As a young child, Jalyon Welsh-Cole always enjoyed drawing and working with watercolors. As she grew older, art and acrylics became a fundamental way for her to gain release and contentment from the often painful world around her. Later, as an adult, she discovered other crafts such as making chocolate edibles, Candles as well as homemade soaps and fell in love instantly. Although Jalyon still enjoys drawing and watercolors, now she does mostly paintings with acrylics in addition to learning new crafts and tangible art forms.

 

Visual art is one of her biggest outlets, and for her, it represents the struggles she prevailed through and continues to fight in her lifetime. She says of her art, “Painting with purpose drives me to create art that has been through something. I like for my work to have a story." As a survivor of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Bi-Polar 1 Disorder, Jalyon gets her inspiration from others who share their stories with her through her and her mother's empowerment movement #HSH (#HealingSecretHurts) which she travels around the world sharing nationally and international.

 

In 2017 Jalyon decided to start iKandi, a website showcasing her artwork and hand-crafted art and home goods in hopes of selling these items to raise money in support of her causes. Although most of the proceeds go towards services for victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault through #HSH  HealingSecretHurts, some proceeds are also sent to organizations that tackle other causes like Autism, Bi-Polar, and HIV.