Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mia Liana Garcia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mia Liana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
My parents are both pretty much masters of all trades, and both are very creative. Growing up, they never discouraged me from doing anything I wanted to do. I had about a million hobbies – in dance school I took ballet, pointe, tap, acrobatics, lyrical, jazz, hip hop, and modern classes, and outside of that I did art, indoor soccer, outdoor soccer, basketball, volleyball, track, theater, public speaking, cheerleading, fiddle group, solo classical violin lessons, and I was in an orchestra. I don’t know that we could actually afford so many activities, but they wanted me to have lots of experiences and skills. More importantly I think they wanted me to feel capable. My mom always said I wasn’t allowed to use the words “I can’t.” When I said I wanted to go to school for art there was no discouragement or judgment. Because of the way I was raised, I walk around feeling like I can do or learn anything I want to. I’ve probably taken risks and committed to things that some other people wouldn’t have because of the self-assuredness my parents instilled in me.
Mia Liana, 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 am a STEM girly, and I am an artist. My practice first began evolving into what it is now when I took a biology class while in art school, and I enjoyed it so much I started to fear I had chosen the wrong major. I decided I didn’t want to have to choose the arts over the sciences, so I created a practice that blended the two together. My work in the last few years has mostly consisted of photomicrography, digital collage, and unstructured writing. At the moment, I’m most proud of my photomicrography. This particular body of work is unlike anything I’ve ever worked on before – far different from the brightly colored smiley faces I used to paint. It embodies curiosity and play in a way that’s not so silly, like the grown up version of a kid looking at ants through a magnifying glass. What I want you to know about my work is that it’s all about just vibing in the midst of the chaos and the unknown. It’s about being dumb and smart at the same time. It’s about having no clue what’s going on.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
One piece of writing that has been quite life changing for me in terms of my artistic career is the “Why Cheap Art Manifesto” by Bread and Puppet Press. Halfway through my first undergrad I started having a real crisis about the morality of myself making a living in the art world. I hated the thought of selling a painting for a price I could never afford, and I hated the disingenuous networking and social peacocking of the gallery world. That manifesto turned art from something I need to make a profit off of into something that can exist simply to nourish myself and the people I share it with. I no longer feel the need to bastardize art by forcing it into the position of a means for survival. My artistic career gets to exist alongside a fulfilling career in the natural sciences now. And lastly, I feel much better knowing anyone can afford my art regardless of how much money they make.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
A year and a half ago I was an alcoholic working a miserable, dead end job. I was incredibly unfulfilled. My life was lacking any meaning or purpose, and I didn’t know where I was going. Sobriety and school had been on my mind for a long time, but it’s so hard to find the motivation for anything when you’re always drunk or hungover. It’s also hard to give up the safety net you’ve depended on since the age of 14. Today I’m over 400 days sober, and I’m back in school working on an Organismal Biology & Ecology second bachelor’s – the first of a few more degrees I hope. I’m also dancing again and have a few pieces in a gallery in Chattanooga, TN at the moment. My life is full of passion and goals these days. Getting sober was such a big, scary shift to make, but it has been incredibly worth it. 
Contact Info:
- Website: mialianagarcia.myportfolio.com