We recently connected with Camila Knigge Unibe and have shared our conversation below.

Camila, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Learning the craft simply takes time and patience. It’s not about speeding up your learning, because there is no such thing as perfection in art and painting. There is only progress, there is only creation. Learning the craft is nothing more than a commitment to the practice. It’s about showing up to your canvas, your paper, your materials. Not every piece of Art you make is going to be your favorite, in fact, most of it you will probably hate! But it’s about pushing through the moments of I hate this, this looks nothing like in my head, or I don’t know how to do this, it’s just about showing up and doing it. Doesn’t matter how you do it, just that you do, and often.

Skill comes with practice and dedication, painting and drawing are not about learning to draw the best and most realistic eyes, it’s about practicing. It’s about having the patience and bravery to sit with yourself and the world, and to create something.

I believe the most essential skills to art-making are patience and self-compassion. This is because showing up consistently is much easier said than done. It’s hard when life requires so much of you, we get busy with other things. But it’s important to allow ourselves to return to our art practice, even if it’s been weeks, months, or years. It’s about forgiving ourselves when we ‘mess up’ an art piece, and working through that discomfort to keep creating.

To be an artist is to be a lifelong student and to be coming to terms with yourself over and over again.

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.

My name is Camila, I am a Mixed Race/Ethnicity artist from the Bay Area, CA. I grew up with a constant rhythm of adaptation, my family and my own identity are a hybrid combination of multiple languages, cultures, faiths and values. As a mixed race, Mexican-German, non-binary, queer, and a child of immigrants, my life is a constant exploration of the contradictions within my identity, and a constant grappling with my connection to the land and spaces around me. I grew up in the Bay Area on occupied Ohlone Land, while summers were spent in Tijuana, Mexico, or in Bremen, Germany with my family. These places bear the scars of historical violence—colonization, imperial borders, and wars—yet they also carry stories of love, resilience, and deep ancestral bonds. Despite the intricate tapestry of my identity and the complexities of these spaces, I’ve discovered a profound sense of comfort within this realm of hybridity and perpetual adaptation. As I move through various spaces, each offering a unique sense of home, I’ve learned to choose and shift between labels that resonate with my evolving identity. This comfort in the in-between, finding solace within discomfort, has been the thread weaving through my entire life. It’s this very comfort that propels my exploration and creative work.

I currently work with oil paints, acrylic paints, and glitter/ink. I enjoy working with found materials like cardboard and other trinkets. Most of my work currently revolves around Mixed Race Spirituality and how my spiritual beliefs and practices have been informed by my racial identity; but also how art-making itself has served as a conduit for my spiritual practice.

I work for myself, and often use my art to raise funds or consciousness for Social Justice causes. If you’re interested in looking at my art please visit my website or Instagram page. I sell prints and you can commission a piece from me to adorn your space. My dream is to make a public art installation/mural in my community.

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

Society as it is now doesn’t value artists or creative work simply for their ability to create and reimagine. Our capitalist system teaches us both ideologically and on a material level, that what we offer is only valuable if it can be sold, invested in, or in someway works to create profits. I think this narrative discourages many people from discovering their inner creative and inner artist.
The work of the artist is to reimagine our reality, which is something our society has led us to believe is impossible.
We must all work to find our inner artist, to support and foster each other’s creativity, whether that be interpersonally, entrepreneurially, or financially.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I would love to challenge the idea of non-creatives, I believe that we are all creative. Creativity is a skill not an identity, and there are various ways to be creative, it doesn’t necessarily mean to pick up a paintbrush or maker. Creative work is in everything we do, we just need to see it, name it, and practice it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://camilaknigge.wixsite.com/camilart
• Instagram: cam1lart

Image Credits

All images taken by Camila Knigge Unibe