We recently connected with Deborah Lynn Irmas and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Deborah Lynn, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Learning my craft has a been a long process. I graduated art school from UCLA with a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts. I also took classes in Fashion Illustration from Otis/Parsons School of Design. I worked as a Graphic Designer for close to twenty years as a Production Designer and Jr. Art Director. Then I went back to school and earned a two-year degree in Surface Pattern Design from UCLA. For the last 10 years I have studied with the esteemed artist Tom Wudl, focusing on technique, creativity…how to stay in the “zone” and how to fight the blocks, in addition to endless amounts of art history. I have been continuously learning most of my life.

Deborah Lynn, 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?

I grew up with a creative mom so I was always around art and materials. I wanted to be an artist at a very young age. However, my life as an artist did not come easy and it did not take a linear path. After receiving my BFA from UCLA, I made a decision to go into graphic design. I knew I had to support myself and graphic design seemed to be the right decision at the time. I was a graphic artist for close to twenty years. It was only later in life that I went back to making visual art. However, re-emerging into a world that I had only known as a young person was not easy. It took many years and a lot of perseverance to get to where I am now. I recently had my first museum group show called “Baker’s Dozen” at the Torrance Art Museum. My new series of work is near and dear to my heart. It is dedicated to my mom, an immigrant from El Salvador who hid who she was to seem Americanized. She came to this country with creative skills looking for a better life but unfortunately in doing so, had to give up her identity in order to assimilate. This series called “Respectable Burden of Silence” has been my reckoning with half of my identity that was hidden and kept secret for years. I love being a contemporary artist. It has been challenging but not without opportunity. I am most proud of myself for never giving up on my art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I consider myself lucky to be an artist. The most rewarding aspect about being an artist is that you are in a creative space daily. You work through your intuition rather than the rational side of your brain. You are almost in a trance of some sort…a meditative state when you are truly in the “zone”. It’s a gift to be an artist. Everyone is creative but not everyone is able to practice creativity on a daily basis and that is very rewarding.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Yes. I think it is very common for people who are not using their creativity to not quite understand it. I think they seem to think artists work at having fun all day long and that we are just throwing paint around like children. But it is quite the contrary. Being creative takes lots of energy….endless hours, perseverance, continually having to re-think and re-work your work and mostly courage. It is very hard to share your inner self with others. An artist shares themselves with strangers and that can be quite a vulnerable place.

Contact Info:

• Website: deborahlynnirmas.com
• Instagram: @deborahlynnart

Image Credits
Angel Xotlanihua, Deborah Lynn Irmas, and Kevin Lynch