices in the contemporary art space. We’d been orbiting the same DC creative community, aware of each other through mutual circles, respect passing before we ever shared a room. Then she returned from Japan, I came back from Richmond, and the timing finally opened. Some connections are patient, and some are precise. When I met Bri, the first thing that landed was her presence. Composed, grounded, unbothered in the most elegant sense. Then she smiled, and the room shifted. That same radiance lives in her work, in the way each piece holds both softness and clarity at once. I first connected with her at @chawindc to document behind the scenes before her dance practice. Not long after, we shot at her family home. When technical issues cut things short, she met it with grace “we can pivot.” No frustration, just flow. I understood immediately the kind of artist I was documenting. We reconnected as she installed her first solo show at @shopmadeindc in Georgetown. Paintings and textiles in conversation, an undeniable timeline unfolding in real time. An artist not arriving, but fully present in it. Bri has been building this her entire life. Raised in music, dancing since childhood, doodling into painting, and later expanding into textile work during a rural residency that gave her space to listen deeply. What emerged carries something ancestral, like quilts holding maps of memory, movement, and liberation in every seam. Her work doesn’t shout. It resonates. Layered color moving from deep tones into light, a visual language of resilience, intuition, and return of someone coming home to themselves again and again. From major campaigns to her Justice series and murals across DC, this is still the opening chapter. @bpeppersart is bold where needed, tender where it counts, layered in meaning, generous in spirit, and unforgettable. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalism #textileart #blackwomenartist #contemporaryart

There are artists whose gift never left them; it just waited on the divine season. @be.theartist is that kind of artist. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., @be.theartist has been a creative since before she had language for it. Sketched as a child. Drew from instinct. Even as an athlete, she was creating poetry in motion. The gift was always there. The COVID era brought the stillness. And in that stillness, she picked up the brush. Like God directing her hand. She trusted it completely. Photography became part of the calling, too, the lens and the brush becoming one language. I first heard about @be.theartist on the quiet tip. Then I saw her in person at a homie’s exhibit, this dope individual with a plant curated right into her hairstyle, outfit, everything on point, and I knew I had to document her that night. A few weeks later, she was looking for a photographer, liked my style, and we linked. That connection led to her inviting me into her sacred space, her in-home studio, where I met her daughter, an amazing young gymnast, and got a sneak peek of what you’re about to experience at this exhibit. December was a tough month for me personally. My spirit had grown faster than my body could catch up with. Yet @be.theartist project kept me active at a pace that let me breathe, and watching her process, how she doesn’t just create to create, how she builds her own frames with her own hands, how purpose and power show up in everything she touches, that translated directly into my own healing. Now she arrives at her first solo exhibition, What We Do, We’ve Always Done. Centering the Black equestrian. Their presence. Their legacy. Their belonging. Black riders have always been here. @be.theartist makes sure you feel that. This is divine timing. Welcome to the world of @be.theartist . Pull up February 19, 6 PM for the Opening Reception at Julio Fine Arts Gallery, Loyola University Maryland, Through March 27. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalist #divinetiming #purpose #storytelling

Right after the Dupont Underground exhibit I was in one of my potnas said, “Let’s go grab a drink.”We landed @pressclubcocktailbar , a vinyl-heavy speakeasy laced in smooth vibrations. One of those places where you walk in and it feels like family off rip. I could tell the owner was carrying a lot, so I spoke on it. Y’all know how I talk. He told me sometimes you sit with something for months, and all it takes is one word from someone to help get over the hump. That moment turned into an opportunity. @pressclubcocktailbar tapped in with local artists to reimagine early-2000s album covers for their upcoming menu sleeves. I was supposed to be in Barcelona expanding my storytelling, but God had a different plan. I shared some concepts with the team and they said, “Phresh, I’ve seen your work. Go deeper.” So we scheduled a shoot and made the @pressclubcocktailbar team the subjects. Music guided everything. We locked in talkin about J Dilla’s Donuts. Then @tiki.dev said he has been back on The Blueprint and that sealed it for me. The space, the mood, the album, all aligned. A few days later, we knocked it out. Utmost gratitude to the entire @pressclubcocktailbar family for the trust. If you’re in the district, pull up for great cocktails, beautiful bites, and illa people. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalist #hiphop #album #recordbar

