We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rocio Diaz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rocio below.
Rocio, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I began pursuing my artistic path professionally after college, during the pandemic in 2020 when I taught myself how to make earrings. I quickly fell in love with making jewelry and that started my journey with my business, Earth Fairies Co. I had some experience as an entrepreneur before that but not with making and selling art. Today, I run my shop online and I’ve also sold at pop up shops in South Central, Compton, Huntington Park, South Gate, East LA, Westwood, Downtown LA, Long Beach, and more. The support I got from my community in South Central Los Angeles and beyond was what made me want to pursue and nurture my artistry. Growing up, I had limited resources for artistic hobbies because I went through an educational system that did not prioritize creative classes or programs. Then I studied at Santa Monica Community College (SMC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where I began to be exposed to art, dance, environmentalism, and anthropology. My partner in life, Jose, also studied photography at SMC and we began using our skills to create a photo and video business with the support of our friends and family. Over the years, that aspect of my artistic career continues to grow as well.
Another aspect of my creative path has been music and dance. As a young girl, I would gather my neighborhood friends at parties and choreograph dances that we would then perform at the parties. I danced in a folklorico group in elementary school and had a few classes in middle school. In high school, I loved to go dancing with my friends at all of our quinceanera parties and then I started going to backyard ska shows all over Los Angeles. I took flamenco and folklorico classes at SMC and when I transferred to UCLA, I found a home in Grupo Folklorico de UCLA. After graduating, I found a family in Danza Azteca Xochipilli, an indigenous mexika dance group based in East Los Angeles. I am so grateful to my teachers, Eva & Adolfo and their family, for allowing me to grow professionally as a dancer and artist. It’s been amazing getting to dance all over Southern California and even other states sharing part of our beautiful culture through music and dance.
The past few years have opened up many paths for me and it’s been a struggle to choose what path to take. I currently work two part time jobs, as a museum guide and as a coordinator for an after school tutoring program. This has made it difficult to focus on my artistic endeavors because my time is limited but, during the summer I plan to spend all my time dancing, making jewelry, vending, doing photo and video shoots, and concentrating on the creative projects that I’ve been putting aside. I am the happiest when I am able to grow all aspects of my business and create work for myself so I will have to take some risks in order to make my artistic business flourish.
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?
Some of my biggest inspirations have been my parents who are very talented, creative, and hard working. I can’t thank them enough for everything they continuously do to allow me to chase my dreams. Some of my mom’s interests are sewing, singing, crafting, and gardening. She and my danza teachers helped me make my most recent dance regalia which features my aztec totem ozomatli (monkey). I chose the colors to be black and lavender with accents of purple, leopard print, and olive green. These colors are some of my favorites to include in my art. I think they reflect the duality of my personality which likes pretty and colorful things but also dark and earthy ones. My mom has taught me to love bright colors like those found in her flowers in her garden. Flower prints are also reflected in the fabrics that we choose for the hair accessories she makes. I recently have been selling flowers and herbs at the pop up markets I attend with some of my most popular items being eucalyptus and cempasuchiles around dia de los muertos. My dad has shaped my interests in music, movies, traveling, and business. Our summer trips to explore our beloved Mexico are a big inspiration for me becoming an artisan. I have always appreciated pieces of jewelry that are made by hand and that are unique and contain elements of earth in their creation. For this reason, I taught myself how to make my own earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and more. Throughout the years, I’ve made many pieces of functional and decorative art. Some of the materials I’ve worked with are wire, beads, charms, polymer clay, wood, and resin. I like playing with clay, stamps, paint, mod podge, metal, gemstones, and more. I like to depict what I find beautiful in nature like: flowers, bees, butterflies, mushrooms, and so on. I also like to grow my own flowers and then preserve them to make art with them. As the name of my business says, I’d like to think of myself as a fairy on this earth and I try to capture that essence in the art that I make and share with others. Although I’m self taught, that doesn’t limit my capabilities nor my desire to keep learning and improving my craft. I recently enrolled at Long Beach City College (LBCC) to learn about jewelry and metalsmithing. I plan to take more classes to better help me define the next step in my journey as an artisan and jeweler.
