Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Muñiz.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As long as I can remember, I have always been interested in art. At a young age, being creative was something that I thought about often. During that time, making handcrafted gifts and selling my art on the side was the extent of my artistic life.
After retiring with the County of Riverside, I joined the professional art world as a mixed media artist, this was both exciting and frightening. My artwork was now on the same platform as formally trained and lifelong experienced artists, and that was intimidating. However, my desire of being an artist, along with my ambition, helped me persevere.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge I face is staying true to my artistic style and vision while learning from outside sources. It is hard not to be influenced by the way other artists do their work. I need to trust my innate creativity and listen to my artistic voice while trying to improve my skills. Even if that means straying away from traditional techniques.
Failure and rejection will always be part of being an artist, but the key is to not give up and stick to basic instincts. Sometimes just going for it without thinking too hard pays off, some of the best art pieces derive from intuition.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My art has evolved many times; from crocheting, drawing, painting, to wire sculpting. I combine these skills to create a mixed media and mixed technique body of work. At this moment, creating wire sculptures is something that I get most excited about.
The inspiration for wire sculpting came from Ruth Asawa, an artist from California. She made beautiful suspending wire sculptures. Asawa picked up a wire looping technique from seeing egg basket weavers in Toluca Mexico. I use the same looping method that Asawa did to create my original wire figures. A 4-foot ballerina, a suspended aerial acrobat, and a hot pink balloon poodle are just a few of my favorite wire sculptures so far.
My work also includes a project called, “Wiry Friends”. Wiry Friends are 9″ wire figures made from bendable wire and have magnets on its hands and feet. I came up with this design from my restlessness and needing to do something with my hands.
Some of the activities that can be done with Wiry Friends are taking pictures while on vacation or hanging them in different areas for a “find me” game. Kids can hide or position them at night, and parents can find them the next morning, it is exciting for kids and parents.
The name is a play on words, “Wiry Friends” – Why are we Friends?. The answers can be: because you make me happy, you help me feel safe, or you give me something to do when I am restless. Wiry friends is a work in progress, but I am excited to sell them very soon.
I also hope to exhibit a couple of installations in the next couple of years. I have several ideas for them: one is “Pain and Joy” and the other “Uncomfortably Comfortable”; both will be done with wire sculpting.
Exploring different mediums and techniques is something that I see myself continuing to do in the future. There are no rules in art, and the possibilities are endless.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I have many favorite childhood memories, but one that stands out is when I was seven years old and in the first grade. It was 1977, and my elementary school conducted a “Famous Person in History” contest to honor the Nation’s Bicentennial. I wanted to be the Liberty Bell although the rules stated that you must portray a “Famous Person”.
I asked my mom, who is very creative, to help me “be the Liberty Bell”. I broke the rules of the contest and dressed up as the Liberty Bell instead of a famous person. I won the Grand Prize and was featured in the local newspaper.
That was a turning point. Letting my unique vision play out set the framework and paved the road for me to want to be different. Being distinctly creative is something that I still thrive on as a professional artist.
Contact
- Website: www.KatherineMuniz.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/KatherineMunizArt
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtworkMuniz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKdPoN3HezFG0pwf91u7PQA
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@katherinemuniz0?lang=en
