Meet Sofia Ramirez | Visual Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sofia Ramirez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sofia, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
This question really hits home for me. Risk has always been a necessary part of living my fullest life and doing my best work. I am privileged in having a mother who is not only an immigrant, but has also successfully created her own architectural firm for custom residential homes. Her whole life was built on taking calculated risks the second she came to the United States. It wasn’t always a linear trajectory towards success, she struggled and fought for her dreams while raising three children. To me that made her ultimate success so much more gratifying. I can only dream of having half of her resilience. Her example in my life made it much easier for me to feel able to trust the process and to accept the occasional loss with grace. From an early age I saw how much value there was in being in control of your life. Making your own schedule, setting your own standards, and creating your own unique impact in the world has been my idea of a happy life for as long as I can remember. I have always felt like I have nothing to lose by taking risks. In fact, staying comfortable for too long is far more frightening. We moved a lot growing up for a variety of different reasons. The most I stayed in one school was two years. Although, I wasn’t a fan at the time as I grew up I started feeling really comfortable with change and even craving it. As an artist I think it is essential to allow yourself room to evolve and grow. It is part of ensuring that you make the most authentic work possible. I think my risk taking really began by pursuing a BFA. I didn’t have a lot of vision coming out of high school and frankly my work was not very good. I just knew I loved art and I felt at peace while creating so I enrolled in the first school with an art program that gave me a full ride, Towson University. I moved out of my mom’s house in Georgia at 17 and started art school in Maryland. During those first few years of undergrad I started live painting at concerts and I began curating pop up galleries for creatives in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. I met some of my dearest friends and colleagues during that period of time. I knew in order to grow an audience for my work I had to give myself a platform when others wouldn’t. My next biggest risk came during the last semester of my senior year. I decided that I had grown as much as I could while living in Maryland. My sights were set on being a muralist and there simply weren’t opportunities from the state or city to do public art. Some of my best friends on the east coast started moving to Colorado and the community of artists there looked as though they were thriving. I wanted so badly to start on my path that I canceled a summer study abroad program to Spain and decided to transfer to UCCS my last semester of undergrad. It was a nightmare amount of paperwork and endless meetings with my advisors to get special permissions for transfer credits, but I made it work. Even after being told twice that I was ineligible for the transfer program I didn’t give up. One month before moving to Colorado I got accepted into my first large scale city funded public art project called the Urban Arts Fund in Denver. It was all the affirmation I needed to know I was on the right track. Three and half years later I am living in Loveland with my partner in a home we bought last August while still doing art full time. I get to travel with one of my best friends doing murals around the country and I do life on my terms. Every day I feel deeply grateful for the life I’ve built. Even while I write this I feel butterflies in my stomach as the anticipation for my next big risk washes over me. This is only the beginning for me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My name is Sofia Ramirez. My art alias is Sofi Rami. I am a 24-year-old first-generation Colombian American multi-disciplinary artist. I have practiced studio painting for six years. Over the past 3 years I’ve been creating public art. I graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts with a concentration in Digital Art and Design in December of 2019. In all of those mediums I tend to create abstract work mixed into some illustrative portraiture. Much of my inspiration is drawn from movements like graffuturism, minimalism, and art nouveau. My strengths as an artist include intricate line work, patterning, geometry, use of color, symmetry, and movement in my compositions. I believe in the ability art has to transform spaces, guide emotions, and start conversations. Representing marginalized people and their cultures is an essential part of my practice. It is my small way of building the world I wish to see, with the gifts I am given. I think most artists can agree that periods of artist block can occur at times. In those times maintaining a strong work ethic can feel like an uphill battle. Thankfully, when I find myself in that place I have some tricks up my sleeve for how to reignite the flame. Going out and trying a new experience is a great way to gain inspiration. Life is inspiring, especially if you stay present and change it up. Hiking is a very efficient way for me to do that. I also like to do some art research if I’m really stuck. There are so many amazing creators all over the world constantly sharing new and exciting ideas. Looking at contemporary work or even diving into art history is a great way to find my inspiration again. On the other hand, there are times when things are very busy and it is easy to feel unbalanced. We are people first, so scheduling time for myself and remembering that my worth isn’t correlated to my productivity is important. Most of all being kind to myself and creating for the feeling and not always for the outcome is a very grounding practice.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
​​Colorado has so much to offer I love when I get to host friends and family here. If I had a whole week I would start off by showing them the rich art culture in Denver. We would do a mural tour in RiNo, check out installation experiences like Meow Wolf, and spend an afternoon at the Denver Art Museum. Tacos would have to be consumed at some point as well. Then I would bring them up north to where I live in Loveland. I have a national parks pass so we would have to spend a day or two exploring Rocky Mountain National Park. I love taking people on one of my favorite sunrise hikes off of Bear Lake. It is the perfect start to a day in the park. For food I would go to Fort Collins Old Town Square and end the night with some drinks at Social. We would also have to check out all the great murals in that area of Fort Collins. For the last few days of the trip I would drive us into the heart of the Rockies, either Leadville or Aspen. I know of a great local camping spot near the Twin Lakes and Maroon Bells are too special to miss, especially in the fall. If time allows and there is a good show on the schedule I also love taking guests to Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I truly believe it takes a community to build a fulfilling life. In my first response I spoke a lot about my mom and she truly is a huge part of why I am who I am today. My sister is also a very big inspiration to me. She is a very well traveled interior designer in Atlanta. Her design taste and independence are inspirational to me. Beyond family, I believe I owe so much to the folks I created an art collective with while in undergrad called The Collective Districts. We were a group of misfit photographers, painters, musicians, sculptors, and dancers. I may not be in touch with all of them now but they all played a part in inspiring me to keep creating through every season of life. Nowadays, I have the immense privilege in assisting one of my oldest friends Ally Grimm, also known as A.L. Grime, in completing public art projects around the country. She is a muralist and designer based out of Denver. The fact that she trusts me with her project is something I am honored by. Having similar roots has made our practice together such a special one. She has an ability to navigate a variety of different industries that we work with while refusing to compromise her morals which is inspiring. It isn’t easy being a woman in this industry but having her on my side makes things a little easier. Lastly, I would like to shout out my partner Danial Mason. He is a sound designer, civil engineer, and produces music under the alias of EOS. He is my rock and has always been my biggest supporter. He has a brilliant mind and his worth ethic is incredibly strong. Danial’s belief in my dreams is enough to carry me through on the days where I’m not even able to pretend to be at my best, for that I am deeply grateful.

PersonalSofiaRamirez_

Website: https://sofirami.art

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artworkofsofirami/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SofiRami2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sofirami01/