Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Juan Rosiles. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Juan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
The first time I realized I wanted to pursue art was after I discovered the unknown passion I had for the field. I was never a creative until I took an introductory art class in 10th grade. I did a couple of doodles here and there as most kids do but never anything major. That class was some of the earliest moments of me drawing seriously. It turned out to be my favorite time of school days. Just to go and make something out of nothing. My teacher encouraged my interest and I saw my growth as time went on. Eventually I spent more and more of my days just creating and learning everything I could. I took several more classes after that and my passion just grew. I just wanted to try out everything and express new ideas. The support from my peers and teachers led me to concentrate more of art and eventually start making art for others. I started taking commissions and began thinking of how to make a living like this.
When I got to 12th grade, I was doing small jobs, and my work was starting to get recognized online. I never knew what I would be studying in college but those art classes opened my eyes to the possibilities of going into the art field. I applied and was accepted to some schools on academic and portfolio scholarships and that made my decision concrete. If I had all this support and validation that my work is worth something, I had to jump right in and really chase this new dream. I went on to study art in college to really make this my life. Now, I am a full time artist that gets to create art for the world and I couldn’t be more thankful and lucky to be so.
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
Hello, I am Juan, I go by artist name “YAGAMIII” online and I am a full time artist. I have been studying and learning art for almost 10 years. I studied Fine Arts at Kennesaw State university for some years until I decided to jump into the field and spend my everyday life creating for myself and others. I am experienced in a multitude of media including drawing, painting, digital art, modeling/sculpting and more. Nowadays I primarily focus on digital media but I specialize in traditional art. I do private sales like commissions and I also have an online store for my prints and other businesses. I’m always very proud of my work, I have a lot of favorites I’ve done. I put my all into my art and I am grateful that people enjoy what I create. I simply hope that my art can resonate with people on a deep level. I want people to be seen from my work, and I want to encourage people to chase their dreams. I’ve taken a lot of risks to get to where I am. It’s a scary journey putting your all into something but if your heart is in it, you cannot fail.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
It’s not uncommon to face an opposing force in life. Often times we are faced with obstacles that make the road harder. For me, one of those moments was my inability to fulfill some of my big dreams early in life. Near the end of my high school career, when everyone was talking colleges and higher education, I struggled to find my footing. I was faced with taking on a big risk to pursue art or find something more stable putting my passion on hold. I took my chances against advice from my parents and decided to try out for a prestigious art school. After months and months of hard work getting a portfolio application together, I applied to Savannah College of Arts and Design, one of the top schools in GA. Thankfully, I was accepted with both an academic and portfolio based scholarships. I was in bliss knowing that I was going to be able to chase my dreams. I even framed my acceptance letter.
Summer passed and everyone was gearing up to finally head off to school. I was ecstatic. However, almost two weeks before classes start, I get contacted by the school about a payment that I knew was not possible. I was starting to realize that some dreams are not meant for some people. My resources were very limited and I was not going to be able to attend my dream school. This was crushing since I placed all my efforts into this one goal, it was everything I wanted and worked for and now it was a dream again. It was too late for anything else so I lost the chance to move on in life then. I thought the mission was over but i kept drawing and painting and eventually applied for another school to keep the chase. I had to learn to find new paths in life, to make your way through anything. It was a hard lesson to not give up. If one door is closed, there’s another that is open. It taught me to just keep trying, no matter what or how, just keep trying.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
The best support for artists is realizing that this world is made by artists.
The realization that everything around us is art will help people see the true importance of artists in this world. Everything is art. This computer I’m using is designed by art artist, this chair I sit on, the house I am in. Stores, streets, buildings, and so much more all have artists behind them. The music we listen to, the things we watch at home, artists. The shoes and clothes you wear; artists. The car you drive for all your needs was DESIGNED by artists and engineers. Artists and art are all around us and I think recognizing that will let people know how important we are to the world. Support and fund artists, we make the world. History has a lot of art, and so will the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jjrfinearts.bigcartel.com/
- Instagram: _yagamiii_
- Twitter: YAGAMIIIARTS
Image Credits
YAGAMIII