We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melissa Gutierrez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melissa below.

Melissa , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I started Westofchester in the winter of 2020. I had recently moved back to New York earlier that year for a job and then the pandemic started, and I was confined to being in a tiny apartment. I was missing my family and got really homesick. I’m a pretty nostalgic person, so drawing memories of my childhood memorabilia became a habit that I started as a way to bring comfort during an isolating time. In my earlier work, there was more of a broad representation of Latin culture through iconography. The illustrations were less place-based and focused more on objects. I was always curious about drawing Miami-specific work but I wasn’t sure how it would resonate, and I wondered if my memories were too niche. Finally, on a visit back home, I decided to just go for it and draw my favorite places I frequented growing up. I noticed my audience started to shift online and more Miami natives were engaging and connecting with my work than ever before. Once I started drawing specific Miami nostalgia, I started to feel so much more energized and inspired. An aspect I’ve really enjoyed is hearing memories people have had at these places as well. In a way, the account has become this communal yearbook. It’s funny, the illustrations serve as this bridge between people I haven’t met before, and we’re somehow reminiscing about going to the same shopping plazas, and feeling at ease to share our stories, despite never having met. I’m learning I’m not alone in my desire to reminisce about the “old” Miami days, and that work enables this nostalgia about unique Miami-specific memories.

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?

In high school and in college, I had my mind set on being a photographer/photo editor. I ended up getting a scholarship to go to Parsons School of Design to get my BFA in Photography – and I was so excited. After graduating from college, and several photo internship roles at magazines, I ended up becoming a photo editor and hating it. During that time, I decided to move back to Miami and reset. I ended up creating a bunch photo-illustrations that summer, and ended up connecting with an editor at Univision. I pitched myself for a freelance project and ended up getting it! This freelance project was instrumental in my career journey because through these photo-illustrations, I stumbled into design and ended up building a portfolio, and eventually going back to school to get my MFA in Interactive Media at The University of Miami. During grad school, I pitched myself for freelance jobs, took on internships within design, and was hyper focused on building my portfolio. For a while I was frustrated because not liking my job was not part of my plan. But because of that, I ended up discovering design, becoming a designer, and loving my job. This process led me to illustration because I was curious about the medium, and it ultimately became a refuge for all my thoughts and exploration! Through my westochester project, I’m able to connect with both artists and non-artists alike who are nostalgic for the cities they grew up in. I’m so proud of messages I get from people who say that my work transports them to their childhood, there’s no better feeling than knowing your art can play a positive role in someone’s life.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think a lesson I had to unlearn was giving weight to all feedback and feeling the pressure to address it and answer to it at all times. I went to art school, so I’m familiar with critique culture, but if I’m honest, it doesn’t always feel like a productive or positive space. I think there’s an art to delivering feedback, and crafting your voice when commenting on someone’s work should be something that is taken seriously and is reflective and considerate of a person’s work. It’s also okay to not have something to say right away! Some of the most powerful advice I’ve gotten was from when someone took the time to digest the work and sit with it for a bit.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted the ability that my art can recreate memories from someone’s childhood. I grew up as a massive fan of polaroid cameras, and had endless photo albums filled with photos of the most mundane things. I sadly lost those albums during a move, but a part of me feels like with Westofchester, I’m recreating the images from my polaroid camera and creating a communal yearbook of all things Miami.

Contact Info:

• Website: westofchester.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/westofchester
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/himelissagutierrez