We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maya Sarmiento. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maya below.
Hi Maya, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
It was definitely a hard process in my art endeavor. I am a self taught artist and interior Designer by profession. The first years of my art career I remembered having a lot of fear about mistakes, what people think about my art, etc. I didn’t even want to start applying for art shows because I was so nervous about what was going to be the reaction about my work. I grew up thinking that you need diplomas, documents, certifications that prove how good you are. Sad reality. That bug was in my mind during the first months when I started painting. I will say that everything changed after I started believing more in me, in my process and specially in what defines me. I held into the elements that makes me happy in life to start creating and sharing my art with people. Community, music, love, self care. Just having the right life balance in my day a day motivated me to continue doing what I am doing. There are no rules in art, there are stories and emotions, that make a piece so valuable.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am originally from Peru and have been living in LA for around 6 years. I am 29 years old. I am an Interior Designer by profession and 2 years ago I discovered the art world.
Since I was little I was always very self-taught, I loved experimenting with different types of crafts, different techniques: clay, painting, ceramics, watercolors, etc.
I love working under a concept, giving life to spaces and above all changing the lifestyle of many people through a good composition of elements. Colors: the key in this composition. I am very detail-oriented and already graduated from a degree in interior design, I was curious to try a more specific branch of design. And I think it was at that moment that my life took a radical turn.
Unfortunately, Peru at that time did not offer courses in window design. So thats when I decided to apply to a university in the USA. I never imagined myself outside of Peru; but my dream was always to create.
Once accepted and relocated into this new university (FIDM) in Los Angeles, my adventure began, which I would now call my personal discovery. It wasn’t easy at all… the language, the difference in cultures and being alone in a new city made this even more interesting. The experience was incredible, and I was lucky enough to work in a window design company after graduating. Every day we created a showcase for different stores around the US. It was a lot of manual work, constantly discovering new materials and techniques to bring an idea from a paper to real life. I think that after that experience was when I clicked with my self-taught and “artistic” side and I took the risk of starting my first experiments with painting. I started painting and designing decorative elements in my apartment.
I started watching many tutorials on YouTube, because although I had a small notion of the painting technique, I had no idea what type of paint: acrylics, oils, watercolors, was going to fit me best. I think my biggest challenge was discovering each tool in the art world, there are millions of them. I didn’t know where to start, or even which store to go to. This was all during a pandemic so I didn’t have many options. That’s how I decided to communicate directly with artists who already have a lot of experience in this industry. Social networks were key to this. I discovered spectacular artists, not only in the USA, but in Australia, Mexico, Malaysia, Argentina, etc.
One of these artists was my main inspiration, she is from Australia, Sydney, her technique, style and career in this industry is amazing. What surprised me the most was that most of her pieces are large scale. I questioned whether I should experiment with larger canvases. I had already started with some creations that did not exceed 12″ x 20″. We were in the middle of the pandemic and everything was closed, but coincidentally a person near where I live posted at the market who was selling 48inx48in canvases due to the closure of her art store. I didn’t miss the opportunity and that’s how I created my first piece: Vitamin Green.
It was with Vitamin Green that I started my first collection, and after trying large-scale canvases I didn’t want to go back to creating smaller pieces. My technique was developed in pieces with acrylic paint, oil pastels and ink on large-scale cotton or linen canvases. I dedicated myself to producing a lot for more than a year. I couldn’t make a living from art yet because I hadn’t entered the market yet nor did I feel ready. Something that I constantly read about different artists is not stopping experimenting and painting. Over time you get to know yourself more and at the same time improve your technique. I think that many times, artists are very hard on themselves, developing that self-confidence was my main challenge. It took me almost a year and a half to start applying to galleries, festivals, fairs, etc. Honestly, I was very afraid of rejection, the art industry is so big and subjective that because I had never studied a profession directly related to art, I felt like I was making a mistake.
In that year and a half, I was still discovering and wanted to more directly merge my style in interior design with my creations. Something that always characterized me were gold accents, both in design projects and in my personal style. I started my third collection, with pieces in acrylics, oils, ink and 23K gold leaf. I feel like I gave my personal mark to each piece. My philosophy remains the same as with interior design: giving life to different types of spaces. I love providing unique details and creating pieces that really enhance and elevate a space, no matter how simple it could be.
I have seen and believe in the power of how a good piece of art completely transforms an environment. Those accents and details are the ones for me that make a space come to life. I am interested in the power of the psychological effect that color has on the viewer’s perception, the mix between its textures and materials is for me the key that brings us closer to realism and the essence of the work of art. Connecting with each person through each piece and their emotions makes each project have sentimental value.
Art became my best visual expression, and today I seek each of my creations to connect deeply with the emotions of my collector.
Currently, I continue on this adventure, my works are already on the market and I am about to present my pieces in different galleries and art shows around LA and Peru.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Experimenting, discovering and believing.
Experimenting and be open to discover every single day something new about your own “art language”. I think when you acknowledge that is when you start creating your own mark in each of your pieces. I really believe that each creation talks a lot about you and is on us how we differentiate our art to others. As I said before, golden accents, textures and the interior design influence is what defines the main elements in my art pieces. Believing in your creations and enjoying the creative process even with failures/mistakes is the most important part when creating.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Kintsugi Wellness by Candice Kumai. This books is about a Japanese philosophy and art practice named: Kintsugi.
Kintsugi is the art of embracing your imperfections.The meaning of the word Kintsugi means, literally in Japanese, union or repair with gold.
In the past, every time a piece of ceramic broke, the Japanese repaired it by joining the pieces with gold. The importance of the joints or breaks even surpasses that of the original object, which is reborn with a new beauty.
This process becomes a philosophy that can be applied in our daily lives: it invites us to embrace our imperfections and find beauty in our “cracks”. By doing so, we can learn to be more resilient, grateful, and loving toward ourselves and others.
When reading this book I was going through the challenge of building more confidence in me and my art practice. I learned so much about this practice and started applying this philosophy in my life, not just related with my art.
That book had a big impact on me that I decided to start creating a new collection based on the art of Kintsugi.
Months later, I was invited to join a project for a fundraiser event about the Art of Unity. We created 20 hearts sculptures based on the Kintsugi practice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theartbymaya.com/
- Instagram: @artbymaya.s
