Celebrating ELLAS on World Art Day
In honor of World Art Day, I decided to contact the artists that I admire and that we have amplified in Ellas to learn more about what inspires them to create their art that inspires and impacts many people.
It’s also important to help strengthen the link between creators and society, foster greater awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions, and highlight the contribution of artists to the sustainable development of our communities.
These have been topics that we have touched on in each conversation and in this interview I talk to 4 talented artists and explore the magical worlds they have created while also sharing their invaluable advice on fostering a life of creativity and motivation. Read on to find out how Ellas have established their creative lives as artists.
What things in your day to day inspire you to create your art?
Music inspires me while I work a lot! Cinema, reading, seeing the work of other artists, nature, living with my family and contemplation.
What is the project or art piece of which you are most proud of?
The Lost in Strata series contains: photography, video, sculpture, installation and performance. And the paintings I'm doing now!
What do you like most about your work and why? Does the career reality match your expectations / why / why not?
What I like the most about photography is the moment of conceptualization, meditating, thinking, writing and drawing ideas.
When I paint, that’s it, painting! I love being in front of the canvas painting, choosing colors and shapes.
I’m happy working and looking for new ways to create, reinvent myself and grow as a person. Every job has its challenges and difficulties, but it's so fun and rewarding that it's worth it.
Going after what you deserve in life requires confidence and guts. Does confidence come naturally to you or did you have to learn it? What advice can you give women on how to cultivate confidence and pursue their dreams in the arts?
From a young age my mother taught me the importance of discipline and perseverance. I think they are two very important elements when we want to achieve something. Believe in yourself and self-analysis too, be objective with what you are doing and decide if it’s good enough or not to exhibit. Another important point is to never stop creating, every day of your life, it’s the only way to grow as an artist and as a person. Finally, enjoy the creation process without thinking about the result, that comes with time, when you are ready to harvest.
With success comes opportunity, but that also means your hands are full. What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep going even on your most challenging days?
I’m grateful for each new day and I take it as a gift. I love having deadlines to exhibit my work, it unleashes my creativity! Everything I live inspires and motivates me, I try not to think about the future, so every day I enjoy the process of creating more.
Which Latina artist inspires you and why?
Many Latina artists inspire me: Alejandra Alarcón, Chula the Clown and Natalia Lafourcade. I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with all three, they’re the best! The list is very long but these are some of the women that I admire as artists and women. They’re passionate, dedicated, focused and talented!
What things in your day to day inspire you to create your art?
In my day to day I ask myself a lot about human existence and specifically, about their feelings. My split bodies are inspired by that. I spend hours over analyzing (myself) and over analyzing the behavior of others and immediately capture what I feel after observing.
What is the project or art piece of which you are most proud of?
One of the last pieces I did was "Body deconstruction and forced soul unification." It was an experiment that ended up being the catalyst for what I later put together in my collective project with Sofía Arredondo, CheloxArredondo. This later inspired me to continue creating bodies suspended in weightless, ethereal spaces.
What do you like most about your work and why? Does the career reality match your expectations / why / why not?
What I like most about my work is the ability to express honesty. Being able to express it without using words. Being able to capture feelings, points of view, moments ...
Going after what you deserve in life requires confidence and guts. Does confidence come naturally to you or did you have to learn it? What advice can you give women on how to cultivate confidence and pursue their dreams in the arts?
Very recently I began to have confidence in myself. I used to be a very insecure and fearful person. Part of my learning was to get out of those circles. Art helps me a lot, it’s my therapy. As women we must be strong and always defend ourselves against everything. This world is not built based on our needs, therefore it’s important to make noise and occupy as much space as we can occupy. We have to make ourselves feel.
With success comes opportunity, but that also means your hands are full. What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep going even on your most challenging days?
We’re not always going to find inspiration, we’re not always going to be motivated and that's okay. That’s where it begins, by accepting from time to time that we need to take a break from the mind. But once I’m inspired and motivated, I make the most of that energy and open my eyes to the opportunities that come my way. I find inspiration in the people around me, I try to always be accompanied by creative minds and good vibes.
Which Latina artist inspires you and why?
A couple of years ago I began to inquire more about the art of my country, Panama. There I found what has become one of my favorite artists, plastic artist Olga Sinclair. For being a woman, for being black, for being Panamanian and for being a chingona.
What things in your day to day inspire you to create your art?
I’m inspired by reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos about art and philosophy. It inspires me to see the work of other artists, get closer to their workspaces, learn about their methods.
