We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matias Ramirez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matias below.
Hi Matias, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
To learn what I know now, I had to start with learning the basics. Growing up, I took whatever art classes my school was offering, and if it was a media that i was particularly drawn too, I would talk to whoever I needed to, to weasel my way into the class. Once I started in higher education, I again, took as many classes as I was financially able too, trying out different media to see what I could learn. While I have paused with learning in a formal setting, I work in a field where I am constantly surrounded by art, artists and craftsmen, where I can learn new skills that transfer into my work.
Aside from the basics, one of the best skills that I have used in approaching my work, and my life for that matter, is learning to be a student. Everything and everyone, can be a teacher. Whether it’s been learning a specific skill, or taking inspiration for tackling a specific idea, I’ve been able to build myself up as an artist by learning from others. I have not been afraid to look for mentors and ask for mentorship. Many people are more than willing to lend a hand to their fellow creatives. And the more I learn, the more I know, and there will eventually come a time that I will teach.
While I am a lot better now, I was very shy growing up, and had I been bolder, more daring and more willing to take risks, I think I could have grown and sped up my learning exponentially. I wouldn’t have been scared to ask questions or ask for help. I wish I had been brave enough to fail more. At the end of the day, I have always been my biggest obstacle and my biggest supporter.
Matias, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hello, my name is Matias Ramirez. I am an artist based here in LA. I’ve been making art since I was a kid, inspired my older sister who is also an artist. While at the moment I have been focusing more on painting, I am constantly jumping around with what media I am using. I have always used art as a way to express myself, and sometimes the best way to express it is through writing or other times it may be through drawing. I have found that through portraiture and depictions of the human body, I have been able to tackle and express my own relationship with identity, death and rebirth, the sacred and the mundane.
I enjoy challenging myself and taking on projects that may sometimes be outside of my skill level. Being a huge nerd has helped, since trying to cosplay has provided for some challenging, but very rewarding projects. Outside of being an artist, I am also an art preparator. It is a job where I am constantly learning new skills, like carpentry or welding. It’s a job that requires me to think of creative and efficient solutions. I’ve been exposed to new materials, and methods of making art. It’s almost impossible to not be inspired by other artists and the boundaries that they are pushing. So much of what I’ve learned from work, has gone into my projects and has unlocked the potential in what is often seen as mundane materials and techniques.
I feel like I am actually quite a selfish artist. Most of my work is very personal, and in turn has made me rather, possessive, of my pieces. When I sell a piece, it does feel like a part of me is gone, so I tend to only sell or give art away to loved ones in the hopes I can see my work again. In a way, it’s to know that that part of me is still somewhere close. While I never saw my reluctance to share as a problem, recently a friend and fellow artist messaged me. About a year prior, my group of friends and I decided to make art about a specific subject then in a couple months we were to present it to each other. When my friend reached out, she mused about how she had thought of the piece I had made and the profound impact it had had on her, and how now, in her current situation, she had found some solace in its messaging. Art may not save the world, but in that moment, it felt like maybe it could. For me it was a reminder of the impact art could have, and I felt guilty for not sharing my own more often. Becoming financially successful from art or showing my work in museums has never really been the end goal, it has always been for me, so I could work out my own feelings and ideas. But my friend was a vital reminder for me, that at the very least, I, like all artists, should share the beauty that creation brings.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I’ve had to unlearn, and am still in the process of unlearning, is living to please others. It has been so difficult for me to choose myself. Both are my parents are from Oaxaca; they immigrated to the U.S. and have worked almost nonstop since they got here. Growing up I would see the physical and emotional toll they endured to give me and my sisters the best life possible. And for so long, I did my best to excel academically, to be on my best behavior and just overall be the perfect child that their sacrifice deserved. It was when I put on my best performance, where I also stepped away from making art for a while, putting my paints and materials to the side to look and hopefully find a “real” job. Of course, one can only live like that for so long. Maybe other people could do it, but I certainly could not. Frankly it was suffocating me. Now would also be a good time to include that I am also trans and was very much in the closet. Living honestly felt like such a betrayal to my parents, but I couldn’t do it anymore. So, after much, much thought I realized that if I wanted to be happy, I could not live for others. I know my parents were and are, disappointed. Not only is their child queer, but also still makes art, and works an unconventional job. My father, after coming out, told me he had had so many dreams for me, and now they were all gone. And while it hurt, also was a reminder, that for a long time, neither of them had considered that I had my own dreams. It’s been a painful lesson, but I don’t regret choosing myself, and will continue to do so, despite how difficult it can be.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Probably one of my favorite things about being an artist, is that it gives you a certain type of audacity to try things. Like “oh yeah I can probably fix that” or “I’ve never done this, but how hard can it really be.” I feel like as an artist, you move through the world with a certain type of mindset. You see potential in everything, and problems become material for a later project. The skills you learn in one place suddenly become transferable in others. For example, I love to bake and sometimes decorate cakes. When I started learning how to MIG weld, the movements where the same as pipping a border. Or when TIG welding, I was using the same movements I would use on my sewing machine at home. It’s not like things become easier, but there is a sense of familiarity, like “I’ve done this before, and if I did it once, I can do it again.” I feel like being an artist has allowed me to see possibility in everything and the world is a little less daunting.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: mati_konn
