I am not what people label me/have labeled me: I am not a fitness model I am not a porn star I am not even a role model. I believe it comes with the territory (having a more public social media presence), but lately, God has redeemed all these things that were once an overall cause of harm and pain in my life and has brought my website & all of my social media into a pretty clear example of the way God wants to redeem ALL things. I’ve been a pretty easy target for quite some time. We have been actively fighting to remove images from the internet that we’re continuing to be published and shared out of my “control” and continue to keep our minds focused on the present and not on the past. Over the past three years, my Husband and I have been actively pushing against the “empire” that was built purely around my sex appeal as that was never my intention.
This left me realizing, after I reached the peak of that “fame,” that I was almost as lonely as when I set out in 2010. I had a bunch of people that “supported” me, but only if it was of sexier pics that floated their boat.
After about a year, however, I gained over 300K Instagram followers that cared primarily about my body. I was able to leave my full-time job and work only from home. I started seeing over 1K new followers a day on my Facebook fan page, started selling more posters, created a “sexy” website that had over 39K subscribers. There was a time about three years ago (2013) when all my social media accounts started growing at a rate I couldn’t believe. While I enjoy writing a caption and pairing it with a photo, painting has been the avenue I use to share things I’m not ready to speak (or choose not to). It is also through these challenges that I grew into the Ciara that is writing this today: confident in vulnerability, healed and still healing, and able to connect with other women (and men) all over the world through my blog & social media. I am still in this process now, and I understand this will last until the end, so I’m in no rush. It is through these challenges (to put it lightly) that I was able to TRULY know God and His grace and healing. Without going into details here, I can say that I had to wander quite a few dark valleys before I was pulled up to see the light of day.
#Ciara paint it black interview tv
I would be remiss if I did not include that I became a black belt in hard form kung fu at 10, classically trained pianist by 15, a leader in multiple groups and organizations throughout high school, Bible Study leader at 16, cheer captain at 17, and West Point candidate by 18, a reality tv reel filmed and pitched at 22, and a pretty little picture of a life from the outside looking in.Īll of these “achievements” did not keep me from the culmination of the emotional and physical hardship growing up overspilling & taking its form in my 20s. I would keep a tally in my head of how many new people I talked to that day (this actually is a habit that stays with me to this day). As a child I was fascinated with people: meeting them, talking with them, knowing more about them. I never set out to make this my main hat I wear, but God had other plans.Ī Phoenix native, I was born to a Vietnamese mother who immigrated to the US in the 70s, and an American father born in Delaware, Ohio. Since then, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to share my work locally and across the country. I pulled out my paint and brushes after a therapy session a while ago and never put them back.
My expression through art started as a child but was put on the shelf for most of my teens and twenties. We run a business together, Kleva Built, and are enjoying newly married life (two years is still new, right?) Hi! I’m a visual artist living in sunny Tempe with my smokeshow Husband and our two pups. Today we’d like to introduce you to Ciara Kleva.Įvery artist has a unique story.
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