Hi, my name is Jayden Becker, I am 19 years old, and I am a freshman at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. The name Chocolate Tea is a name I hold near and dear to my heart. When I was little my dad and I were having a tea party, and he asked me what kind of tea I was drinking, and with my pinky up, I told him that I was drinking Chocolate Tea. Chocolate Tea has been a name that stuck with both of us. This company is in honor of my dad, who I love and miss dearly. 

I use photography, drawing, and videography as an outlet for the emotions and thoughts that flow through me. I express what I feel, how I feel, and what I think through my art work. The shapes, lines, and patterns of my images are the thoughts and feelings that I would be unable to express through spoken words. It is a way to share my life, feelings, emotions, and thoughts with those around me. This makes it possible to interact with people I would otherwise not be able to engage with. My goal is for my artwork to stir something inside you, whether it is sadness, anger, happiness, joy, love, or all the above.

I have created or expressed myself in some form of art from a young age. As a toddler, I would make a colorful mess out of the blueberries on my high chair and paint myself when given a piece of paper to paint on. In school, I would doodle on every assignment and paper. I remember my teachers telling me that I needed to stop doodling all over my homework because it was not for art, but that did not stop me. In middle school, I got into a habit of drawing on my hands and arms. I would draw flowers, vines, faces, people, and words. Give me anything, and I will cover it in art. My dad has been my inspiration for my art, and he inspired me to delve into photography about five years ago. He gave me my first professional camera, which I still use to this day. After playing around with photography, I became interested in photoshop, so I decided to teach myself how to use it. Now, I combine painting, doodling, and photo editing into my art.

When my dad passed away from cancer three years ago, my art started to mean more to me. I had no idea how to process my emotions, so I started expressing it through my art. My art became a lot darker, but it allowed me to release my emotions in a healthy way. Art has also acted as a source of comfort because my dad was my number one art fan. When creating art, I feel closest to him.