We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Georgia Padilla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Georgia below.
Georgia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
The most basic skills I learned in grade school from various school art teachers. My most requested work stems from some basic assignments I learned in high school. As I’ve grown over the years, I’ve pushed myself to elevate those high school lessons into fine art. If I would have gone to college for art just to learn artist lingo and to increase my skill level a decade ago, I think I would be alot further along in my art career. I might have learned some of Arts basic skills 10 years ago rather than 3. I believe that composition and the Rule of 3rds plays a major role in how your work is perceived or the amount of attention your work gets. Since becoming a gallery member, I’ve watched Patrons while they observe art. Work with more complex composition tends to get more interest from the public. I also think being able to construct and deconstruct work in your mind was something that allowed me to elevate my work in the last 3 years. The most essential skill I have would be to drive. I have wanted this for so long, that I have no choice but to give it all ive got! I’ve got a lot of obstacles that have gotten in the way of being able to learn so I’ll touch on a few. First, it would be a lack of confidence. I used to constantly compare my art to other artists and the critic in my head would always tell me that my work isn’t good enough. I believed it, and for 6 years that prevented me from even trying to be a professional artist. Second, I am a huge perfectionist and control freak. I have been told by many that I have to let that go and my work will get so much better. I have been working on healing from trauma for years, and turning off control and perfection has not been an easy process. It’s a lot less than what it used to be but it’s still a work I progress. And lastly, my life is just chaos. I work out of my tiny apartment with a special needs daughter who constantly needs my attention. I dont always have time or a babysitter to be able to attend workshops or meet with other artists to grow my skill set. It’s been difficult when you want to learn but are so closed in. Right now youtube and texting other members in the gallery are the only means I have to grow.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I originally got into art because I was born with a heart disease. As a child it is incredibly lonely and isolating to be restricted from playing and participating in many activities everyone around you is doing like gym, recess, track and field day. I had an elementary art teacher that suggested coming to the art room instead of sitting on the sidelines. That started my love for the arts. In high school I experienced some traumatic and life changing events which have affected me to this day. I now have a series of mental illnesses, anxiety disorder, severe depression, and PTSD to name a few. I’ve found that my art is the only consistent thing I have to cope with, to release, and express myself and mental illnesses. I’ve been in therapy for years and my art seems to be the biggest stress reliever I have, which is why most of my art has raw, emotional, and real somatic responses through it. I can do fun and whimsical art, but it really isn’t my preference. For the majority of my life I’ve had to hide my feelings, I’ve had to lie about how I’m doing, and pretend my mental illness doesn’t exist because of how taboo and uncomfortable society in general is regarding mental health. My first show was about exposing my mental illnesses and showing how I may behave or react in public vs. What I am actually dealing with in private and normally hide from others. The fact that I am very transparent and vocal about my mental illness, I feel sets me apart from others around me. Yes you see tones in others work but you don’t see or hear them openly talk about these struggles. I now have learned, talking openly and honestly about my experience is what takes away the power of the taboo and society’s expectations of the human experience. I think that most buyers that purchase my work usually have a strong emotional connection to my work. My art isn’t for everyone, I gravitate to a different audience. I also do custom work which usually tends to be portraits, or holiday gifts, but I do not do prints of any of my fine art. If you buy it, that’s it, the only one. I also create crafty art items that most buy as gifts for others, usable art if you will. The thing I am most proud of is that I have a very different point of view and voice as an artist. I might not make a ton of money, but my work is always deeply personal. I don’t create just to create. I use my hands as a conduit to my emotions and mental state. When my ptsd is so rampant and I’m having a hard time quieting my flashbacks I use art to release what is happening. So every piece of art that is purchased from me is a part of my mental health journey. You’ll find a lot of my work contains people somewhere in the composition. My shows always have some complex element to them for me to tell a story. My stories seem to be different from most artists around me and I’m extremely proud of that.
What do you find most rewarding about being creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is to be able to share stories that connect with others. For my last show around mental illness, I can’t tell you how many people told me how much my show meant to them. The most consistent statement to me was “I feel represented by *points at artwork* that piece. I’ve experienced that and kept quiet about it for so long. I admire your bravery to share because I don’t think I could.” Then they each shared some personal information with me. As a complete stranger, they shared some of the most personal, uncomfortable, and complete secret experiences with Me. How powerful for them to be able to connect with me in such an intimate way. So being able to give others the courage to speak their story, to be able to validate their story, and to be visible is an incredibly rewarding experience. I hope to continue to do this with different groups of people and communities as I continue my artist journey.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think that as a society we have to really put an emphasis on how important the arts/ creatives are to basic human life and keep fighting to keep art in schools. After going through the pandemic, I have seen first handedly how much the arts and creativity are a needed outlet for mental illness. I think art can be expensive and might not be available to everyone, which is so sad. There aren’t enough places where learning is free or inexpensive for all ages. One thing I really love about the city of Lakewood (Colorado), is that they have made the arts an important part of the community. They are working on projects to bring the arts to the community while also providing opportunities to local artists. The city has voted to give an unprecedented amount of money budgeted to these projects . That is huge. If more communities did this I believe we could foster a more thriving ecosystem for the creative arts and change the stereo typing of starving artists or you only succeed when you die outlooks about artists.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Http://instagram.com/georgiascustomart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyGeorgiaP/
- Other: Http://etsy.com/shop/GeorgiasCustomArt https://www.nextgallery.org/georgia-padilla