We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eliana Miranda a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eliana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I primarily learned to make art in school where my teachers encouraged me to continue creating and turn it into a career. While in college,I realized that the people I surround myself with are just as important to my growth as my academics. Being in the company of practicing artists, educators, and my fellow schoolmates helped me become a better artist. I eventually received my BA from Hamilton College, and an MA and MFA from the University of Dallas.

A professor once said in one of my critique’s, artists should spend 50% of their time doing research and the other 50% making art. That blew my mind. I realized how important research is to my process. Since I make work about socio/political issues, it is vital that I follow the news to be up to date on important topics and read books and journals on current events related to my subject material. I also absorb as much art as I can in person at museums, galleries, and public spaces. Attending artist demonstrations and interviews to learn how artists make their work and engaging in conversations with artists about their philosophy and art making is equally important research.

One thing I wished I had learned in school is how to work in the studio. I reached a point where I had a consistent studio space to make art in but it took me years to realize the best practices for myself. Learning how to work in a studio is different for everyone. For me, I edit as I paint and if I’m not in the right headspace to make those decisions then I shouldn’t be painting. When I have days like that and I need to get work done, I work on something that doesn’t require as much brain power. I’ll sand, prime, or build frames, allowing me to take a mental break while still being productive. When I am finally able to focus, I’ll take on drawing or painting. I learned how to produce efficiently by having multiple paintings in progress at once. If I get stuck on one art piece, I’ll put it away for a while and work on something else, that way I don’t waste my valuable studio time.

Eliana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Generally, I consider myself an art activist who makes work involving socio/political commentary on current human migration issues. My studio practice mostly involves drawing and painting with various materials such as ink, acrylic, and graphite.

Currently and more specifically, my work explores human migration that results from ecological disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and earthquakes. I draw inspiration from images and stories of climate migrants found in media outlets such as newspapers, journals, and internet articles as a way to memorialize the consequences of modifying the environment to fit the needs of society.

When highlighting the complexity of human climate migration, drawing and painting become key. I use color and the sketched line as mechanisms for underlining the ramifications of our ecological footprint and the transitory nature of human life. I use patterns to underscore the risk of losing culture in the process. My purpose is to continue to tell these stories through my own visual vocabulary as a way of drawing attention and sparking conversation about this dire and pressing issue.

My involvement with the art world also extends outside of my studio practice. I am one of the co-founders of Nuestra Artist Collective, an artist collective based in Dallas, Texas. Our mission is to support and create exhibitions that empower our voices as Xicana and Latina artists.

I am a resident artist at the Goldmark Cultural Center in Dallas. Goldmark is a unique facility that helps bring a Dallas art community together with artist studios, exhibitions, and community art events. At Goldmark I am able to continue my studio practice and curate exhibitions for the Norman Brown Gallery where we aim to showcase artwork by local artists.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The best thing about being an artist is that I get to do what I love. At age 7 I told my parents I wanted to be an artist and now, as an adult, I am lucky to say that I actually achieved what I said I wanted to do. It’s very gratifying to know that despite the many obstacles that I had to face throughout my career, I pushed on and believed enough in myself to reach my goal.

Being an artist has shaped my outlook on what’s important in life. I’ve met several interesting, talented people and I’m thankful to have established lasting friendships with them. For me, the bonds I’ve made with people in my artist community have made everything worth it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There have been quite a few challenges I’ve faced. Growing up in an environment where a lot of people didn’t get an opportunity to go to college, I had to figure out how to get there myself and with very little money. Thankfully, I had many art teachers who became my mentors and challenged me creatively to make my dream of becoming an artist a reality.

Now, as a professional artist, I face a different set of challenges. Learning how to navigate the art world while developing my studio practice has required a lot of hard work. I’ve had to master time management so that I am able to juggle various projects at once and handle quite a bit of rejection in the process. After doing this for so long, I have learned how to view every experience, good or bad, in a positive light.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elianamiranda-art.com/
• Instagram: @elianamiranda_art
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliana-miranda-640bb5135/