Hello everyone and forgive me for not updating my blog in awhile. I was very busy this summer with work and now school is back in session, and hopefully we'll be seeing some new artist interviews around here over the next few weeks. This interview is between myself and Ines Rocio from the inesrocio Etsy shop. She is a visual artist living in Portugal and her work is beautiful! Make sure to show her shop some love!
Your wearable art has vivid colors and each piece is stunningly beautiful in a very natural kind of way. What inspired you to create these pieces and what process do you go through to make them?
First of all thank you for the invitation and for your kind words about my art work.
Nature is my great source of inspiration, I am fascinated by the vividness of colors, organic, natural architecture, overlapping tones, rhythms and energy.
The creative process begins by being in contact with the natural elements, like strolling through the park or the beach, as a botanist, collect small natural treasures, with which at the Atelier, I give life and energy to natural wearable art pieces. In the jewelry making, I use these elements as a template for the sculptural process, because I like the pace, energy and organic-ness that they give.
The watercolor is undoubtedly the artistic medium with which I identify most, because as my painting is very spontaneous, allows for endless diversity of hues, besides it is a clean paint technique and more environmentally friendly. Really like to use metallic pigments, especially the gold because in my opinion it adds richness and luminosity to the paintings.
My painting is mostly intuitive, and I like to explore the various dimensions of pigments freeform, almost always with the purpose of transposing the metaphysical vibration and positive energy that nature gives me, through art. The creative act transcends me as an individual.
Do you ever wear them to show them off? They look like they would make great conversation starters.
Yes I really like to wear my pieces, they symbolize a little piece of nature and convey to me a very positive energy. It is this joy that I want to share with my clients.
My pieces are very colorful and get people's attention. These conversations are usually initiated by my son who is four years old and is a big fan of his mom's work, and when he sees me wearing my pieces he makes a point of telling people that were made by me :).
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a mother, a women in love and an artist with a background in graphic design.
I'm a dreamer, creative, have liked to paint since I was a child, used to paint flying ponies, rainbows, gardens and houses. I always liked to represent nature in a colorful way.
I really like music, animals (I have two lovely female dogs), love to cook and create different recipes. I like a lot of children's illustration and romantic stories with happy endings.
How did you get to where you are today, what inspires you to create and to be an Etsy shop owner?
I have always felt the need to create, but was afraid to assume myself as an artist completely, but thanks to the support of my dear husband, I gained the courage to devote myself entirely to art. I find the Etsy concept fascinating , and I love belonging to this effervescent community where creative people support and motivate each other. I think this concept of sharing extremely inspiring! So for me having a store there makes sense.
How is life in Portugal?
We have plenty of sunshine, many beautiful places to behold and shoot and lots of time during the year to enjoy these same locations. We have vast knowledge and very interesting traditions . We have many extremely creative young artists, for which the current financial crisis has been very hard.
For me, human creativity is a global phenomenon, and the internet an open window to the world and that is the way I chose to guide my work.
Do you have any future plans for your artwork and your shop?
My goal is to continue to create and feel happy and privileged for it. I like the idea of creating my pieces and seeing them take their course for their future owners, not only because economic necessity is intrinsic to any store (after all the artists have to eat too) but mainly for the joy I have in creating pieces that also make other people happy.
In the short term I am planning to create my own blog, a space where I will share my love for creativity.