Every city has quiet leaders.In Philly, one of them is @saint_germaindupri . I met him through my folk Maurice. No big intro, no hype. Just a pull-up, a family table, and a room full of warmth. @saint_germaindupri moves with intention. Calm, grounded, unrushed. You can tell he has put in real time. The kind that compounds. He started in restaurants back in 2011 just trying to make some money. Server. Bartender. Manager. Not forcing steps. Just adding value, showing up, letting consistency speak. A mentor once told him, “I haven’t applied for a job in 20 years.” James took that to heart and lived it. For over a decade, he worked his way through Philly’s food scene brick by brick, eventually spending years at Vernick, rising from the floor to general manager. Quietly helping shape the city’s dining culture without needing the spotlight. Now he is stepping into a new chapter. More ownership, deeper business understanding, and long term sustainability. Less about running service. More about building something that lasts. Then there is the hospitality. I ordered the butternut squash pizza. One bite told the whole story. Patience, balance, and care. You could taste the intention. When I was heading out, @saint_germaindupri handed me a full pie and said, “I saw your reaction. Take one home.” That is not a flex. That is hospitality. Philly rooted. Human first. @saint_germaindupri is the kind of person who reminds you what this work is really about. Service as care. Growth without noise. Leadership that does not need an announcement. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalism #storytelling

Sometimes you gotta glance back. Not to stay there, but to honor the ground that taught you how to rise. I feel blessed reflecting on everything I’ve been through. Summer 2018 was one of those seasons for me… when surrendering to God was the only thing that made sense, and my spirit started guiding me toward what felt true. That’s around the time @aziza.handcrafted ’s work crossed my path through the homies. Her jewelry spoke in a language I felt before I could name it. Her craft stood out immediately. No hollow symbols… just intention, identity, and spirit. We met briefly at an intimate gallery event in Dupont. A quiet exchange, a moment of peace. Later, I reached out and asked if I could document her process in New York. A few days later, I was there. We linked in the Diamond District in the middle of her workday. I walked with her through every stop sourcing materials, shaping metal, making deliveries. Watching her move felt like watching someone pray with their hands. She told me how jewelry started as simple classes, curiosity, and then became a calling that opened her whole spirit. A few days after I got back from New York, I found out I’d been selected as a Dean Collection 2018 Rum Room recipient. She posted it, championed it, celebrated it like it was her own win. That kind of community the type where people see your light even when you’ve just met tells you everything about a person’s spirit and the spirits they keep around them. Seeing where she’s risen to now Vogue, global features, custom pieces for names that echo feels like watching purpose unfold exactly how it’s meant to when you trust God, trust your heart, and move with integrity. I never released those photos until now. The timing finally felt aligned. Grateful for the moment. Grateful for the growth @aziza.handcrafted ‘s , mine, the alignment that brought our paths together right when both our spirits were waking up. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalism #jewelrydesigner

I remember the first time I pulled up on @all.prps . She’d been showing love on my work for a while, and someone told me, “Yo, you’d love her shop, she’s all about sustainability.” That alone got my attention. I’ve always been big on secondhand and vintage pieces not just for the look, but for the story. The energy. How clothes already lived a little before they found you. But even though that’s my vibe, I hadn’t been making time to shop in a while. Then one day, I finally made my way over to @all.prps Chanel greeted me like we’d already met in another lifetime. She smiled and said she’d been following my work, and before I could even get my camera out, she told me I could take photos with no hesitation. That energy of trust and openness set the tone. @all.prps is tucked in the middle of a neighborhood, not in some high-traffic district. It used to be a nonprofit office, and she transformed it into a studio, a creative refuge lined with curated racks, textures, and small moments that tell stories. You walk in and immediately feel the care. As we talked, she told me about her own leap and how she walked away from being an educator to chase her purpose. Fifteen years of teaching. Pouring into others. And then realizing she was ready to pour that same energy into herself. She left the system, built her own lane, and in that process became a stylist, a business owner, a wife, a mom and somehow kept her peace intact. That hit me heavily, because I was in a transitional place myself working on projects, fighting doubt, trying to trust that everything I was creating had meaning. And here was this woman who had already done that risked everything to gain it all. @all.prps isn’t just a shop. It’s a reminder that sustainability isn’t only about how we dress it’s about how we choose to live. It’s the courage to rebuild, reimagine, and still show up soft. Chanel embodies that. #phreshingredient #portraithournalist #filmphotography #50mmphotography #colorfilm #vintagestyle #sustainability #blackwomen #stylenotfashion #motherhood #inspiration

