We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Nick Gutierrez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly Nick, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve known since I was six that I wanted to pursue a creative career. I grew up being told by my parents that I could be anything I wanted and they have been very supportive of my choice to work in a creative field. I think the reason I gravitated towards art is because I enjoy creating things and I use my art to communicate with others. I have never considered myself to be good with words or at holding a conversation. Whenever people want to know more about me I usually try to show them my art or my sketchbook. It’s very difficult for me to really open up to others and be vulnerable with them unless I am using art to do so; art is a way for me to express my emotions and process my thoughts. It’s a way for me to share my interests, experiences, and culture with others. I think I just really love connecting with people in that abstract way as opposed to being very direct and literal with my words. I feel that art has a way of bringing people together, impacting them, and reaching them in a way that words can’t. I love creating things for people and seeing their reaction or knowing that my work elicited an emotional response from someone. It’s amazing. I’m sure I could be doing a lot of other things but at the end of the day, nothing brings me more joy than being able to pick up a pencil, a paintbrush, or even my Wacom tablet and expressing myself through my art.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about.

I feel like my art is constantly changing and evolving all the time. I feel like I have three different outlets for my creativity: my sketchbooks, my fine art, and my graphic design work. My sketchbooks are very personal and, for lack of a better word, self-indulgent. It’s art that I mostly make for myself in an effort to preserve memories, events, and experiences. They’re almost like scrapbooks to me. My fine art, on the other hand, is more reflective and philosophical. I use it to explore more abstract and broader topics in an effort to start a conversation with the audience. I like making abstract and symbolic pieces that allow me to reflect upon my life and explore deeper concepts. In the past I have created a series of gouache paintings that explored light, time, and space; recently I created a series of drypoint prints that explored my relationship with religion. Graphic design is, for the most part, my day job although it does transcend to other aspects of my life. I use my skills in graphic design to create pieces that can help me market myself as an artist and to help others solve problems or create pieces that visually communicate with an audience. I also feel like it involves a lot of organization and I love organizing things.

Getting to the point where I am at with my art has not been easy. I feel like a lot of people think art comes naturally and forget that it’s a skill you need to learn and refine over a long period of time. Anyone can draw but not a lot of people have that desire to create. I didn’t attend schools that had much of an emphasis on art as a kid. I usually drew in my free time and was able to take an art elective here and there. I think I really started to take it seriously when I entered high school and was able to take more art related classes, although we didn’t have much in terms of resources or materials. I was able to take AP Art and become a part of the National Art Honor Society. When I graduated high school I was able to attend the Santa Fe University of Art and Design to study communication design. It was here where I really felt at home, like I was somewhere I belonged. It closed after my first year and I decided to transfer to Regis University. It felt like a blow because I had been so set on attending an art school and that kind of blew up in my face. It was also really daunting because Regis didn’t have a curriculum in communications design, they focused more on fine arts. I remember being upset early on because I was already behind a lot of my peers at SFUAD in terms of experience with design and now it felt like I would be left even further behind. As time went on though, I think I was able to realize that Regis was giving me an opportunity to explore all sorts of methods of expression and creativity. I also realized that going to a traditional college doesn’t mean I have to stop creating. If I really wanted to learn graphic design, I could do it on my own. No one was stopping me, all I had to do was try and learn. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Taking risks and learning as much as I can.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wow this is a thinker…I don’t get many visitors. I guess I would take them to see some of my favorite museums and installations. Places like Museo de las Americas, the Kirkland Museum, Meow Wolf, or the Museum of Contemporary Art. I love record shopping, book shopping, and thrifting so I would definitely make time for a trip to places like Wax Trax, Twist and Shout, Tattered Cover, Mutiny Cafe, and Strawberry Mountain. I’d love to take a day trip down to the Rye/Colorado City area to visit Bishop’s Castle or go for a day hike. I really love the mountains and staring at trees, maybe it’s because I grew up being surrounded by the Franklin Mountains in El Paso, TX. As for food, I think I would probably take them somewhere like 16th Street where there’s a lot of variety and fun places. I wish I had more restaurants but I haven’t gone out to eat much in the past two years.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shout-out to Museo de las Americas. I am thankful every day that I am blessed to work at a place that allows me to not only be surrounded by art and be creative, but also allows me to explore my culture and heritage. Being involved with them has allowed me to meet fellow Latinx/Chicanx artists who can share in my experiences and upbringing. It’s also allowed me to build a great network of incredibly talented and kind individuals. They constantly leave me feeling inspired and driven to create and improve upon my creations.

Website: https://bloodgulchblue.wixsite.com/dambrosiart

Instagram: @d_ambrosia_

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-gutierrez-76396a98/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dambrosiart

Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/dambrosiart

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.