Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zach Ramirez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Zach, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I often go through seasons of painting, drawing, or ceramics, bouncing between all three mediums. Lately, I’ve returned to ceramics. It was my first introduction to art so working with clay has always been a material that was deeply special to me. As a 16-year-old, it became something that was really grounding for me. This latest work is about me exploring a material that I have loved for so long in new ways. I’ve been experimenting with more organic forms in an attempt to get them closer to nature. I’ve always found joy in the landscape, and these latest pieces are in some way trying to mimic that. These vessels are usually wheel thrown and then pressed, sculpted, carved to become something more organic, completely allowing the process to guide the result.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in north county San Diego and it wasn’t until high school that I really started to gravitate towards art. I took a ceramics class and just completely fell in love with it. I loved being in the studio and in that creative space with my peers. The community that was created in that ceramics class pushed me to pursue art and education. I studied Art at Long Beach State, mostly ceramics, painting, and drawing. Then I got my degree in art education and currently teach at a public high school where I grew up.

I always found being in the studio to be exciting and at the same time, it brings me a sense of calm. It’s those two feelings that keep me returning to making whether it’s in painting, ceramics, or drawing. I crave that time in the studio.To me, it’s deeply meditative and it’s a space where anything can happen. I take inspiration from many different aspects of life. I try to stay open and aware of the things that gently grab my attention. It’s usually small moments such as a textured surface, an interaction with a place or person, a feeling, a color, a shape, or an object that is simple and often overlooked. These aesthetic experiences could be anything and I really don’t try to understand them as much as I just try to listen to them. Eventually those aesthetic experiences find their way into the work.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

There’s no real mission or goal. What drives my creative journey is the process of discovery. I want to explore something that I haven’t yet. Every work created is a step in a direction that gives an opportunity for the next work to appear. This really allows me to let go of the result and focus on my actions, decisions, my body movements, and feelings I have in the studio. I really love focusing on the process and allowing that way of making to guide the result. This also helps me from just repeating and making work that is familiar to me. I find it hard to work within a system and that’s because I don’t paint or do ceramics to create a product. I paint or sculpt to discover something. I want to work instinctively, experimenting with materials, tools, and applications. For me, it’s about allowing myself to play, experiment and engage in a process that may take me somewhere that I’ve never been before. Sometimes that leads to something that is worth looking at and engaging with. Every once in a while that happens and I chase that feeling over and over again. It’s a very therapeutic practice for me that for half my life has kept me grounded, given me purpose, and continues to excite me.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I would say the want to control. The less that I control, the more space the work has to come through without it feeling too forced or contrived. When I’m painting or sculpting, it will often change pretty dramatically multiple times before it begins to settle in. It could be a yellow painting one hour and a green painting next. What I’ve realized in the studio is that the painting will tell me what it needs, a certain color, shape, more movement, less movement, less space, more light. I think what painting and sculpting has taught me is to let go, to accept what is in front of me and to be present with it, in order for new life to come through. So much of our lives is spent trying to control every situation, ourselves, our environment, our relationships. The want to control is connected to our future and our desire to keep it a certain way for the fear of losing it. Anxiety feeds off of that as it only exists in the future. Worrying about something that is out of our control and hasn’t happened yet. Making art and being in the studio has taught me to stay present, not to hold onto things too tightly, to let go and that is an entirely freeing and powerful feeling.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @zaaachjordan