♪ Good times ♪ Any time you meet a payment - [Wolly] My great grandmother, she let me start watching "Good Times."

And in "Good Times," there was a character named JJ who painted.

- Voila!

- It was the first time I saw somebody Black on TV painting.

And finding out later from my grandmother and family that the painter from that show was Ernie Barnes.

And Ernie Barnes was from North Carolina.

So that blew my mind even more that there was a Black artist, Black artist from North Carolina, Black artist who was getting paid for art.

And that just opened up this world of, ooh, I want to explore this art thing.

I think exposure to greater things is important, period, but it definitely helps to see somebody who you can identify with because it makes it more realistic that it's possible.

You know, if you see something you can't identify with, if a certain part of you doesn't click with it, you may not think that's for you.

But if you see somebody you can identify with and it's like, oh, well, if they were capable of doing it, then it's still a path for me, there's a possibility for me.

So I think that's super important.

I've worked with the Mint Museum, I've worked with The McColl, the Johnson C. Smith, The Harvey Gantt Center.

I have permanent pieces over there.

And then outside of Charlotte, my work has been Atlanta, Virginia, DC.

One of the most notable would be my collaboration with Nike, which happened through Black Sheep Skate Shop, getting to work on the character design for the Black Hornet dunks.

I was living back and forth between Lumberton, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina.

We were very wealthy in spirit and community, but financially we didn't have a lot.

So it was rough, it was a lot of things happening.

Kindness and people caring has been major throughout the steps of my life.

And I wouldn't be here without some of the people who spoke up and said, "Hey, bro, this ain't necessarily the path," or some of the people that were willing to take the time to just have conversations.

And so trying to make sure that I'm present and aware and as much of that as I can be authentically to other people is important to me.

(uplifting music) - They are mesmerized when he comes into the classroom.

He has a way to just captivate them.

So Grier Heights Youth Arts program is for ages 4th grade to 12th grade.

I think the main mission statement is to help through art.

Art is a catalyst for change.

And through that mindset to be able to transform their lives, that they have a better quality of life, that they can make better decisions, that they have more self-confidence and self-esteem, and that they can be a more engaged citizen.

We engage with a lot of creative artists in the city.

The way the program is designed, artists are invited in to do modules.

So, for instance, we work with an artist Wolly, and Wolly is an artist, he's an entrepreneur, he's an illustrator, he's a published author, and he is in the community.

And so Wolly is one of our favorites because he has this very mellow, laid back way about him, and he never seems to be stressed.

And so when he comes in, he brings that aura with him.

And his component of teaching is about being a superhero.

And that superhero is the student.

- Ms. Rubie's like, we like to call her the art mom.

She's a very important person in the art community here.

She's always been very supportive of the arts and of the youth having access to art, and the community having a voice and trying to be a voice herself, but also open the door to others that can speak in a different way.

- [Rubie] When Wolly talks to the students, he brings in his own life story.

And he lets them know, "I'm not telling you about something I think or I've read or I've seen on a movie screen.

I'm telling you about my actual life.

And I grew up in a very challenging community."

And so his way out was to come to Charlotte.

His way out was to draw, to create.

He's so creative.

- Grier Heights and other places like where I grew up, we didn't have a lot of these type programs, and so to have something like that available where kids can come for free and spend time getting to meet people that they might not have crossed paths with otherwise was super important.

That's been a heavy part, man, of just trying to make sure we are the example and we are setting the standard, and then they take that and elevate it.

- And so we're working with the children to help them to understand that art can take them anywhere they want to go.

- So if I can inspire anybody in a positive way, that then becomes the vessel to inspire somebody else, that then inspires two more people, then I've accomplished something great in my lifetime.

You know what I'm saying?