We were lucky to catch up with Delma Soult recently and have shared our conversation below.

Delma, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I was seven or eight, maybe younger, when I first was referred to as an “artist” by my grandfather Salvador, my mom’s dad. He used to call me “la pintora” (the painter) because he said I had “dotes de artista” or a gift for the arts. He used to come home with photographs of himself and family portraits for me to draw. He would then frame them and hang them in his house and tell everybody proudly his granddaughter Delma made those for him. He always took it for granted that I would become a professional artist. At that time, I also thought I would. But I truly had no idea what that really meant back then.

I’ve always known I wanted to do art. I have always created. Despite going to business school, and graduate school, and then working on a series of life long unfulfilling jobs as an accountant (first), or Finance Manager (after), or Finance Director (now). Despite having two children that took so much energy from me and so many other responsibilities and an enormous amount of work both at the office, volunteering and at home, I have always found time for creation. Some times more than others.

However, family circumstances and intermittent waves of financial instability coupled with my lack of confidence and experience as a creative professional made me stick with my non-creative job for most of my career life and year after year I had to postpone my aspirations to focus in art for a future time when all the aspects of my life would be better aligned.

That time came magically after my younger kid finished high school and started college. All of a sudden, I had more time in my hands and came to the realization that I have been craving art and developing my true potential as an artist.

So at 54 years old, I decided to apply for an Interdisciplinary MFA at California Institute of Integral Studies to dedicate more time to my artistic endeavors and to develop the necessary confidence to change my professional career into a creative one. The need for art has always been there, sometimes emerging more strongly than others. But the busyness of life, lack of confidence, financial concerns, the start of a family, lack of support, have always gotten in the way. Maybe these have all been excuses for me. Maybe I was just not ready. But now, for the first time in my life, I feel I am at the right time and place to dive into further exploring, developing and transforming myself into a confident artist and/or art professional.

Delma, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Artistic practice is a sacred ritual where I can be present with myself and connect with something bigger than me.
I enjoy the magic of creation through the subconscious and creating bizarre, mysterious and vibrant landscapes that combine lush organic shapes, colors and symbols as a way of searching deep into myself and the collective unconscious.

I use a variety of mediums and experiment with new ways of art making: from oils to acrylics, mosaics, encaustic, digital art, photography, collages, videos and mixed media.
​
Some of the questions that inspire my work are:
​
Who am I, truly, outside systems of oppression?
What are my wounds ? How can I heal them?
How can I fully manifest my divine feminine power into the universe?

This inquiry has led me to explore not just my own internal wounds but those of the human collective. The discovery of the Sacred Feminine led me to the realization that I have been craving my own magic and have a great desire to ride the wild waves of new feminine energy stirring up in me and breaking down all the old ways that have deeply damaged myself and my true potential. It also led me to the realization that we are all in deep need of universal healing because of masculine values imposed on us through generations of patriarchy.
​
My Invisible Goddess Project and my series on The Emerging Feminine are evocations and exaltation of the feminine to create a “female euphoria” and a celebration of the sexual exuberance and rising of life in its pure feminine form. They are also creative tools that I am using to bring the Sacred Feminine forward and to channel those feelings of anger and frustration into an inspiring guide for transformation. I am currently working on a new series of oil paintings that render postmenopausal ecstasy as a sacred challenge to patriarchy.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

There is nothing like the power of the arts to inspire, challenge and nourish the human spirit. Artists reveal our humanity and connect us all with something bigger.

With more focus on productivity and materialism, most societies and institutions do not necessary value arts and artists taking this larger perspective into consideration. But the truth is, we need creativity as a way to catalyze change and hope in our world. We are in deep need of beauty and connection and the arts bring us that sense of larger self we are missing in our lives.

What can societies do best support artists and the arts?

Well, I would start with providing all citizens with a basic elementary education that values the arts at the level of other core subjects, like sciences, mathematics and language. Then, creating more opportunities and encouragement for those interested in pursuing an Arts Programs in College. And finally, providing more art grants to local arts and cultural institutions as well as artists to have larger social impact as creative anchors for their communities and to continue innovating and enriching their communities through art.

Artists can be amazing catalysts for civic change, bringing interest on key issues and encouraging others to take action. It isn important to give artists the opportunity to get together to collaborate on public or private art projects that can drive change and strengthen social justice across the country. It is also important that individual artists are given tools and support to develop their inquiry as artists.

Art has the power to transform cities and make their public spaces safer and more vibrant. More attention and more funds dedicated to art are the key elements to support the arts and creating a thriving creative ecosystem in my opinion.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal as an artist is to focus on my own transformation as a human and use art as a healing tool for me and others that feel connected or inspired by my message. I think art has an amazing transformative power for individual and societies. It is able to transcend verbal communication and provide insights that other type of tools can’t. Powerful art themed around social issues and important matters are essential tools for bringing about reform and much needed change.

My art is focused on the exaltation of the sacred feminine and the feminine archetype as a way of balancing out the masculine values imposed on us through generations of patriarchy. Through my series focusing on the Emerging Feminine I am hoping to guide and inspire others to continue reflecting and transforming ourselves and our society into a more equitable and just society, not through imposition, force or violence but through the feminine values of love and compassion, beauty, empathy, education, creativity, self knowledge, connecting with our true nature, and respecting ourselves and others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.delmasoult.com
• Instagram: @delmasoult @theinvisiblegoddessproject