We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sofia Ramirez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sofia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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.
The simplified answer is lots of practice. While that is true I also think it is important to talk about how representation was a major player in getting me to where I am as well. I knew I wanted to get my BFA right out of High School. I was planning on concentrating my studies around Graphic Design. It felt like the safe option. Then I went to a concert one weekend my freshman year and I saw my first live painting performance. Seeing an artists thriving and sharing their gift in such a way was profoundly inspiring. I started seeking out those opportunities and I have not stopped since 2015. Through live painting I was connected into a network of extremely diverse artists all from the DC Maryland Virginia area. The representation of what thriving artists look like was everything I needed to be brave and take a chance on myself. This experience is what laid the foundation for me to feel bold enough to paint public murals. It even made me move away from the safe option of a Graphic Design job after school. Instead I moved across the country to Colorado and became a full time freelancing artist.
I try to practice radical acceptance of myself and where I’ve been so its hard for me to say what I would change. Not to mention sometimes faster isn’t even the best way of learning. I’ll say this much, trust your process and remember to live authentically. That is how you develop a strong creative voice. It comes from lived experiences and time. Stay open and don’t be afraid to experiment. Be kind to yourself and try not to compare your progress against others. You are on your own journey, enjoy it.
Going off my last response I’d say staying open is huge. That can mean staying open to throwing out a first draft, a hard critique, a helping hand or just a different opinion. We can learn something from everyone. With that openness it is essential to also trust you intuition, your good feeling, or gut. Don’t just adopt whatever the world screams at you but simply take it into consideration. Let it validate your position or spark a new perspective but make it your choice.
I have always been my greatest obstacle. For me avoiding the inner work to heal and get to know myself stood in the way of me finding my artistic voice for a while. That also lead to a lot of unhealthy inauthentic relationships. I was around people who didn’t have my best interest or didn’t have the same goals. Who we surround ourselves with will set the bar for how far we go. When I moved I was able to make more mindful choices about who I shared space with and I got to working on my own journey of healing. I got out of my own way.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Sofia Ramirez. My art alias Sofi Rami. I am a multi-disciplinary Colombian American artist. I have practiced studio art since 2015 and public art since 2019. Through my practice I create paintings, murals, digital art, laser cut wood design, 3D modeling, animations, video art, as well as poetry. I received my BFA in Art and Design. I tend to create artwork that is colorful, graphic, dimensional, and abstract. I often intertwine representational elements into my abstract dreamscapes. My inspirations come from nature, human behavior, surrealism, minimalism, and art nouveau. Understanding art’s ability to transform spaces, guide emotions, and start conversations is a guiding principle in my creative process. I want to bring connection, understanding, representation, and diversity into the conversation with my work. I deeply value my public art practice, as it provides me with the largest and most inclusive platform for my work. I hope my art can catalyze inclusion, compassion, healing, and pride in the communities it inhabits. The world is constantly facing one crisis on top of another. The mental health crisis in this nation is the root to so many of our problems. I can’t fix the system on my own but I can bring the medicine of art to places that need it. Places that need to remember how much beauty there is in the world. Or they need to see someone that looks like them honored through art. It will remind them they are worthy of everything they want. That they matter. My art is meant to build people and communities up. It is what I can do with the gifts I am given, and I do it very well.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Resilience is so necessary for this path. You have to be like a cockroach that keeps getting run over by car but keeps getting up anyways. I have needed it every time I got denied an opportunity. It happens only slightly less now than it used to. It has mostly just gotten easier to move on to the next application. Denver has such a thriving art scene as an outsider it can be daunting to find your place at first. I went the first two years without a lot of opportunities in the gallery circuit and I struggled to get into the local mural festivals then as well. I just had to trust that they would have me when I was ready. I just had to keep my head down and focus. Anytime I would start to compare my journey with others I just remembered the only difference between me and the life I wanted was dedicated time. The following year all those goals were meat and exceeded. Resilience is all about trusting the process.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Everyone can start by interacting on social media posts of artists you want to support. It is best to leave multiword comments, save posts or by sharing art you like to your story. All of it is free and if you are already scrolling away might as well support someone’s dreams. More than that buying handmade art in its many forms rather than the canvas print at a big box store is huge. Custom art is more expensive but it is much more meaningful and a great gift. Talking to your local representatives about more funding for art in schools is essential. How many gifted children are overlooked and underappreciated just because they don’t have a chance to explore those creative gifts. My art teachers throughout school saved me. It was my safe space and I would be in a wildly different place without their encouragement. Even for the kids who aren’t going to become artists the process of making art should be joyful for everyone. It is a time for free play and it can be extremely therapeutic. There is so much on the shoulders of kids today, art is an invaluable resources to alleviate some of the stress.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sofirami.art
- Instagram: instagram.com/artworkofsofirami/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sofirami01/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SofiRami2