We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Sørensen Shaw and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Julia, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am first generation American, both my parents were born and raised in Denmark. Growing up and being familiar with two different cultures really helped me be able to have a more board and understanding view of the world, which I think is helpful in every regard. We were fortunate to be able to travel to Denmark at least twice a year to visit family and friends, making it very easy to hold on to my native language, Danish. With Denmark comes design, and more specifically, furniture design. My father has been in the furniture business since he was 17 years old. Having grown up around furniture and design, art was always interesting to me and I was always drawing and painting as a child. When I went to the University of San Diego it didn’t take long for me to realize I belonged in the arts program. My parents were extremely supportive in that and I decided to make that my career path. After undergrad I went on to get my masters at San Francisco Art Institute where I met my husband! I do not believe I would have traveled that path if my father wasn’t into Danish design and furniture, very happy he was 🙂
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I call myself a mixed media visual artist because my art spans over many categories; painting, drawing, sculpture and installation work. Many of the materials I use are not necessarily ‘art’ materials but instead DIY home improvement materials and some prop making materials – plus all the traditional art materials. When I work on wall pieces, I use a substrate call Gator Board. Gator Board has a very rigid poly surface, on both sides, which is resistant to moisture and has a foam interior making it lightweight and easy to cut. I am able to cut this canvas to any shape and size, so my paintings are not typically square or rectangular. My installation work is paper and latex based, which make them lightweight and react to bodies in motion that surround them.
Professionally, I am still on that journey to get where I want to go… although Im not sure I even know exactly where that is, but isn’t that the fun of it?! But, no, it hasn’t been the easiest road thus far. Art in general is purely subjective and some may even say it is not necessary. It did not surprise me, but, during the pandemic art is the first thing people stopped purchasing – because it is not a need for survival. That was hard, two years of basically zero customers was hard. But now we are on the up and up again and it feels great!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honestly there are many people, but definitely my father, Thomas Sørensen, my husband, Kimber Shaw, and my friend, Messy Beck.
Website: WWW.JULIAHSORENSEN.COM
Instagram: @JULIASHAWSTUDIOS
Other: You can also check out my handmade books at @openbookink 🙂
Image Credits
Photographer Kimber Shaw