Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Ramirez
Hi Jessica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I currently serve as a Durham,NC-based Independent Public Artist. My journey began as an Fine Arts undergraduate at Hampton University (Hampton, VA) where I received tutelage from prolific Muralist and Educator,
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road nor would I want it to have been. There’s a learning curve from working as a Graphic Designer for a Fortune 500 company to being an Independent Public Artist. As Lead Artist on a public commission you must be responsible for a multitude of aspects of the project – from engagement with the community and creation of the work to subcontracting and budget oversight. Each project is unique and teaches you something new about being a better leader as well as a team member.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I serve as a Public Artist, Fine Artist, Ideamaker, and Community Consultant. A primary driver in my public works is creation for interpretation by all with an overall goal to foster introspection, communication, and provide a platform for education.
I generally employ my background in design, sculpture, and public art to create site-specific work that explore the social, historical, and functional context of the site, as well as the arhictectural and urban phenomology of the space.
I’m most proud of my collaborative efforts with communities and artist peer team members where I enjoy embracing my role as a creative faciliator who helps shape an understanding on how art connects with community as an urban space and how its territory, trajectories, and interpretations combine to separate it from surrounding non-urban environments.
I think what separates me from peers is my comfortability with a wide variety of materials and methods such as landscaping, lighting, sculpture, glass, stone, text, and interactivity.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My advice for anyone starting out would be a couple of precepts from the Bible. The following precepts are ones that I would have been better served in following starting out.
Proverbs 18:12 and Proverbs 15:33. And they read: “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor”. (Proverbs 18:12) and “The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor”. (Proverbs 15:33).
Both precepts instruct that humility is a better condition for success than haughtiness. It also prompts that through humility and constant seeking of God’s will and the advice of others, one is more likely to achieve their goals.
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