Today we’d like to introduce you to Teresa Ruiz.
Teresa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I like to say I’ve always been into the dark arts. Well, not entirely the dark art one might think, but certainly, a more personal one that deals with the everyday emotions I’ve always felt I wasn’t allowed to speak of out loud. During my early to late teenage years, I developed many emotions that everyone around me avoided speaking of. Bottled up emotions, I found, make a great fuel to feed my creativity. I draw- and while yes, my drawing range from nonsensical doodles to fanart, my favorite is my own self-portraits, selfies included. Not to say I’m vain, but I like drawing or editing my pieces to reflect how I feel. It’s a great outlet for whatever emotion I feel. My pieces are personal to me, but what I can aim to give is an inspiration to others. To those with strong emotions, to create their own beauty on canvas, despite the odd, creepy vibes. Art is art when true emotion is what draws it.
Has it been a smooth road?
Clearly, negative emotions are what drive people away. Upon looking at my self-drawn portraits, many people express horror or silence. Questions range from “Is that you?” to “Why would you draw yourself like that?” to comments like “That’s scary!”. I understand that not many people could appreciate the way I paint or how I edit my pictures. Not many people ask the reason- the real, personal reasons- as to why I do what I do, and I understand that as well. However, the challenge here is to normalize talking about emotions, to answer the question with the story behind it and make them realize that while it is “odd,” there’s actually a real story to it and that I myself view my pieces as powerful trophies of emotions I’ve managed to express and deal with.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
It’s unintentional, but I aim to one day inspire other artists and people with self-expression.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Though I am barely starting to be open about myself, I do have this goal of reaching people. I would love to inspire people to express themselves in any way they like, whether that be through art, through photography, music, literature, to do it and worry not for the looks or opinions people will be bound to have. Self-expression is important, and if you can inspire others to do it, then what better way to do it than by leading the way?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @terralane
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