By BOBBIE GREEN
The Progress
As a new member of the Virgin Valley Artist Association, Kaylea’ Layah W. Whitefeather has quickly made herself known through her unique paintings, winning awards in each monthly competition she entered.
Whitefeather began by entering the monthly VVAA competition in June 2023 at the Mesquite Fine Arts Center. In that exhibit, she won a second-place award in brushed art and an honorable mention.
In the October contest, Whitefeather earned first and second place as well as the People’s Choice Awards.
At first, Whitefeather did not attend the VVAA awards ceremony, leaving everyone to wonder, “Who is this unique artist?”
Whitefeather, who prefers to be called White Rose, agreed to a recent interview with The Progress where she told her story.
According to White Rose, she was stillborn 46 years ago. With no human intervention from doctors or nurses she suddenly began to breathe on her own.
“God gave me my life,” she said in her own idiosyncratic dialect. “And now I gives my life to Him, I thank Him for helping me.”
White Rose heritage is of the indigenous Black Foot tribe, though she was born with a partial genetic condition of Albinism, which caused lighter skin and hair color – as well as epilepsy and autism. The combination provides plenty of physical challenges.
White Rose reflected on her childhood. “I had a rough life,” she said. “My parents said I was ‘useless’ and did not teach me anything. I did not go to school because of my disabilities. I home-schooled myself.”
White Rose said that she was married off to a man who did not treat her well. But she had her first son with him.
After leaving her first husband she married another man who also did not treat her well. They had a second son.
“With God’s help, I taught myself things and raised my two boys,” White Rose said. “I received a high school diploma from an online school course I took myself. I have home-schooled my boys. The oldest one is about to graduate high school and go on to college. They are way advanced compared to the kids going to public school here in St George.”
White Rose said she started drawing at 7 years old. At 10, she started writing poetry and has won quite a few awards for her poetry.
She said that she met her current husband, Jeff, in an online dating service. “He is a Christian and a good man,” White Rose said of him.
All during the interview, White Rose’s body was making movements. When posed with a thoughtful question, she taps her head with her fingers. While speaking, she sometimes goes into a brief pause, and then continues with her sentence.
Jeff explained that these pauses are actually seizures. White Flower endures more than 100 each day, he said. The larger ones often end her up in the hospital.
The first thing you will notice when conversing with White Rose, is her wonderful sense of humor. “When challenges were being handed out, I was given many,” she said. “But I was also blessed with a high I.Q., which helps me overcome some challenges. I have God in my heart, and He helps me all the time.”
She took some online college courses but, after two years, she had to quit them on doctor’s orders to minimize stress and seizures.
“God gave me the feeling I could do colors,” she said. “I never tried before, so I first tried pastel pencils. Seeing I could do that, I bought paint and a canvas.”
The first time she ever tried to create a painting was in December 2020. She said that she looked at her blank canvas and asked God to lead her.
“He does help me,” she said. “I have no knowledge of rules or techniques, but I feel close to God when I paint. It is calming for me and he gives me a perspective that is different from most people.”
That perspective clearly shows in her work. One of her first-place award pieces titled “Imagine That Breakthrough” in the October competition depicted herself as the subject. “I am tearing down the walls and breaking through challenges,” she said of the painting.
White Rose said that she has been inspired by her membership in the VVAA.
“The VVAA is the best place I have found,” she said. “They let me express myself through art and don’t limit me on what I can paint. The people are friendly and nice to me. They do not hide my work like some other galleries have done.”
Dealing with her disabilities is challenging but manageable. “God is with me!” she said. “And the only limitations we have are the ones we place on ourselves.”
White Rose said that she has been asked to do a solo show in the Taravarna Gallery in Los Angeles. She said that she will do so online. In addition, a gallery in New York is also asking for a show, she said.
White Rose is living proof of how to overcome adversity – a role model of faith and “no boundaries.”
