Artist Statement

As a kid I’ve always struggled with mental health issues, but I found refuge in the furry fandom as a way to branch out and express myself through custom made characters; and because I’ve always wanted a pen name for my author name, I thought JuliaLee Harper would be perfect to name this character. Wait, but her name is SakuraLee Though? That’s where the fun part comes in. I broke myself down into varying forms with my main fursona. SakuraLee is the name of JuliaLee’s spirit form. So, the main image displayed is JuliaLee’s soul, SakuraLee. She represents my most inner feelings. 

The inspiration began with a story I wanted to create about the personification of mental health issues and mental health coping strategies. SakuraLee is the personification of my will to fight off and manage depression, anxiety, along with a few other issues I have. To not spoil too much of the story I want to write, every individual body part on them is intentional. From the water/transparent curly hair, and her curved wings to compliment it for example.