We recently connected with Sophia Wong and have shared our conversation below.

Sophia , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My upbringing and experiences as a child are really the driving force behind most of what I do. Through my artwork, I depict portraits and scenes influenced by my cultural background along with an exploration of indigenous cultures and practices. Creating Sona Art Studio LLC, in part, served to further that purpose. I was also motivated to start my business by beginning some of my most crucial developmental years as a young artist. I felt a drive to provide the same opportunities and guidance I was blessed to have, and that’s what blossomed into my business offering private art lessons geared towards children and young adults who are interested in pursuing art school or developing an art practice of their own.

With the support of my parents, I auditioned and was accepted to Southwood Middle School’s art program. So from a young age, I was fortunate enough to be able to explore and deepen my love for art. As time came around to look into high schools and I began to think of the future, there was no question that I wanted to audition for New World School of the Arts. It was one of the highest rated schools in the nation for the arts, and with my interest in fine art, I felt like I belonged there. But with an 11% acceptance rate, my parents (who raised me with the mentality of “If you’re going to do something, give it your all”) placed me in an additional program outside of school to develop my portfolio and prepare for auditions. Without that facility, The Learning Tree, and the mentors there, I strongly believe I wouldn’t have had as strong of a portfolio or the knowledge and confidence that I had in using different mediums. That sort of extra attention to hone a young artist’s skills and go outside of the traditional curriculum is what I believe is so important at that age if you’re interested in pursuing art or developing a strong art practice.

Now I work with young artists between ages 5 and 18 in hopes of giving them that extra time and attention to their practice, whether it be for fun and self expression or for pursuing a serious art career as I did.

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 Sophia Wong. I’m an independent artist born and raised in Miami, Florida that goes by the artist name Sona. I created Sona Art Studio LLC in order to offer art lessons for young creative minds. With focused, one-on-one attention, lessons are modeled to help build portfolios, prepare for auditions, and improve technique and skills through experimenting with a variety of mediums. With Sona Art Studio, my goal is to provide the guidance and support that I was able to benefit from as a child, especially for those that aren’t fortunate enough to have access to an art program through school.

Art is something that I believe CAN be taught and can be learned.
Art is more than just something fun to do, it’s a form of self expression, and it can broaden your mind and help you see things in the world from different perspectives. I also believe everyone has creativity within themselves; my goal is just to help provide the space and the tools for an individual to express that.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is imperative if you are an independent artist. I think pursuing an art career is challenging on its own, especially in these times. We all have financial obligations and responsibilities and they can detract from being able to build and invest into what you’re passionate about. I will say that pulling through Covid lockdowns and adjusting my lessons during quarantine and social distancing was an unforeseen challenge; but I was able to transition to virtual lessons and still continue to help students grow and improve their portfolios.

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

A lesson I had to unlearn was that having a college degree defines who I am and my success. It absolutely does not. It was a tough internal battle that I fought with myself for years. Even while working and making a living, I still did not feel like I was living up to my fullest potential all because of what I was trained to believe. Whether it originated from my Caribbean background and its emphasis on education, or from expectations set by society as a whole (probably a bit of both), I eventually came to realize that nothing on paper can determine your success. I learned that the only thing stopping me from being who I wanted to be, was myself and the false narrative that I will only be worthy of accomplishing my goals if I have a degree..

After graduating from New World, I got accepted to SUNY Purchase College of New York and attended for one year. I then attended school and became a licensed massage therapist. I genuinely believe that life is not meant to be linear and my experience of leaving art school to then take up massage therapy and learn about the human body as an art form, was a blessing to my art practice. I was able to step back and look at my art and myself with more honesty and reevaluate what my journey as an artist should be. I was able to take my ability to understand and connect with kids in a fun way and apply it through art. Who I am and my experiences ultimately culminated into doing what I love the most.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artbysona.site
• Instagram: @_artbysona

Image Credits
Celia D. Luna