Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Camia

Hi Maria, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

I am a Filipino-American multidisciplinary Visual and Theatre Artist, Fashion Designer, and Introspective Hypnosis Practitioner who creates Spiritual / Sci-Fi Puppetry Theater with the intention to globally inspire liberation through healing and play. I am from Virginia Beach, Virginia and have lived in New York for eleven years now. I was the shy art student with glasses and braces all through public school but learned to express myself in college after doing spoken word with my college roommate, Mary Anne Laguerta. I went to Virginia Commonwealth University for a BFA in Sculpture + Extended Media where my sculptures transformed into puppets, props, and costumes. After graduation I apprenticed with Bread and Puppet Theater for two months to then move to New York and intern with HEREarts, Basil Twist, and Saya Woolfalk. In 2015, I went to Sarah Lawrence College for a MFA in Theatre. Since then, I have been part of the puppetry community in New York and had two full-length puppet shows at Dixon Place, La MaMa, and The Chicago International Puppetry Festival.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Being a freelance artist is a struggle in this economy! I have to apply to many grants to live the life I do. For four years now, I have been making full length theater shows which brought me this far into my career however I look forward to slow down and take my time as constantly making shows led to much burn out and exhaustion. I give thanks to all of the grants, gigs, residencies, and customers that have brought me this far!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

My work is a playful yet political call to disconnect from hyper-consumerism and to reclaim the truth within through the use of storytelling, new ceremonies, puppets, comics, illustration, music, and spiritual clothing. With sharp comedy, Shakespearean styled writing, catchy tunes, and joyful theatrical surprise, I intend to make self-reflection and shadow work fun. I am proud that I have dedicated my entire artistic practice to the creation of the world of Aricama, bridging indigenous ancestry with galactic futurism by globally inspiring practice, play, and healing. Aricama has its own culture with its own spiritual clothing, rituals, and calendar. I even channel a different language called Aricama Light Language that looks like symbolic equations. (I have many messages on my Youtube and Patreon). As Aricama can be seen as too good to be true or naive, I am also proud that in October 2020, I became an Introspective Hypnosis Practitioner where I lead my clients into their subconscious mind to remove heavy energies in their body from those who have hurt them in their past, remove the poisons in their family lineages, and to take back their energy and bring in more self love. As I hypnotize more clients to release what no longer serves them, I feel Aricama can fully ground into our reality.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

Honestly, I don’t always feel successful as I am still learning to master the business side to the artistry. However, I think my tenacious attitude to stick to what I believe and love to do makes me successful. I am aware a lot of the topics I am interested in are taboo like extraterrestrial civilizations or hypnosis but the authenticity of my work keeps me grounded. I am happy my art practice has been nourished my entire life as the arts are the truest thing I get to share with the world.

Another quality I feel is important to my success is the ability to focus. I have struggled with focus for years now as social media slowly overtook our lives. However, I have been diligent to restrict technology usage to specific hours of the day so I can get bored and do the tasks that will fulfill my life in the long run. In the same vein, being able to stand up to pervasive negative thoughts with passionate self love is a definite win. I am only good at this now because of my energetic hygiene practice which parallels the process I bring my clients in hypnosis in. Meditation at night is also helpful. Any habit that limits overstimulation is a win in this day in age.

Pricing:

• $250 for a 4 hour Introspective Hypnosis Session
• $250 for custom patch puffy jacket
• more on maricama.com/shop

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maricama.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themaricama
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aricama.liberation
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mariacamia

Image Credits

Richard Termine, Tina Buckman, Jason Choi, Corin Hewitt, Maria Camia