We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sheri Marie Ptolemy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sheri Marie below.
Sheri Marie, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I’ve always loved to sing, I used to sing to my dog Max and the birds at my window as a kid, so my parents enrolled me in vocal lessons when I was twelve. I was also very obsessed with poetry from a young age as well and read every poetry book I could get my hands on. But it wasn’t until I heard Taylor Swift’s debut album that I realized that you could put poetry and melodies together to make songs. I thought it was so cool that a girl, not too much older than me was writing and performing her own songs and sharing such relatable stories. That realization inspired me to try my hand at songwriting so I taught myself how to play guitar and wrote my first song at fourteen. It was about a girl confessing her love for a boy who was sending mixed messages. I wrote it about what my best friend was going through at the time. From then on, I’ve been obsessed with songwriting and storytelling in general and immediately knew it was my calling. Nothing has ever felt so harmonious or right to me.
Sheri Marie, 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’m a singer/songwriter and filmmaker. I graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and from Berklee College of Music with a Certificate in Music in 2021. I released my first EP of all self-written songs called Change Your Mind when I was eighteen. I am currently recording my sophomore EP set to release in the spring of 2024, It will have six tracks written by me about my experiences growing up in my hometown, and leaving it to chase my dreams of becoming a musician and filmmaker.
I released four singles over 2022 and 2023 that are available on all streaming platforms as well. The most recent one is called “The Roots” and it’s one of my all time favorite songs that I’ve written. It’s just very sincere, and it encapsulated exactly what I was feeling when I wrote it, it’s so liberating to feel like you were able to express yourself fully and honestly without fear. We are conditioned to hold back a lot in this world so it’s a wonderful thing to be able to let go of that internalized filter. Also, the fact that “The Roots” resonates with so many people makes me love it all the more.
I made my first student film my senior year of university, it was a short personal documentary about a 25-year-old college student who reconciles with her disordered eating habits and seeks healing during a pandemic, I called it “The First Time I Thought I was Fat,” and was based on a poem I wrote about the same issues. It won “audience choice” in my Documentary Class and went on to screen in five different film festivals.
I also film and edit all my own music videos to accompany my songs. There are music videos for each of my four singles available on my YouTube Chanel currently and I’m excited to film more for my upcoming EP. I’m inspired by the beautiful mountain and ocean landscapes of the pacific northwest. so I write most of her songs outdoors and love to feature nature as much as possible in my music videos too.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I aware of the BC Country Music Association and Music BC years ago. They have been pivotal resources for me these past couple of years and it’s so wonderful to be surrounded by a community of other creatives, the support I’ve felt from both communities has made a world of difference to me and my career. I’ve met so many great people and have had honest and insightful conversations with people I really admire. There’s no guidebook on how to become a successful musician, there’s no set job description to follow like other occupations, so it can be really difficult and overwhelming to find your footing. To have resource like Music BC and BCCMAs to learn from and lean on to help expand your knowledge base on everything that goes into building a successful career as an artist has been invaluable. It’s incredibly inspiring as to have these teams of experts and music lovers ready to hold up local artists and help us make these dreams a reality.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
When I released my single “Down to Hollywood” , I felt so discouraged because it seemed like no matter how much time I spent in the studio, or filming content to promote it I couldn’t get anyone to care about the song. It was a song I was so proud of and releasing it just made me doubt myself. On paper, it was a total flop.
But even though no one was engaging with the single on online platforms like TikTok, Instagram, you tube etc., every where I went in my hometown for the next couple months someone was reaching out to me and congratulating me on my new song. Whether I was floating down the river, or grabbing groceries, going to my day job, people I knew and people I never met before were sharing their support. I was on a date with my husband at our favorite vegan burger spot (shout out Hwy. Cafe) and my friend Daisy was just hyping me up and telling me my song was stuck in her head, and it’s moments like those that make you feel seen and appreciated, that connection and support felt so much more rewarding and encouraging than any metrics.
As a musician, your greatest hope is that your songs will reach the people their meant to and mean something to someone. I love when people like and comment on my music videos or TikTok performances, it’s great, and when people buy tickets with real money, their hard-earned money, just so they can come see me perform. that blows my mind.
I think the best way to support artists is just to make space for them, promoting their songs by sharing them with your friend, watching music videos, coming to shows, or letting them know that you appreciate their music can mean all the difference. And of course, streaming their songs on repeat helps as well ;)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sherimarieptolemy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheriptolemymusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheriptolemymusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sheriptolemymusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1FSvvr0FJTrRRqinxwzBH7 https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sheri-marie-ptolemy/1650563325
Image Credits
Pala Mikayla Winona Nelson