We recently connected with Diana Gomez and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Diana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

As an artist, you are your own product. Art is such a personal medium that sometimes sharing that with others can be scary. To be so vulnerable and just human in public is one of the hardest things I’ve done. Over the past year, I’ve been working on developing my brand through social media. I’ve been managing my own social media since I started and some advice I give to anyone would be just finding a vision and sticking with it. For example, I love color and I try and fill my personal page with a variety of them. For my tattoo page however, I focus on one theme to give it a more organized and clean look. As I continue to grow, I am learning to love the part of documenting my work process and sharing it. Apart from helping my marketing, it also forces me to focus on the smaller details.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have alway been very creative, even as a kid I was always very curious and loved trying new things. I have always said that you should try something at least once because you never know what may come from it. From drawing, dancing, skating, writing, to painting and tattooing. I have been creating art for years from little drawings to poems for all my friends and family. I love making people smile with something I can create.

I began writing and performing poetry throughout high school and through the LTAB competitions I was introduced to the nonprofit Young Chicago Authors. Following my apprenticeship with them, I have now been working for them for the past two years as well as others nonprofits around Chicago. At that time also I began my apprenticeship at a local tattoo studio, and have been tattooing for the past three years. Over the past year I have been exploring my love for painting and began experimenting with mixed media. I created a series of paintings called “Corazon Hecho En Casa” which translates to “Homemade Heart, which has been featured in multiple galleries through the Chicagoland area. Reconnecting with my love for painting pushed me to get involved in my local art community which lead me to some amazing opportunities. Such as painting multiple murals for several restuarants and nonprofits around the city. I also got the amazing opportunity to work with public art in the “Aurora in Bloom” project for the city of Aurora, alongside an amazing group of artist.

I love incorporating my love of poetry and storytelling into every piece I make, regardless that be a small tattoo or a giant mural. I want to create art that connects with people. No matter if that is something they carry on their body forever or pass on their daily route. Art has always been something I knew I wanted to invest my life in. It’s my passion and I feel grateful that at just 20 years old I have been given the opportunity to call it my occupation. I look forward to continue to grow and look forward to whatever may be the next step in my journey.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to learn how to trust my own instinct. A symptom of being human is caring about peoples opinions specially those you look up to, and something I had to unlearn was taking everything to heart. When first starting out I had someone refer to me as “not hungry enough” which at the time made no sense to me. I had been chasing my dreams for so long and it made me question whether it was something I really wanted. With time I came to the conclusion that I am young and if there was ever a time to explore my passions it is now. I am a multi disciplinary artist and had I not explored multiple mediums I would have never found that out. There is always time for more, but you also have to enjoy the ride. There is nothing wrong with trying new things or messing up along the way. Sometimes those mistakes end up being some of the best roads life takes you through. Ambition is important but so is discipline, being “hungry” is only part of it, you also need to know what to “eat”. Once you figure out your destination building a map there will be easier.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had a very split childhood, the first half was spent in Mexico in my hometown Huamantla, Tlaxcala, and the other half was spent in Illinois. Which are two very different environments. Similar to many immigrant children I grew up pressured, thinking I needed to live up to many expectations and make my family’s sacrifice worth it. As a kid I thought that meant I only had one path available studying, working hard, having a family and a stable job, being successful. “Artists” was never part of that plan, lawyer or teacher was more like it. I laugh now because I can’t imagine ever having an office job. It took me a long time but I realized that success does not only look one way. Success means something different to every individual. After graduating I felt like such a failure watching everyone around me going to school, starting families, and I sat aside with only a plan and a lot of “useless hobbies”. These which then turned into talents, it took a lot of time and dedication, but eventually I was able to turn my “hobbies” into assets. I was able to find spaces in which my talents were appreciated and eventually I was able to make money off my passions. Im still growing and my career continues to take many turns, but from tattoos to murals I can’t wait to see what comes next. As long as what I do, makes me happy to exist everyday, for me that is success.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kikiz_artz or @kikiz_tattoos_
• Linkedin: Diana Gomez

Image Credits

Riley Miller