BROCKTON — In a pale-yellow room with a bohemian tapestry dangling on the wall and flower vines creeping in every corner, dozens of acrylic and oil paintings that took a young Brockton artist hours to paint hang freely in her artistic heaven.
Jolisa Pettiford, 17, won most artistic in her Brockton High School senior superlative for many variations of art from dance to drawing and painting.
Pettiford has come a long way since the death of her older sister Tatyana Pettiford in 2015.
Life has been an uphill battle of fighting crippling depression, self-harm, bullying and finding the will to carry on, Pettiford said.
Despite the many challenges Pettiford endured, she still finds a way to smile by channeling her sister’s positive energy and motivation to keep going.
“Tatyana had thousands of needles poking her but would still have the strength to do something she loved like painting in the hospital bed. She did everything with confidence. She often said life is worth living for, and I must live for her,” Pettiford said.
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Art was the glue that bound Pettiford’s life together and has been with her throughout the emotional ups and downs.
Pettiford’s mother, Lisa Pettiford, enrolled her in 2012 in the Gold’s School Dance Art in Brockton, where she learned ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary dance, in 2012.
After the death of her sister during her seventh-grade school year, Pettiford fell in love with art and dance as a way to escape.
“I started painting a lot more when she passed away. It would bring me to a safe place to be myself and draw how I felt and open my emotions. If I were angry, I would throw paint. If I were sad, I would draw all different types of things. You can see a lot of emotion in people’s artwork,” Pettiford said.
During this time, her art seventh-grade art teacher encouraged her to continue creating art and to never stop because of the great potential she possessed.
The kind words of encouragement stuck with Pettiford to this day.
As a young artist, getting selected to be in a showcase during middle school was a confidence booster.
The two sisters would bond while painting together in the hospital and art has a special place in her heart Pettiford said.
In 2015, another tragic loss entered Pettiford’s life six months after her sibling’s passing. A fire destroyed everything, including the art Pettiford would paint with her sister.
All her sister’s possession were also destroyed in the fire, leaving the family with nothing.
These events did take a toll on Pettiford’s life, causing her to miss several days of school. In February, Pettiford missed the entire month of school. Life was unbearable at this point, and she couldn’t muster up the courage to get out of bed.
“Every morning, I struggled to get out of bed. I sat in the shower and cried. I couldn’t go to school, but my sister used to tell me never to give up. Even though it wasn’t a fancy saying, I can hear her voice in my head, and it kept me going,” Pettiford said.
At the end of the school year, Pettiford pulled through her depression, finished the school year strong, and turned in all her assignments.
“My sister didn’t get to graduate. She passed away her senior year, so I wanted to finish for her,” Pettiford said.
Pettiford said she also found some inspiration and strength from her culture in Haiti.
So many natural disasters and other terrible things have happened to Haitians, but they still find a way to help each other and power through any adversity with a smile on their face, Pettiford said.
“I want people to understand no matter what you go through, do not give up. You will crumble and fall. You have to fight. I fought every day. It was hard, but I’m happy with where I am now in life,” Pettiford said.
Pettiford will be graduating from Brockton High School on Saturday, June 5 she’s planning to take a year off school to work and take a small break to enjoy life.
She plans to enroll in college after the hiatus and wants to attend either Massasoit Community College or one of the University of Massachusetts campuses in Boston or Amherst.
“I have this big dream where I have enough courage to be something big one day,” Pettiford said.
Pettiford’s goal after high school is to continue to sell her commissioned art pieces, get signed to a major fashion agency and become a mental health advocate helping children struggling with various mental health issues.
“I’ve been through so many things in life meant to break me, but I found the beauty in suffering, and suffering produces perseverance, and pain builds character. If you’re in hell right now, keep going. There are so many people around you who are going through the same thing. Don’t feel ashamed to ask for help like I did,” Pettiford said.
To buy any of Pettiford’s art, visit her Instagram page @ArtByJolisa.
Enterprise Staff Reporter Alisha Saint-Ciel can be reached by email at stciela@gannett.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @alishaspeakss. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.