Meet Zach Ray | Artist & Founder of Internal Bakery Co.

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

Hi Zach, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Hello, My name is Zach Ray.
Born and raised in Colorado Springs, CO: I have always been inspired by the outdoors. Since I was a kid I have always spent lots of time in nature whether I am hiking, biking, camping, fishing, and the list goes on. Being surrounded by Colorado’s beautiful landscape has deeply fueled my passion and dream to be an artist. The line work in clouds, rocks and trees have always inspired my imagination to see faces and objects within the natural landscape around us. Just like when you were a kid looking into the sky and you would see formations that look like animals or actual things! This is how my imagination works and what truly inspired me to want to pursue the Artist’s Life… I wanted to bring these visions to life and share them with the world!

Since I can remember these vivid feelings, and visuals would come through me after having been out in nature and I would begin to draw from my imagination what it was that stuck out to me. As I start drawing, I enter a place of bliss and serenity within, where I truly believe that all things come from, if you can just let go. This is purely the inspiration and thought process behind starting my own business!

As an artist I have always thought outside of the box and have believed in a life so different from the ordinary. I believe that “We all have an Imagination and that is the Internal Bakery! – Cooking up Fresh Ideas! I have always felt a voice and an energy within urging me to go after these unimaginable ideas and dreams. I used to think I was crazy to think I would actually pull them off. But the more I would experience this, the luckier I felt to be able to have these experiences and realizations that we all have what we need inside of us. We just have to connect to our deepest self and know that each of us are born with a gift inside!

My mission is to help others to know and understand this so they too can find what their ultimate purpose in their life is and to go after it and create it! Of course it’s different for everyone! But think about it.. the chair you are sitting in, the screen you are looking through and the car you drive were originally a vision in someone else’s Internal Bakery, and because they discovered that idea within and so deeply believed in it, we all get to experience and benefit from that dream that came to life!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As an artist I can’t say I have one medium that I lean into the hardest because part of being an artist is just getting to explore, tinker and play without an end all goal! I am all about the process and how things come to life. I have ALWAYS LOVED being apart of the process of creation! Through my life I have been able to help several people and businesses bring their ideas to life. I thrive on being able to step in to create and explore different ways of how to bring their vision to life! It never fails that each process is a matter of letting go and allowing it to come through. In fact the more I do this the more humbled I am. It’s hard to think I am the creator sometimes when the art or the words are just pouring through me. This is how I create most often times, it is best when there is no intention and no end goal. The art is able to come through authentically and exactly the way that it feels needed in that moment. Of course energy, mood, lighting, and so many things come into play based on how the art is going to move and come through. My usual creation begins by turning some music on that will help my mind to drift and to let go essentially. I begin scribbling lines on the page as I am imagining the art within, my hand is enveloped by an energy beyond me that produces the sketch and what the image is going to become. The more I think about it the harder it is and less fluid, but the more I let go and just allow it to come through, the smoother and more natural the image appears as my imagination births this vision from within.

I hand draw or paint all of my pieces in this way, every design is original and is unique in its own way. From here I will render the artwork in Adobe Illustrator where I turn my art into Vector Format which allows me to make my artwork as big or small as I want without loosing details. Again depending on how the arts comes through, sometimes I will color it by hand using paints or markers and other times I will color the piece in digitally with my Wacom Tablet. This is a magical way of combining hand drawn art with digital. I am a big believer of the expression that comes with drawing or painting everything by hand, as I feel there is a greater depth of expression and emotion that pours through.

Once the design is rendered, I utilize a print processed called Sublimation to print 90% of my product in house in my studio! This has also been a lifelong dream to have a studio within my home that I could produce all my own products from! This allows me to Design, Edit, and Print all products in house! I then sell my work at the local artist Collective- Eclectic Co as well as Art Markets throughout the year both indoor and outdoor!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We are waking up to catch the Sunrise at the Garden of the Gods! It’s a MUST for me here in Colorado Springs. No matter how many times I visit the park, I am always inspired by something new! Imagine, giant red rock formations jetting out of the ground surrounded by lush plant life to make up a heavenly garden. It is quite the view, and I feel from an artist’s eye, this place holds ideas and dreams for all to discover and create! I love to bringing friends here to not only to experience it but to paint a small canvas with me sitting in the garden. We always have a blast doing this and is fun to look back on and becomes a great souvenir.

