WHAT THE
MUSIC
MEANS TO ME
Hi, I’m Nicole. As an awkward and anxious child, making and consuming music helped to regulate my nervous system. It was a significant part of my self discovery. At the time, I didn’t realize I was using it as a coping skill. Music became a space for my fears, ideas, and dreams to go.
I loved the song Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. and Vincent by Don McLean. Music gave me access to information and ideas that I didn’t have access to otherwise. Writing music helped me to process a lot of emotions I was too afraid to express otherwise.
My daughter is a musician. She is the “Chuckles” in Chuckles and Bleu. She picked up a guitar at age 6 and never put it down. Music is one of the ways I’ve watched her pretty fearlessly express herself. It’s this crazy, powerful medium that people universally find safety in.
Music creates nostalgia, breaks generational barriers and acts as a segue into hard truths and conversations.
My creative work is inspired by musicians who use their lyrics and voices to promote social responsibility, equality, self-acceptance, inclusivity, and personal empowerment. My coffee table is piled high with biographies of the musicians I admire. One day I began sketching out the stories of their lives, illustrating their childhood daydreams and their artistic journeys. It allowed me to make connections I never had before and find a sense of self again.
I highlight musical legends with the hope that they’ll inspire younger generations to find their own voices and grow up to make a big noise in the world.