From the beginning, I wanted to provide art that I made myself. The intention that is put into a handmade object is what sets it apart from one that’s mass produced. I create with intention as I make my wire wrapped gemstone necklaces because I know that whoever wears them will benefit from their healing properties. When I’m making a pair of earrings, I consider elements like material, color, shape, size, depth, durability, and weight. I have had so much fun trying different techniques, failing at some, but learning nonetheless. A quote that my mom always tells me is “echando a perder se aprende” which means something like “you learn by messing up.” This mentality has helped me through so much because being a business owner brings so many new and challenging opportunities. I like to think of the mistakes and failures as fuel for learning and growing.
As an artist, I have to constantly adjust to life changes while still making time to be creative and run my business. Earth Fairies Co. has gone through many changes so, it’s important for me to find ways to release negativity, stress, and fear which are feelings that interfere with creativity and motivation. I like to create things that bring happiness to people so I have to be in a good state of mind when I’m creating. The aim of my business is not to give into fast fashion and produce just for the sake of it. Instead, I’d rather spend time working slowly, carefully, and intentionally. This is why I have learned to be in tune with the seasons and focus on holidays like valentines day, mothers day, halloween, and new year celebrations to drop new collections and sell at markets.
Spring is my favorite time of year. I’m an April Aries and it’s typical for me to throw parties to celebrate my birthday. This year, I threw a 27 club themed party and I created my own photo backdrop using prints of rock band posters and mod podge. I had never done this on anything other than the small pieces of wood that I use to make my band earrings but I had a lot of fun taking on this bigger scale artistic project. Transitioning between my artistic outlets has felt very natural because they are all intertwining to create the unique experience that is earth fairies co. I started making earrings, then I transitioned to more types of jewelry while also working on my photo, video, and dancing skills. Along the journey, I’ve connected with many other artists who have motivated me to keep nurturing my business and my creative outlets.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I love to see people wearing my jewelry. I love to hear them saying that they’ve gotten compliments and have felt empowered wearing my earrings. I love when clients tell me how special it is when I make them unique and custom pieces that mean a lot to them. I have gotten to meet so many vendors and small business owners who have shared their stories with me and have given me good insights and advice for my business. Getting to involve my friends and family in my business has also been so helpful and rewarding. Whether it’s support from purchasing my jewelry, coming out to my pop up shops, being my models, or sharing my business info with others, it is all so deeply appreciated. It’s very liberating being able to create art with my own hands, out of basic materials, and have someone keep it, cherish it, and wear it. I love photography because as an anthropologist, I recognize the importance in documentation. I am highly interested in the human experience and our interaction with the material world. I like to make connections between people and the things that they own because we can learn a lot from those objects. Objects that have artistic value bring out deeper feelings in us and are expressions of how we see ourselves in relation to everything else in the universe. A photograph can say so much, a video can record one of a kind moments that will have indefinite value for the next generations to come. I love my city. I want to be part of documenting its musicians, dancers, artists, small business owners, and more. I want to support those who don’t have it easy dedicating their life to their passions but do it anyway because of the satisfaction it brings to them to do whatever they want without the judgment of others.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
As an artist, there are a lot of people who project their own insecurities onto you that can make you question your path. We can’t let what others have to say about us affect us. Being a business owner came with so many roles that nobody taught me how to handle, but it’s very empowering to show that I can overcome any barrier. Each year I learn something new that helps me deal with situations in a more efficient way. I’ve gone through the struggle of constantly having to adapt to different jobs that prevent me from working on my craft full time. I am working part time to keep investing in my dreams but my goal is to work as an artisan full time. This looks like working as a dancer, photographer, and artisan. I am continuously looking for ways to get better at what I do, meet other people in the industry, and educate myself to be better than I was before. It may take sacrifices and you have to set boundaries but you have to do what makes you truly happy because other people aren’t living your life, you are and in the end you have to be content with how you’re spending your time and what you’re giving energy to. Do more things that make you happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: earthfairiesco.com
- Instagram: @EarthFairiesCo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthFairiesCompany
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/earthfairiesco
Image Credits
Jose Noe Avalos