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

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Being a creative is always questioning whether the choice to be a creative was the correct one or not. It’s also probably the biggest risk I have ever taken. as well as the risk that I continue to take every single day because there is nothing else I would rather be. I love being a creative so much, that I’m a MULTI-creative! I wanted to be a creative so much that I followed multiple avenues. I don’t think I would be happy being anything else.

However, being a creative can also be exhausting! Especially in this fast paced generation where there has been a blur between art and content, sometimes creativity wants to take a day off and patience does not come easy to creatives. I think those have been the only moments in which I have thought about having a “regular job.” Moments in which I’m too impatient to allow my creativity to rest and I start thinking that I have lost it instead. It’s been a tough journey, teaching myself that I need to be patient with my creativity and allow it to rest. I have had to learn that a true creative can never lose their creativity, but we must allow it to replenish itself and rest.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Elizabeth Gomez, and I am a 27 year old, latinx multi-creative and creativity coach. I grew up in the central coast of Northern California. A dope agricultural town called Watsonville, in which I discovered my love for being a creative and for filmmaking.

I consider myself a multi-creative because all of my creative identities melt into one, and at its core is my storytelling. I’ve loved storytelling since I was a little girl. I think it’s something that was handed down to me by my grandmother, whom I consider one of the best storytellers I know. With every medium I create with, my most powerful tool is how I weave the stories of myself and my community into my art.

I moved to Los Angeles in 2019 and since then my creative career has been a whirlwind. I came here ready to jump head first into the film industry and not expecting a global pandemic to change how I entered the industry. I quickly began working as a PA on music video sets thanks to a producer friend who trusted me and appreciated my work ethic. From there production kind of fell into my lap although I never really wanted to be a producer. Now I appreciate my gift for producing because it is one of the hardest jobs in the industry! It has helped me appreciate other aspects of the industry so much more! My experience now ranges from being a producer on commercials and ads for clients such as 88Rising and Guess Originals, to music videos for a variety of artists, as well as live events and photoshoots. I am also extremely proud of having written and self-published my first two poetry books (the third is on it’s way!) titled, “Chaos;Cosmos” and “Chisme con la Luna,” which are both bilingual stories about love, heartbreak, and healing. Being a poet is an identity that I carry deeply and gently within me. It’s what I go back to any time I feel like I have something to say or release. The ways in which my audience has connected to my poetry has allowed me to be more vulnerable in my art overall.

I have also began my business as a Creativity & Confidence Coach. With this identity my goal is to build a community of artists who know how to value themselves and their art for maximum happiness and financial prosperity. Especially artists of color and minorities. I feel like it’s so important for artists to be able to create without the fear of financial discomfort or the fear of what others think of our work. Therefore, my goal is to help other artists trust themselves and believe in the value of their work and themselves as people and not just creators.

Pretty much, my dream in life is to have a fulfilling career in my preferred creative fields, and help others reach that as well. As an undocumented creative and a woman in these fields, my goal is to lead others with integrity and create art that inspires and helps minorities like myself feel heard and seen. I believe that my self development lies in creativity and community, which is what I am most proud of. I hope that my clients see me as a tough love supporter. I’m that friend, that sister, that coach that will not let you give up because the moment my clients start believing in themselves is my absolute favorite. I want to inspire other artists to believe in themselves, their art, and their value. As a creative myself, I think my ultimate goal is to direct my first pilot within the next two years, open my own media house, and finish my third book. This year I feel like my creativity is bursting. I’ve felt super inspired lately and I can’t wait for what 2023 has in store!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think something that society can do to best support artists and creatives is to just value us and our art more. It is exhausting growing up with the notion that if you choose to have an artistic career, you choose to be poor forever. It’s pretty unfair as an artist, to constantly be chasing money. Sometimes it’s clients having a NET 30 and then paying you even later than that, or clients trying to get you to lower your already low prices. I would like to ask clients and society in general to justs start valuing artists and art, without making the artists beg for it. At the same time I’d like to tell creatives to start setting your prices based on how much you think your work is actually worth. It is up to us to feel the value in ourselves to help others see the value in us as well.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the connection that someone can have to my art or the realizations they can have through my coaching. I think that writing was my first gift, and that’s where my story telling lies. The ways in which people have connected to my poetry especially, is something that keeps me being honest with my feelings and stories. I think the most honest you are in your art, the more your audience will connect because art hits people in their most vulnerable aspects.

Contact Info:

• Website: thelizgomez.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelizgomez/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizzie.gomez.946
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-gomez-b03a16241/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLizGomez
• Other: https://linktr.ee/thelizgomez

Image Credits
Yaquelin Hernandez, Alex Zamora