Some moments rearrange you quietly. The divine moments the other day with @cmnwlth.j @cmn.wlth did just that. It wasn’t just conversation, it was calibration. We talked about our pasts, about what shaped us, about the things we still carry. I told him how I’d been holding on to something heavy. I couldn’t name what I now see was resentment toward my parents. He asked me a question that cut straight through the noise: “Why are you holding on to it” That sat in my spirit for days. It cracked something open. Jamil shared a practice with me a tool I’ve been carrying since: Go to the root of your question. When an answer appears, ask yourself why. Then ask why again. Then one more time. Somewhere in that third why, truth begins to rise. I told him how I’d been stepping away from gigs that didn’t align, leaving the noise, getting closer to God. How stillness had become my new practice because stillness is the mother of motion. We spoke about Richmond, grief, and how discipline from sports became medicine for the soul. He reminded me that healing isn’t about becoming someone new; it’s about returning to who you’ve always been. He said “Fam, I asked the universe back in August to expand my practice and the answer came through you”. What started as a check-in became a transformation. @cmnwlth.j @cmn.wlth acupuncturist, herbalist, photographer, bredren thank you. You reminded me that the work is the practice, the healing is the art, and the journey itself is holy. That day marked the beginning of my new transformation. The route may change, but the mission doesn’t. #PhreshIngredient #PortraitJournalist #RiskItAll #FilmPhotography #analogohotography #VisualStoryteller #CreativeEcosystem #brotherhood #blackmenhealing #energyhealing #releasing

After a meeting in NYC, I hopped on a train to Newark to link with my sister in purpose @lanett.austin CEO and founder of @peopleequalsprofits . @lanett.austin and her husband, G, opened their doors and hearts, and from their guest suite window, the Jersey skyline felt like confirmation you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. For a long time, I thought true community was lost on me. Moving around, never quite fitting in… but @lanett.austin reminded me that community isn’t found it’s revealed when you open your eyes, heart, and spirit. Being with her felt like homecoming. Like reconnecting with someone who reflects your own light. We shared jollof, plantains, and spinach at a beautiful African spot, talking late into the night about work, transitions, and lessons learned. Listening to her story, I realized how every moment from leading a political talk show in college, to shaping corporate culture, to mentoring people quietly behind the scenes foreshadowed what she was building with @peopleequalsprofits When I first met Lanett in 2021, @peopleequalsprofits already had life before it had a logo, it had intention. She’s always about people. “I take care of people,” she said. “Because when people are invested in, they do better and when they do better, everything else follows.” That’s not just business. That’s ministry. From the daughter of two Black opera singers who met at Juilliard, to student leader, corporate culture shaper, and now legacy builder, every chapter prepared her for this. @lanett.austin isn’t chasing titles, she’s amplifying truth, and that truth is simple. @peopleequalsprofits Always have. Always will. Being around her reminded me that leadership rooted in care, vision, and faith is magnetic. That when we invest in people, the work becomes alive, purposeful, and generative. She’s proof that building legacy starts with building people. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalism #storytelling #originators #blackwomenentrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #filmpgotography #analogphotography #peopleequalsprofits #community