What is the project or art piece of which you are most proud of?
I think that, in general, the Beehavoir series that I did in collaboration with Mónico Chelo because it was a challenge in all its dimensions: working together with another person, developing a project that unites tapestry and painting and exploring the bridge between these two expressions. I’m also proud of my personal project Video Poetry Out Loud.
What do you like most about your work and why? Does the career reality match your expectations / why / why not?
The freedom of expression that it gives me, as well as the fact that I find in it a reflective development with multiple paths. I think that my work always refers to me investigating new ways of communicating realities, which moves me to constantly leave my comfort zone.
I like Wilde's phrase, "the satisfaction of eternal dissatisfaction" ... I think that the path of art, both theoretically and practically, always promotes new challenges, so it tends to break all my expectations.
Going after what you deserve in life requires confidence and guts. Does confidence come naturally to you or did you have to learn it? What advice can you give women on how to cultivate confidence and pursue their dreams in the arts?
I believe that everyone who seeks to get out of his comfort zone should work on trust, both towards the stranger and in themselves. A path that never quite ends.
When fear (of the unknown), vulnerability (when expressing oneself) and insecurity (of not knowing what is to come), are assumed as natural feelings that can be controlled, they are transformed into trust.
With success comes opportunity, but that also means your hands are full. What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep going even on your most challenging days?
I think that both motivation and inspiration are aspects that, in my case, come and go, they’re not entirely constant. There are days when I’m immersed in an atmosphere charged with creative energy and there are others when I cannot find the way to express what I want. When the latter happens, I try not to get upset and just focus my attention on other things like listening to podcasts, reading, seeing other people's art, going to museums, galleries, etc.
Which Latina artist inspires you and why?
There are several: Tarsila do Amaral for the intensity of her paintings; Lygia Clark for her pioneering immersive art; Gabriela Mistral for her deep and seductive poetic voice; Mercedes Sosa for reaching to the deep with her singing; Cecilia Benítez for her expressiveness within textile art.
What things in your day to day inspire you to create your art?
I turned my house and my studio into a place full of all the things that I like and make me happy. My studio is full of plants, many orchids, an orange tree, an olive tree… Seeing them grow makes me happy. The light that enters in the morning inspires me, my favorite music ... Everywhere I find an excuse to be happy and that feeling is my engine to create.
What is the project or art piece of which you are most proud of?
One project that made me especially happy was the Bombay Sapphire campaign in which I participated, “Stir Creativity” gave me total freedom to create in many different formats: packaging, installations, murals… and I met many incredible artists in the process.
What do you like most about your work and why? Does the career reality match your expectations / why / why not?
What I like most about my job is that I'm creating new things all the time, projects are never repeated. I'm always excited to see what new creative challenge the future brings :) It also makes me VERY happy to be the owner of my own time…. Reality exceeds all my expectations. I'm always surprised by the paths that art takes me, I never imagined driving scissor lifts and painting murals all over the world :) But here I am!
Going after what you deserve in life requires confidence and guts. Does confidence come naturally to you or did you have to learn it? What advice can you give women on how to cultivate confidence and pursue their dreams in the arts?
When I was younger I was quite introverted, I think it had a lot to do with not being able to identify myself within my environment, but it's funny, the day I started to follow my dream and my passion, I found a will power and a confidence in myself that I didn’t know I had. I think it has to do with identity, every day that I dedicate myself to this I feel like MYSELF and that’s the key. What makes you feel more about yourself? Where do you feel good? What makes you truly happy? By allowing myself to be myself, I found the guts to keep doing this :)
With success comes opportunity, but that also means your hands are full. What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep going even on your most challenging days?
That’s 100% true, inspiration is like everything else, it comes to you when you’re working ... When I’m painting is when I get more ideas, the hand and the brain are muscles that need constant exercise. The most important thing that I’ve learned on this path is that the world wants to see what you do and only you can decide what to show them, so for them to invite you to participate in any project they first have to see what you can do, what you like to talk about, create … Personal work is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing, if you want to paint sneakers, a bag, leather, a mural… Don't wait for someone to invite you to do it… JUST DO IT, the rest comes later.
Which Latina artist inspires you and why?
An artist and friend who inspires me a lot is Paola Delfin. I think she’s one of the best Mexican muralists that exist and I really like what she does. I feel that her murals are very her, she is very authentic :)
Listen to our conversation with Sofía Castellanos
What inspires you to create your art? Share in the comments!