ANNOUNCING THE WOMAN OF THE MONTH

Fort Worth women are making headlines daily as business owners, entrepreneurs, top management officers, and political leaders. So, here at Fort Worth Woman, we are selecting one of our city’s shining stars each month. These are the movers and shakers you need to know, and we are proud to honor their accomplishments as our WOMEN OF THE MONTH.

Alana Latiolais

Artist – Designer – CEO at AlanaKayArt

My art explores the tension — a magnetic pull between impatience and patience. Our life is a canvas. Every space, from our closets to our dining tables, deserve beauty. This is why I transform my original paintings into wearable art, jewelry, and home decor.

Meet November’s Woman of the Month Alana Latiolais!

Recognizing the bright colorful art that this beautiful woman makes is beyond easy to do. From canvases to coasters and leggings to earrings, the pieces Alana creates are as unique as she is and adorn all corners of Fort Worth. Not only is she making, selling and running her art business, but she also wears the mom hat to her son, William. This mom boss is originally from a large, 86-acre farm in Clifton, TX, and came to Fort Worth for her husband’s job in 2013.

Alana remembers feeling inspired by color even at a young age as a farm girl in Clifton. “I will never forget this pair of bright orange plaid bell bottoms from Gadzooks that I begged my Mom to buy for me when I was a sophomore in high school.” By the age of 19, Alana had become a licensed cosmetologist and hairstylist and started to find a love for black clothing. Life ran its course and a couple years after getting married and having a baby Alana remembers having a pep talk with herself one day. “I looked in the mirror and was uninspired by what and who was staring back at me,” she says, “I lost that part of me somewhere down the motherhood trail and right then and there I decided that in order to feel good I needed to look good.” This is where color worked its way back in to her life.

Alana then started wearing lots and lots of colors, prints, and even began experimenting with bright pink and even red lipstick again. “Dressing this way became a way for me to turn my bad mood or loneliness or sadness into what I really wanted to be feeling which was happy and light and uplifted,” Alana said. From there her personal pep talk became a movement in her life. She began to take her love of color to canvas. “What started as a DIY resin canvas project in my driveway soon unfolded into me answering a simple question, ‘Are you an artist?’ to which I boldly answered, ‘Yes. I am!’”

With her background in cosmetology and fashion merchandising, Alana wasn’t content to blend into a crowd, and became determined to leave the world brighter than she found it. “I believe wholeheartedly that the richness of tones can change a mood, spark joy, and evoke connection. As an artist, my passion is to communicate stories with vibrancy. My art explores the tension — a magnetic pull between impatience and patience. Our life is a canvas. Every space, from our closets to our dining tables, deserve beauty. This is why I transform my original paintings into wearable art, jewelry, and home decor.”

AlanaKayART exists first as an outlet for expression and creativity but secondly it exists to empower other women to express themselves. This spirit is strung throughout her own work. The first resin abstract painting Alana ever poured has been named ‘Badass’; a movement of hot pink, turquoise, yellow, and ultramarine blue. With a name like ‘Badass’, this canvas resonated with her “Badass” female friends. “Looking at it I felt a little more empowered, courageous, and even daring. That is what AlanaKayART has the ability to do,” she says. “I put colors together that are unexpected and then the icing on the cake is the ability to design the original artwork into pieces that you can add into the mundane spaces of your life, so you can bring the feeling into your day to day life.”

We asked Alana, after all this excitement and hard work, what she is most proud of. She said that rather than a specific item or piece, she is proud to push through the doubtful moments, specifically when it comes to creating new art. “I go through lulls where I freeze up and doubt myself,” she says, “And then I have a day where I don’t even want to leave the studio after I am done because the paintings are just so spectacular. This is when I realize, YES I can do this and I should always push myself to keep going because I never know what I might create next.”

Her excitement carries into her love for this city as well. Her favorite parts about Fort Worth are the entrepreneurs. “Before I was an entrepreneur myself, I met tons of them locally,” she says, “I was so intrigued by how they how they filled their days on their own terms, and the sheer abundance of them here in the city. I firmly believe the entrepreneurial spirit and unique perspectives are what makes Fort Worth great.”

Alana’s one word that describes her impact is Ideation. She stated, “Ideas fuel my exploration and have led me to new products, opportunities and people that weren’t on my radar until I pursued the random thoughts in my brain.” Her ideas are not only making our city that much brighter, but they are inspiring the hearts of those that see her work!

This spunky, curly-headed, woman is leading the charge in empowerment through color. She believes, “our world does not exist in black and white. It is loud with movement and full of life. We don’t have to be neutral. We don’t have to blend in. We can be bold and bright and wear all of the colors at once! I dare you to try it, you’ll love the compliments that it brings your way.” Thank you Alana for being an inspiration and leader to women in The Fort!

Intrigued by the seemingly irresistible pieces of AlanaKayArt? You can visit www.AlanaKayART.com or email her at Alana@AlanaKayART.com. You can also follow her on Instagram @AlanaKayART

Want to discover past features?

Michelle, aka @fortworthwoman, is a teacher turned counselor turned mommy turned entrepreneur.

Michelle has a passion for connecting, encouraging and informing about the good happening in our city. The good people, events, food, stores, entrepreneurs, and good deeds are her focus. She has created a niche for herself by using social media as a native marketing tool that has created meaningful exposure for local businesses in Fort Worth to a wide but very particular local audience.

Lauren Losack

Lauren is a Strategic Communication Major at TCU with a minor in being a “busy bee”. As an intern for the Fort Worth Woman, Lauren enjoys meeting new people and trying all the food this city has to offer!

Fort Worth Woman

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