Meeting @nicatnite_gallery felt like running into a cousin you’ve always known but never met. At @art4theblackmarket_ closing show at @artofnoizedmv , we started talking, and I found myself opening up about where I was in my own journey. She listened fully present, grounded and then said, “Don’t let the world rush your voice. Your pace is your power.” That kind of wisdom only comes from someone who’s walked their path and made peace with their rhythm. @nicatnite_gallery grew up in a loving family, but one that didn’t always fully understand the ways she expressed herself. Sports gave her discipline, but art gave her voice. Even when the world didn’t make space for her creativity, she found it within herself. COVID pushed her inward, and she emerged louder, clearer, and more intentional than ever. A few days later, stepping into her home for our shoot felt like entering a secret world she’s been quietly building. Every wall told a story. Every piece of art, mostly by Black artists she knows and champions, reflected history, legacy, and care. You could feel the years of study, cultivation, and commitment in the space the work, the struggles, the lessons, and the triumphs. Being there wasn’t just about photos it was about learning, witnessing, and seeing purpose in motion. @nicatnite_gallery moves through the world with quiet boldness, sharp, funny, honest, and layered. Her first solo exhibit, “Sold, Not Told,” is that culmination. A statement on how identity, creativity, and culture get repackaged, resold, and stripped of origin, and a declaration that our narratives, spirit, and truth cannot be owned or diluted. What @nicatnite_gallery offering the world next isn’t just art, it’s nourishment. #phreshingredient #portraitphotography #portaitjournalism #storytelling #blackwomeninart #filmphotography #comunity #revolutionary #blackpower

Last spring, I linked with the homie Brian Bailey, multi-media artist and just pure spirit. I was pulling up on him to document, do what i do and tap into his world. Before we even hit his studio, he told me to slide to this event he was helping with called ‘Journey to Joy and Wellness “ Empowerment & Connection Experience. That’s where I first met @rajaekamari , founder of @redpenconsulting . From the jump, I saw how intentional her work was in creating spaces for artists and storytellers to be seen, supported, and free. She noticed how I was moving with Brian’s story and told me, “Let’s stay in touch and see what aligns.” Fast forward a year and some change, I ran into her again at a Market. She was glowing, more rooted in her purpose, sharing about projects she had just helped bring to life. One of them was This Is Us, an exhibit that held weight not just for the culture but for how she was stepping deeper into her truth via @cousinzfestival .  I was inspired on the spot. I shared my own path and asked if she wanted to revisit that idea of alignment we once spoke about in the past. She said yes. We built from there. I got to document her in her element, her home filled with original art, her family’s energy, her own healing space. Meeting her mother and grandmother explained so much of the grounded strength and spirit I always felt from her. It became clear that @redpenconsulting   isn’t just a consulting firm, it’s @rajaekamari . Her vision, her heart, her vibration woven into everything she touches. She’s been stepping into her truth, her purpose, and sharing that with the world through projects, exhibits, and spaces rooted in connection and intention. I’m grateful to witness and document it, and even more grateful for the alignment that brought it full circle. #phreshingredient #portraitphotography #portraitjournalism #curator #blackwomen #trustyourintuition #purpose

Life flipped the script on me. One moment I had a steady role, the next it was gone. But even in that shake-up, blessings been lining up from running productions and launching a fundraiser, to being spotlighted in Dupont Underground, published in the Washington Informer, and showing in exhibits across the city. The art keeps pushing through me, and I keep meeting people who remind me I’m exactly where I need to be. The twist? My film program in Barcelona. The dream is real, but the visa process has been brick wall after brick wall. Delays, red tape, even a call from the program director telling me don’t come yet. Cohort members from Canada and Australia are stuck too. Bureaucracy is heavy. Part of me thinks: take a pause, stack up, defer. But the other part? Nah. Mission stays the same: Operation Barcelona. And while Spain holds me back, DC pulls me in. Saw @dcdesignweek calling for media team members, and I jumped. First, my day started with a shoot for an Art Curator stepping into her own light, then documenting the Creative Reset at @groun.ded a lush nursery café & cultural sanctuary. The air was alive: affirmations, yoga, sound baths, community. Black, Brown, Asian, White all gathered, all grounded, all showing respect. I documented it all. Truth is, I was running on fumes. The night before, I’d gutted my apartment, put my whole living room on the curb, stripped down to essentials. But exhaustion couldn’t mute the spirit. I was feeling everything joy, nerves, stress, inspiration and that’s how I know it’s real. I’m not escaping, I’m walking through it, as God carries me. Then right there, another email hit: more delays. Maybe even deferral. But I don’t see setbacks as losses just spirit’s timing. Standing in @groun.ded , surrounded by visionaries who risked it all to build safe spaces, I knew… I’m exactly where I need to be. The mission hasn’t changed only the route. Shoutout to the entire @grounded & @dcdesignweek team for opening that door, and much love to the brilliant folks I met who made it all possible. #phreshingredient #portraitjournalist #storyteller