A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Canvas Rebel on the topic of Creatives on How They Learned Their Craft.
Original publication on Canvas Rebel
Read the Interview here:
Hi Luisa, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I have always been an arts-driven person. My first time making jewelry was probably when I was 7 years old, adorning someone or something has always been my mission. I decided to pursue industrial design as my career path and rediscovered my love for jewelry later in life while joining a metal jewelry-making class at SVA. After that I joined every class I could think of to keep enriching my knowledge of jewelry and other media that can be incorporated into my work, which led me to obtain a master’s in jewelry from SCAD.
During my time as a designer and artist, I have found that it is essential to remain curious and humble, knowing that you will always have something new to learn, no matter how long you have been doing something. I like to think that I always make time for learning and make it a priority to explore new materials and techniques, triggering new ideas, I find that getting caught in monotony gets in the way of learning, so I try my best to vary the way how I work on my craft so that I find new obstacles that help me grow as a person and artist.
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?
I got into the jewelry industry out of love and admiration. I remember seeing my mom getting ready for work every day and carefully selecting the jewelry and accessories she would use with her outfit of the day. I started making jewelry for her as a young child and created my first jewelry business, which later faded away. Years after, as a young adult, I came across jewelry, this time as a more established art form and that relived my curiosity towards it. That led me to pursue a master´s in jewelry.
During my formal studies, I encountered some personal issues related to mental health and recognized the important link between jewelry and people in the physical, spiritual, and mental realms. I, little by little, started to focus my work as a way of coping with anxiety, an illness that a lot of us are familiar with.
Through my work, I not only seek to find calmness but also invite others to feel they are not alone in the fight for mental health issues. I want to make them aware that you make something beautiful out of the most difficult moments and use them for personal growth, to learn more from one´s self, and for healing.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson that I had to unlearn was to think that I have to do everything myself and learn to recognize when to ask for help. During the first quarter starting my master´s, my husband and I moved to a new city and country and changed our daily routine completely. We were full-time students again after about 10 years. During the first few weeks, we had to juggle between going to classes, furnishing our new place, unpacking, and getting to know a new city. I was feeling so inspired by the whole newness of everything and had little time to myself.
Little by little I started to notice that my behavior was changing, I felt good, a little too good… After my husband´s concern, we went to the ER, I hadn´t been sleeping for more than 2 weeks. Long story short, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I had to slow down, take medication, and learn to take care of myself with this discovery. I went through moments of feeling completely useless, especially when I went into a depression episode and had to stop my classes altogether.
After all that, I was able to slowly go back to classes and finally get my degree. I learned that a person can be capable of many things, even if the pace is not necessarily the fastest.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I consider that society could support artists by ensuring fair compensation for artistic work and making art education more accessible to a diverse range of individuals, including those from underprivileged backgrounds. I also think that society should reduce the stigma around mental health struggles within the artistic community. I can´t tell you how many times I´ve heard comments romanticizing the idea of mental health issues in artists and leaving it unattended because that is “how artists are”.