We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Garcia recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Earning a full-time living from visual art is a definitely a lot of work. You have to experiment with different creative avenues to earn money. For example, I sell original paintings but I also sustain myself from performances, workshops, markets, or sometimes some random artistic side quest. Creating Loose Screws Studio has helped me approach my art gigs with a business mindset. This type of thinking is still new to me because now outside of creating art for expression, a new element is introduced. And that’s figuring out how you can stay true to that expression while also gaining a steady stream of monetary benefit from it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Yes, hello readers. My name is Andrea Garcia, also referred as Anfrea Garfia to some. I am a visual artist working with paint, paper mache sculpture, puppetry and performance art. I operate from my home studio Loose Screws. Loose Screws Studio is my little studio that works in making installations, performances, workshops and collaborative art. My intention with my studio is to create visual art & performance art alongside my fellow artists.

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

This is a great question because I have one specific idea that I believe society should really push on thats actually already being put into practice in other states. It’s transforming abandoned/vacant buildings into community art hubs. I think we should push to fill underutilized spaces with local leaders and artists who want to work towards creating projects that contribute to the existing culture of the community. Whether that’s through arts education, arts programming, offering affordable housing, studios and live-work spaces or installations that relate & connect to the neighborhood. I also think the city of Houston should help mobilize more private land owners to donate their spaces for this cause. Giving forgotten buildings life through art would be a wonderful way to support a thriving artist ecosystem.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I’m not sure what the MOST rewarding aspect is but I can sure name a few. One is being able to express yourself in any way you want and have other people accept you. And beyond acceptance, to have people resonate with my art is rewarding. It makes me feel like my art has a space in this world to help others feel. I create to express and relieve myself but it’s a nice feeling to know people are rooting for it. Another aspect is being able to contribute to a community through art. Through workshops, public performances, murals, things like that where I can connect with people directly. It’s humanizing to step back and think about how my art exists within the world around me. It’s something I often think about and I think it constantly helps me ground myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://anfgrf.myportfolio.com/work
• Instagram: @LooseScrewsHTX & @anfgrf
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houstonloose
• Twitter: @loosescrewshtx
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/LooseScrewsStudio?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

Image Credits
Ben White Kevin Lopez