Alivia Moe
Photo by Michael Garcia
Alivia Moe, model and local creator has started her own podcast THE GAAAP! We had to ask her:
When are you happiest?
At this point in my life, I'm striving for contentment. I've lived too much in the extremes of high highs and low lows. I find I am the most content when I am curious, creating, and teaching. I lean into curiosity by researching, observing, listening, and engaging in conversations. I obsess over learning new art processes and digging deeper into topics and people that inspire me. I love sitting in coffee shops or on park benches observing moments in others' lives. Overhearing conversations. Seeing kids smile as they play so freely. Whether I'm jotting down ideas, throwing on my pottery wheel, printing new streetwear designs, or numbingly glued to my laptop writing poetry... my creativity keeps me sane, it keeps me grounded in life and in myself.
Is there a theme that you would say runs through all your creative expressions?
In a word I would say autonomy. In my fine art practice I create "emotional waste" that is physical, digital, or written expression of how I learn, unlearn and discover how I am in the world, how I react, how I respond, how I love, how I hurt, who I want to be and who I am. My fine art practice is the raw expression of me. I own a small business called VESL STUDIOS. In this context, which is consumer focused, I aim to expose the interconnections between body and lifestyle through the importance of self expression and self care.
Be honest, how often do you hear Unchained Melody when doing pottery?
Haha.. So, of course, I know the reference but I don't listen to it when I throw. However, I am always listening to music... ALWAYS. I would say Soul is the broad genre I love but in terms of specific songs or artists; Erykah Badu, Nai Palm, IAMDDB, Greentea Peng, Tems, Sade, Pip Millet, Wizkid... I could go on..... I love music and am deeply influenced by it in how I process my life emotionally and how I write.
A fashion trend you are really digging right now?
I don't really follow trends per se. I live in neutrals with the goal of curating timeless outfits; I play with accessories and textures to complete my looks. The checkerboard pattern coming back into style in the last couple of years has found its way into my wardrobe 100% (Hell yes 80's). I joke and say I am a "shoe whore" simply meaning I have a lot of shoes.... Currently I've been really enjoying my Kelly green, croc-like mules. Almost all the pieces I own are second-hand or vintage. While I’m a consumer like everyone else, I try to be mindful of building an intentional wardrobe. When I find a piece I can't live without, I want to simply be able to build upon what I already have, rather than over-consuming and producing waste. I enjoy mixing and matching, I express myself in feminine, masculine and fluid ways and I enjoy exploring these expressions through fashion. This extends into the custom pieces I make for myself and sell via my small business VESL STUDIOS.
Where is the best party in Durham?
Lol, I don't go out like that so I have no idea in the context of going somewhere specific to "party". I enjoy going to The Fruit or Annex to dance when I am in that kind of mood (maybe once every 3 months lol).