Today, let’s go Fishing up at Eleven Mile Canyon! Just up Highway 24 from Colorado Springs past Woodland Park is another natural park that I have visited for my entire lifetime! My family has come up to the South Platte River to fish for trout since I can remember, it is actually where I learned to fish. We will fish first thing then picnic for lunch and swim if it is warm enough! Massive Cliff walls drop down to a rushing river full of life, and as you drive further into the park the river begins to calm, the cliff walls lower and the eddies begin to swirl. There are too many good spots to catch fish and appreciate the view. Once we catch our limit we will head up between Buena Vista and Leadville to camp for the rest of the week!

Camping is my favorite thing to take friends to experience when they visit me here in Colorado. It’s something I have always thrived on and inspired to learn more and more survival skills when out in the wild. Nothing too crazy but to be able to catch food, put together camp, start a fire, cook food over the campfire, and sleep out in the middle of nowhere, is so rewarding and freeing. When we cook our fresh caught fish over the fire, I like to add a little butter and salt with a dash of pepper, then wrap the fish in foil and onto the fire! After about 7 min per side, when the skin peels off the meat you know it’s fully cooked and ready to eat! This is hands down my favorite fish, and to get the full experience from being on the river to sitting around the fire and appreciating and being grateful for the food , friends and life under the starry night sky is a feeling that is indescribable. I love that camping disconnects you from the world and all the stressful things. The options are endless just sitting in nature and taking the beauty in can be so fulfilling or you can go do any activity like hiking, fishing, kayaking, floating the river, and the list goes on!

On our way back down the Springs we can stop in Old Colorado City. I will have to take you by Eclectic Co where I sell my work and where over 75 other local artists sell their work as well. We can walk around all the shops on the strip. We will be sure to stop by Circa for vintage and The Queens Tea Apothecary for a cup of tea! Lastly we can grab a well deserved slice of pizza at 420 Slice and then head back home!

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?
It’s hard to think of one person, or one thing to sum up where I am today as an Artist and Business Owner.

I have always been a go getter and when I was in High School I got the opportunity to design the Senior T Shirts and so I got to work with a local print shop called Colepromo to bring my art to life! This sparked my creativity and made me realize I could be an artist and find a path to be an Artist and be successful. I went to college and quickly realized it wasn’t for me. All I wanted to do was create, design, and learn about ways to make my Artist dream a reality. So I came back home and that’s when I reunited with Colepromo and was hired to work in their Screen printing department and my artist journey took off from there! Shout out to the Cole’s for seeing my passion and believing in me!

Shoutout to all the 9-5’s that taught me people skills and also taught me that I would loose my mind as an Artist if I had to live that lifestyle, as it was so hard for me! I always felt like I was wasting precious time and energy on things that didn’t fueled me or refill my cup! I began to realize as I worked more and more jobs that once you learned certain skillsets in one job it would just repeat itself in a different way in another job and then it felt like the excitement and want to be in those environments was draining and life sucking. That’s when I finally hit my brink and realized that after working 23 different jobs that that lifestyle wasn’t not for me.

That voice, and that energy I kept feeling inside was getting louder and louder, and I was becoming more and more irritated with myself because I wasn’t aligning with my heart to do the things that fueled me and made me want to live life to the fullest. And so when I left my last full time job, I had nothing lined up and I knew I had to listen to and try my everything to bring this dream to life, in fact because of my wife, Chanel I am no longer in a full time job and have been actively pursuing my artist dream for 4 years now. Words cannot describe her support and how much she believes in me and my dream! Because of her I finally made the jump from 9-5 to being a small business owner!

Last but not least I have to say thank you to Eclectic Co. and the owners Ani & Peri! Since going after my dream full time I have crossed paths with my tribe of people and it has put me onto my most authentic path yet! Eclectic Co. is local Co-op operation in Colorado Springs that uplifts over 200+ Local Artists! I started selling my work at the Old Colorado City location in 2022 and have since gotten into their 2nd store and now help manage the shops and contribute to the success of artists within our community!

There are so many more people who have contributed to my reality of where I am today and I am so grateful for all who have crossed my path in this lifetime and I am beyond thankful for each and everyone of you!

Website: https://www.internalbakery.com

Instagram: @internalbakeryco

Youtube: @internalbakeryco

Other: Shop Internal Bakery Locally in Colorado Springs at both Eclectic Co stores in Downtown Colorado Springs and Old Colorado City.

You can also find me popped up in the Summer time from mid June to October on every Saturday on Pikes Peak Ave & 24th from 8am-2pm in Old Colorado City as well as Thursday nights from 5:30pm-8:30pm at the Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort.

Hope to see you there!

Image Credits
@mikeyhfilm