Today we’d like to introduce you to Roxanne Diaz.
Hi Roxanne, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As far as I can remember, I have always had a love for the arts. At the young age of two (per my mother), I would always be with a pencil or crayon doodling something that went beyond your average stick figure. In grade school, anything art related I would always go above and beyond to create and showcase my talent. Growing up in the dial-up age, any chance I had to get online (can you hear the AOL sign-on sound?) I would take and visit all of my favorite artist’s websites. I was instantly fascinated that people could post and share their work online this way; I needed to know how to do this!
So, around age 11 to 12, I began self-teaching myself the coding language of HTML. I literally had notebooks filled with lines of code with a description of what each one did, to the point I memorized it all. By 15, I was gifted my first web hosting plan along with a domain name. I finally had a place on the web to call home and there began my journey in web development & graphic arts. From that point on, I freelanced for a few local agencies until I was offered my first ever web designer position at 18! Fast forward to the present; I’ve been able to work in the creative media field for over 15 years! From a graphic designer for a well-known hospitality company in New York City to finally going on my own and building over 20+ websites for small businesses, as well as developing my skills as a successful artist and painter; I’ve been blessed to continue working in this field that I hold near and dear to my heart.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were many challenges along the way, for sure, but I’ve always been a go-getter to the point that if I needed something badly, I would work my hardest to attain it. I come from a single-parent home and have one older sibling, money wasn’t something we had much of, but we made due. I learned very early that with hard work, patience, and determination, it was possible to achieve the dreams and wants I had.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Ha, I’m a little all over the place, to be quite honest! I’m an all-around artist and in any form or medium I can exude my creative nature, I will do it! From graphic design, photography, to painting… I adore the fact that I don’t have to settle for “one thing” or field to express myself. The fact I can also help people and businesses along the way is the icing on the cake! Graphic & web design can oftentimes go hand-in-hand, I create graphics and build websites for brands and businesses to help build awareness, tell a story, and also drive sales.
Photography can go both ways, where it can either be a personal self-expression project or again helping a client in need in a more professional situation. While illustration and painting will always be my first love, it’s what started it all! But it goes much deeper than that… for me it’s like a therapeutic session needed to express how I’m feeling. Getting to tell a story using colors and imagery, but knowing it doesn’t have to be perfect (wherein the fields and skillsets I’ve listed previously, it kind of has to be) just fuels my soul. That in itself might be what sets me apart! While yes, I’ve taken the time throughout the years to craft and hone the many skills that I have, I pride myself in knowing that I don’t have to be good (or even great) in just ONE thing, but many!
What makes you happy?
There are many things that make me happy. Being able to help people in any capacity brings me happiness. Spending quality time with family and friends breeds happiness. Knowing that life is short and tomorrow is not promised, believe it or not, gives me a sense of peace and happiness, knowing that if I wake up the next day, I get another chance to do the things I love and share them with the people I love. That’s happiness to me.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@roxannediaz.com
- Website: https://roxannediaz.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamroxannediaz
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/iamroxannediaz
- Other: https://floetryart.com
