BALTIMORE — Every artist has their own signature or calling card when it comes to their work.
For Murjoni Merriweather, she uses clay to help the Black community feel seen. Specifically, in spaces that aren't considered the "norm."
"When I was growing up and I just went to museums, I saw a lot of sculptures that had Eurocentric features, or if they were Black, they would be slaves," Merriweather said.
"I also want little girls to go to museums to feel proud of themselves. When I was growing up, I had really Afro hair... but I make sculptures like that because I want things to be relatable."
Some of her sculptures feature things like green braids, bantu knots, earrings and grills.
"I want us to be able to be like, 'Yo like, I saw a sculpture that looked like me, or my dad, or my mom in this really cool museum,'" Merriweather said with a smile.
Her journey led her from drawing to ceramics, and this is in part thanks to her brother.
He asked her what she wanted to do with her life and she replied, "Truthfully, I want to play in clay all day."
When she was on her ceramics journey, she started small with cups, but now she's making full-scale projects like one titled "Simi."
"He's one of the first pieces that I made that was big, but also unapologetically talking about the stereotypes that Black people have to come across."
He's also part of her "Grill series," and not the George Foreman kind. We're talking about the teeth jewelry Nelly rapped about in the early 2000's.
The series aims to dispel stereotypes surrounding the jewelry.
Murjoni speaks on her experience with grills
Everything is intentional with Merriweather's designs. They have big smiles to shine past any negative comments and small ears to block out outward opinions.
Her latest project even caught the attention of the NFL. She made a sculpture of Lamar Jackson for the NFL's Artist Replay Program, where artists show football fandom by creating work.
"I was selected to be a part of the NFL Artist Replay Program, where they select artists to be mentored by Cam Kirk during Art Basel and then we also show football fandom by creating work."
Merriweather was contacted by an NFL representative, and the Jackson sculpture spent weekend in Miami at Art Basel, a show featuring artists from all over the world.
Now, the sculpture is back home with her.
It may not look exactly like Jackson because its just supposed to embody the quarterback's energy.
If you're just discovering Merriweather for the first time, she just wants people to feel proud.
"I want to be able to take someone outside of the real world and put them inside of an actual feeling, in a place where they can feel vulnerable."