NEW ORLEANS — Grief can take many shapes, especially for children. A long-time depression and the inability to communicate their thoughts can lead to actions that can be detrimental.
That was the worry for Bobbie Mason who tragically lost her young daughter, Jayla.
While grieving herself, she worried how her second daughter, Jessica, would cope with the loss of her younger sister.
“Minoo had a very close relationship with her younger sister, they were only a year apart,” Bobbie said. She refers to Jessica as “Minoo” which is a family nickname. “They were super close, and they fed off of each other because they were both artists.”
After losing her sister, Jayla, Jessica says she retreated and became more isolated. She no longer wanted to do things she used to, especially if it once involved her younger sister.
“I used to swim a lot, that was a thing that my sister and I would do,” Jessica said. “I could not swim anymore; I couldn’t get in a pool. No hot tubs. Nothing. I just can’t you know.”
Bobbie was concerned with how Jessica’s grief would manifest but says she learned Jessica found an outlet through a hobby she picked up at 8 years old.
“I went into her room, and I started noticing drawings, just sketches. She was just doing simple sketches on paper, but the drawings were very detailed. They were very intricate; they were very sophisticated drawings for a 10-year-old.”
It was an outlet Bobbie says she was happy to help Jessica explore as they were both navigating life after loss, and an outlet that would bring the two closer.
“If I'm happy I would probably just draw someone happy, clean lines,” Jessica said. “If I was upset, I would use more messy line work. Sketchy. Sometimes it’s hard just to express my emotions there, so I express it in a drawing that I make.”
Despite her talent, Jessica still wasn’t ready to put her art, her emotions on display. Still, Bobbie helped her daughter hone in her gift behind the scenes.
“I exposed her to digital art class. I put her in an art program, and they taught her how to take her sketches and create digital art,” Bobbie said. “Over the years not only did she stick with it, but it also became a part of her life. So, when she gets in from school every day, she would start drawing characters.”
Some of the characters have a story, like Sumi.
“She's just like is this girl in some digital world. She looks pretty techno-ish, she has bright colors, and she lives in a computer.”
While others are inspired by Anime’, video games, and Jessica’s own story of loss.
“I would make like drawings because of her,” Jessica said, referring to her younger sister, Jayla. “I remember making a drawing around her birthday and it was one of my characters breaking down. I did give one of my characters a sister because of that.”
Over the years, Jessica’s art would bring new life to the now mother-daughter duo. When Jessica felt comfortable sharing her work, her mother helped her re-imagine the creations.
“I said, maybe it's time for you to have a business because this is something that you love to do, and I want you to do something that you love to do. “When she launched the business last month, I really saw her open up.”
Her business would jump-start in a place perfect for the self-proclaimed introvert, Comic-Con. It’s a place for fans to express their love for their favorite characters in comic books through conversation and notably elaborate costuming.
It’s also a place for some to escape their realities.
“I have met some people that are probably really introverted and then they just have so much energy at cons,” Jessica said. “Because they haven't been able to express themselves.”
While Jessica attended a “Con” before as a fan, she made her debut as a business owner at the Fan Expo Comic Con in the New Orleans Convention Center selling “Minoo Creations.”
“They did like my art. I get surprised that they do like my art cause most of the stuff drawn I did it when I was young,” Jessica said.
Bobbie says attending her first Comic Con explained a lot about her young daughter.
“I was totally fascinated but also overwhelmed,” Bobbie said. “I’m like, this is her tribe. These people dressed in all these amazing costumes. They were in their character, and they were flawless—just flawless in expressing who they were as that character. What I loved about it the most is that a lot of the people that were there were kind of shy and introverted but extremely friendly, very accepting.”
The introvert found like minds, not only starting “Minoo Creations” but an Anime’ club in school. Encouraging her peers, even those who can’t draw, to use the outlet as a form of expression. Like the Comic-Cons Jessica attends, she opened a space for some to escape their realities.
“I thought I was alone in this and finding out there are people that like stuff I like. I was like wow.”
While Jessica found her outlet, Bobbie is by her side finding hers too in helping her daughter expand her newfound business.
“I started describing the journey from “Grief to Greatness” because I found that over time, we’ve had to strengthen ourselves emotionally,” Bobbie said. “We’ve had to strengthen our bond and I believe just over this time just from where we’ve come from and to this point today, that has really made us stronger and greater.”
Jessica is now taking “Minoo Creations across the world. Her mother says they received an offer for Minoo Creations to become a vendor at a Comic-Con in South Africa. If you want to check out a few of her designs yourself, visit MinooCreations.com.
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